From the “somewhat funny but potentially serious” file, I came across an article titled, Job Recruiters Told Not to Hire World of Warcraft Players. The point of the article is that companies are actively discriminating against World of Warcraft players (and players of other video games) because they’re concerned that these people can’t spend their day doing “real” work, and will spend too much time with their beloved video games.
Contrary to the opinion that playing WoW teaches teamwork and leadership, these companies allegedly have a firm belief that “WoW players cannot give 100% because their focus is elsewhere, their sleeping patterns are often not great, etc.”
I had no idea there was any opinion on World of Warcraft’s ability to teach teamwork and leadership, although I’d be curious in digging into that further.
Ultimately, it comes down to this:
- THINK carefully about what you put in your resume
- THINK carefully about what you say in an interview
So, do you think that’s reasonable? Should gamers be thrown out as candidates?
And what else might you see on a resume - that the candidate initially thinks is innocuous enough (or even advantageous) - that would turn you off?
Knowing some WoW players myself, I would certainly hire a couple but I would avoid like the plague some of the more hardcore gamers as they are consumed with the game and can’t stay off the computer when they are close to check on the game.
The real problem here is that even without the WoW addiction, I wouldn’t hire some of these people. Just like every demographic, a certain percentage is going to make the others look bad. So while I chuckle a little bit, I wonder if some of it is a self-fulfilling prophecy (people who would discuss a video game during an interview or even on a resume may have been unsuitable anyway).
I don’t think there are any legal ramifications here but I wonder how much you could dissuade a really great potential employee because they are a part of that community? That would be my concern with having a hard and fast rule to not hire gamers.
As a recruiter I’ve read my share of resumes that reveal information better left to a diary or blog. This is also true of initial resume submissions and phone interviews. For some reason candidates occasionally forget the recruiter is a vital part of the application/interview process and thus neglect to be mindful of their choice of words (swearing, specifically), conversation topics, written grammar and overall content. These instances are the exact reason why an interview/screening process exists.
A company formulating a recruiting policy that discriminates against gamers is most likely a company whose business is insurance, banking, health care or retail which means that there are few gamers missing out on a job they would actually want. That the company stated it outright is a little odd, but they could just as easily not write it down and still have an unwritten policy. It’s unfortunate because they lose out on a lot of great talent to be sure. But again, I would argue that few good matches are being lost because the company doesn’t like gaming and gamers don’t like slow-moving, bureaucratic corporate environments that do not embrace solutions coming from non-management employees. These are gross generalities (stereotypes) of course, but true for the most part.
It is not difficult to gauge a candidate’s compatibility with an organization based on many different factors and narrowing down the pool based on a hobby interest is one of the lamest criteria I can think of ever hearing about. A better case could be made for discriminating against candidates who list hobbies such as sky diving, hiking and sports since they are at a much higher risk of missing work due to injuries and will likely ask for more time off for adventuring.
My cure-all approach has always been to remove the hobbies and additional interest sections of resumes before submitting them to the hiring manager. That category is a hot bed of potential discrimination since most people list religious activities/associations as well as various non-profit organizations that may have a political bent, etc. I always explain this and send the candidate the version I sent the manager so that they are aware of any changes I’ve made. When they interview in person and bring along a hard copy of their original, I think that they are past the point of having those topics carry an undue amount of weight in the overall perception that the hiring manager is forming.
Sad thing if this is how recruiters do their thing. If the applicant was a certified addict, he/she wouldn’t bother to find a job in the real world to earn real money rather wow gold.
Agreed, WoW Fan! I wish I could play WoW, but I get motion sick when I play 1st person games. I’m a wimp, I know. I like Command and Conquer’s Red Alert WAY too much. I got the latest one “Generals” for my birthday last summer and haven’t even opened it because I don’t have time to learn and become enslaved to yet another game. They’ve had me in their claws for like 10 years already with the three previous versions. Dangit, being the mom is hard and I can officially say to the mothers of my mother’s generation that they didn’t have to contend with this in their day; not having time to play their favorite games on the computer or console. Gone are my days spent in a 12-hour Tetris fanatical binge or 5 3-hour games (epic battles) of C&C in a week. Sigh.
I play world of warcraft and I am a software architect who boss around people who doesn’t play games.
I think people should put wow on their resume if they are applying for IT jobs. It shows that they can actually turn on a computer unlike most CompSci graduate, Business Analysts (non doer) want to be.