Is this a bad move? Will a potential employer think you are some juvenile wastrel just because of one of your hobbies? I'm applying for jobs right now, and have been told by a number of people not to put this in my 'interests' section. Thoughts?
on the one hand i assume it's good to be honest, but on the other this can indeed leave a bad impression on some people. to be on the safe side, put something else.
By the way, I am a 33-year-old grown-up, so some people might think it particularly weird. I'm personally of the opinion that it's a perfectly legitimate way to pass your spare time (am I preaching to the converted here?), but appreciate the fact that there is a sizeable chunk of the population – particularly those who grew up pre-videogame-saturation – who might view it more dimly. The dimwits.
I only put something game-related on one CV of mine, and that was translating for a games website. I would say leave it out. "Technology" is way better.
I would not, but then again I live in Germany and not Japan, UK or any other country where games are not steadily criticized in the media. Over here "gaming" equals "amok" and "anti-social" to some lot of people who don't know about games, so well... When I applied for my civil service at the kindergarten I just wrote "film, video cutting technology". If they knew about what I really do in my free time they certainly thought I would slaughter all the little kids on my first day with a chainsaw.
If it ever gets mentioned as a hobby, it usually gets boiled down to "electronics hobbiest" or something like that.
didn't put games on mine but on the first days when i started working the guys over there asked about my hobbies and interests and the other usual stuff... turned out that the "boss" was an xbox/GC collector and i bought my GC from him later on moral of the story: you never know unless you try
It really depends on what job you are applying for. I see lots of applications at work and somebody listing "gaming" would never be rejected based on it. That said im not responsible for employing people to manage banks or shine the queens shoes.
i had to be into gaming for my job. and movies for that matter. it depends on the job. where are you putting apps in?
I heard someone that used to work at Gamestop say if you show them you know too much about video games on your application they won't hire you. He said the reason was something like people who know a shit ton about video games are likely to talk to customers forever on video game topics and waste time, and also they might not recommend certain games to people because he knows they are shit. Or something like that.
we're told to be honest with our customers, if they ask us about the movie or game. it's looked down on to immediately start talking bad about a movie/game as soon as a customer brings it up to the counter. you want them to feel like they made a good choice so they go home happy. if someone brings up a horrible game or movie, and ask me if it's any good, i'm not gonna lie to them. it's hard though, everyone has different tastes.
I don't list hobbies on my resume. Seems kind of self-important and egotistical if you ask me. Also, some places look negatively on hobbies that could draw you away from work with commitments. I don't think this would be an issue for gaming specifically, but in general I think there's very little upside to listing hobbies. Personally I wouldn't mention gaming unless it's directly related to the job you're applying for.
There is no reason to put anything unrelated on a resume. The biggest mistake people make is to use one resume for every job. Take the time and customize your resume for the job. There has been a lot of coverage of companies not hiring anyone who plays World of Warcraft or other MMO's. Video games is still a hobby that is not accepted by a lot of people, the recent post about animal crossing and child molesters shows the type of people who you may face as a potential employer. Wait until you have the job and you have felt out the environment before you reveal you play games, raise chickens or go mountain climbing.
In short, don't do it unless it is related to the job. You said CV first, so I assume you are in the UK. CVs should be 2 pages long and have your qualifications and previous employment history. It is fine to put a short sentence about hobbies if you so wish, but you want them to be interesting! If you're going for a professional position, they don't want to think you're juvenile. Put horse riding and golf, by all means. However, if you're going for a job in McDonalds or GAME, then it probably won't matter. As for telling people about bad games, the manager should be well versed in what's hot and what's not, and order appropriately. If they know full well a game got dire reviews, they might order one or two copies just so it's there should someone ask for it. Not blurting out "ahh, that's shit!" when a customer even picks a game up is a good move, but the honesty policy is fine. You'll find your customers thank you for it, and will come back. Yes, everyone is different - so ask the customer what sort of games they like. If it is a game of a particular genre, try comparing it to other games in that genre. If it was slated for a particular feature (e.g. poor framerate) then tell them that.
