Can 'World of Warcraft' Game Skills Help Land a Job?

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Can 'World of Warcraft' Game Skills Help Land a Job?

Some Job Seekers Add Experiences on Role-Playing Platform to Rsums, LinkedIn
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By ADAM RUBENFIRE
Aug. 12, 2014 7:21 p.m. ET

Some game players worry about touting their 'World of Warcraft' interest on their rsums. Above, a
'Warcraft' exhibit at Gamescom 2013 in Cologne, Germany. Reuters

Warlock or druid?
A handful of job seekers are listing achievements in videogames such as the
role-playing platform "World of Warcraft" on their rsums or LinkedIn profiles, betting
that virtual-world accomplishments will impress hiring managers in real life.
"World of Warcraft" players complete quests as warlocks, druids or other class of
soldier and battle monsters in a fantasy world, recruiting other soldiers, training team
members and developing strategies for missions. Prominent fans include Stephen
Gillett, chief operating officer of Symantec Corp. SYMC -1.39% and a former chief
information officer at Starbucks Corp. SBUX +0.58%
Some players say the game's tasks aren't that different from the duties of the modern
office job.
That was the view of Heather Newman, who included her Warcraft experience on the
rsum that helped land her current job as director of marketing and communications
for the University of Michigan's School of Information.
In the "Leisure/Volunteer Activities" section of her rsum, Ms. Newman noted that
she has managed guilds of as many as 500 people and organized large-scale raids of
25 to 40 players to complete tasks for several hours four to five days a week. These
tasks, she said, "directly apply to the kind of job I hold."
Ms. Newman, 43 years old, said she knew some people wouldn't be familiar with the
game, but she wanted to highlight how her experience leading volunteers online
showed her abilities as an effective communicator and manager in the workplace.
Plus, she believed that administrators who make hiring decisions at the technologyfocused school would view her game expertise as a sign she would fit with the culture.
"I knew that Heather could 'talk geek' and that she would get where many of our
students were coming from," said Jeffrey K. MacKie-Mason, dean of the U-M School
of Information.

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John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology, an informationtechnology staffing division of the Robert Half recruiting firm, said he has seen few
rsums that mention game skills. He added that his clients haven't sought hires with

19-Aug-14 21:05

Can 'World of Warcraft' Game Skills Help Land a Job? - WSJ

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game experience.
Nevertheless, Mr. Reed said videogame experience could be a conversation-starter in
an interview, although a hiring manager may wonder whether the candidate will be
playing games in the office all day. He cautioned gamers to broach the topic "very
subtly."
Gamers' ability to accomplish complex
tasks across virtual teams could be seen
as a plus for some companies.
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Franoise LeGoues, the former vice

president of innovation at International
Business Machines Corp. IBM +0.15% ,
said gamers can thrive at firms like IBM,
where employees must collaborate with
colleagues anywhere in the world, often
without having met in person.

"This capability to engage in strategybuilding, team-building, knowledge-sharing and problem-solving remotely is really
important," said, Ms. LeGoues, currently vice president of transformation at the YAI
Network of nonprofits.
As he searches for a full-time work, Don Spafford, a 30-year-old electronics engineer
from San Antonio, lists his class and guild rank on his rsum along with his role
leading raids in "World of Warcraft." That experience, combined with his past job at
Norwegian Cruise Lines and six years in the U.S. Navy, proves his abilities as a leader
and communicator, he said.
"It's a chance to stretch your leadership ability," said Mr. Spafford, pointing to his
experience heading teams of easily distracted virtual soldiers on raids. "Sometimes it's
like herding cats."
Still, hiring managers haven't shown much interest in his game experience, and he
acknowledged that the videogame details may be landing his rsum in the reject pile.
In online forums, game players worry that touting their hobby will lead others to
perceive them as lazy or socially awkward.
Peter Morris, a 50-year-old regional sales executive at New York-based analytics
software provider Information Builders, is an avid player of "World of Warcraft." But as
a former hiring manager, he has warned fellow gamers against putting their game
achievements on their rsums.
"At the end of the day, it's all make-believe," said Mr. Morris, adding that few recruiters
understand how a leader in a fantasy game can be a valuable employee.
Mr. Spafford's fiance, Mary Brenner, a freelance broadcast technician, includes her
experience coordinating "World of Warcraft" meet-ups and other events, on some
versions of her rsum, but keeps it off for jobs that don't involve event planning.
"I would feel uncomfortable with the judgment in a setting where it wouldn't make
sense," she said.
Dmitri Williams, an associate professor of communications at the University of
Southern California, said accomplished players of massively multiplayer online games
such as "Dungeons and Dragons Online" and "League of Legends," demonstrate
exceptional skills in strategy and team-building.
Most gamers use those traits both in and outside the game environment, according to
Prof. Williams's research, which focuses on the social and economic impacts of
videogames. Many of the prominent gamers he has interviewed are leaders in virtual
and real life, such as a young player whose raid-leading experience helped him
understand how to succeed in college and the workplace and another gamer who led
a guild and went on to manage a game-design studio, later founding one of his own.
"There's this misconception that when someone goes in the game that they act like
someone else," he said. "The research shows that the game world tends to magnify
what's there already."
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There are 40 comments.

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PASCAL ROSIER
I would definitely hire someone with great gaming skills and experience. The
intensity and complexity of games like WOW give individuals exceptional skills in
decision making, team building, problem solving, work under pressure.
17 hours ago

Mike Tian
I used to play WOW quite a bit, and if I were hiring, I would look upon leadership
experience in WOW favorably.
Yes, some people play WOW until they can't get anything done elsewhere. But
these people are rare.
Most people that play, in my experience, as actually well adjusted individuals.
Leadership in a WOW guild is earned like leadership elsewhere. Trust me, getting
40 people to show up on time and cooperate for several hours at a stretch doing a
complex task is not easy. I've been in many groups that were complete disasters
(starting hours late, abject failures in the mission etc). And I've been in groups that
are efficient, cooperative, and highly effective. A huge reason for the latter is
leadership. Leaders are great communicators, motivators, and multitaskers. I think
those skills will be valuable in any company.
2 days ago

Stephen Graham
I've been in a guild before, and I am a supervisor in real life.
It's clear there are a lot of people here who don't understand WoW. I can
understand why some might be tempted to add "guild leadership" to their list of
achievements. The personnel issues you face in a guild are very like the ones you
deal with as a supervisor. In some ways, it is harder, because they are volunteers
and not employees. And it really does involve handling the sorts of unpleasant
tasks you'd do in real life--managing schedules, soothing ruffled feathers,
convincing the team to practice skills that are lacking.
That said, I'd leave such achievements off of almost any resume. Most supervisors
are older, and all too willing to make snap judgments about gaming and gamers.
For myself, the sorts of skills you need for guild leadership are mostly ancillary to
the jobs I need done, so it's not likely to do applicants any favors to list them.
However, unlike most, it would not be an immediate negative either.
2 days ago

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