What is Digg?590 Comments
- reyoo30309, on 01/04/2009, -17/+552As a gamer I demand equal rights!
What's next banning game marriage? - fattony80, on 01/04/2009, -32/+360As a former wow addict i'd never hire a WoW player if I could avoid it.
- friggatry, on 01/04/2009, -1/+235"Is this interview almost done? I'm late for a raid."
- cersad, on 01/04/2009, -2/+185Never been asked about video games by an interviewer, never plan to answer one if I heard it anyhow. Some people need to learn how to not mention irrelevant aspects of their life that can induce bias in their interviewers, it might improve their odds of getting hired.
- azureskies88, on 01/04/2009, -3/+160Don't ask, don't tell.
P.S. No one asks, so how difficult is it to not bring up WoW in an interview (and what degree of incompetence does it take to bring it up)? - Velnich, on 01/04/2009, -9/+139Just the successful ones.
- KeepSwinging, on 01/04/2009, -14/+142Not everyone who plays WoW plays it 18 hours a day.
- kernel16, on 01/04/2009, -1/+116Employer: Do you play video games?
You: What is this video game you speak of?
End of story. - akchrs, on 01/04/2009, -4/+89I would hire an UT2K player before a WOW player. That's just me though.
- ousthouse, on 01/04/2009, -0/+83You probably think people choose to be gamers, neocon troll!
- xprojects, on 01/04/2009, -6/+87Says some random dude. Does anyone have any evidence of this? When exactly in the interview do they pop the "What kind of games do you play?" question. Pfft. rubbish. Recruiting agency at that, what would you expect?
- akchrs, on 01/04/2009, -4/+76Actually they just don't come out and ask point blank if you are a WOW player. It's usually something like "do you have any friends"
- jsauter, on 01/04/2009, -5/+76There were terrible students before WoW appeared on the scene.
- justrasputin, on 01/04/2009, -16/+85Why is gaming at all relevant to work, unless you're a video game tester?
- saranagati, on 01/04/2009, -3/+70Do you have any management experience?
Well during this orc camp raid, our leader died causing our party to begin falling apart. I stepped up though and directed the healers to resume healing and told the melee fighters to resume fighting while i resumed the role of collecting the loot. In the end the healers ran out of mana so they couldn't heal any more and the fighters died while the healers ran off. Luckily I had been collecting the loot so I ran off in the opposite direction and kept it all for myself. - trafficlight, on 01/04/2009, -6/+71I don't agree with FPSes being included with MMOs. But I do agree with WoW.
I had a friend who earned a 4 year degree in 7 years because he spent all his time on raids. - brownr21, on 01/04/2009, -1/+65*****, he passed?
- FaithclubDotNet, on 01/04/2009, -1/+64How do you feel about a job in a corporate environment with more management against a startup?
SPAWN MORE OVERLORDS.
You realize the economy is in recession. Are you willing to take a pay cut?
WE REQUIRE MORE MINERALS.
Alright, we'll pay you your last salary. How are you feeling about the job?
JACKED UP AND GOOD TO GO - Idietired, on 01/04/2009, -0/+54I didn't choose gaming, it chose me!
- InsaneMachine, on 01/04/2009, -11/+61Believe it or not, some employers frown on gamers, especially those who play FPS titles and MMORPGs. Yes we’re talking about you WoW, CoD, TF2 and CS addicts. The heading is indeed true to some degree, the purpose behind this blog was not to cause waves in the gaming industry, pointing fingers at employers and possible discrimination against a World of Warcraft player, but merely an excerpt from a longer conversation that somehow became blown out of proportion.
A blogger, identified by the name of Tale, re-quotes a conversation clip he wrote in a previous post:
“I met with a recruiter recently (online media industry) and in conversation I happened to mention I’d spent way too much time in the early 2000s playing online games, which I described as “the ones before World of Warcraft” (I went nuts for EQ1, SWG and the start of WoW, but since 2006 I have only put a handful of days into MMOG playing - as opposed to discussing them - I’ve obsessed over bicycles and cycling instead).
“He replied that employers specifically instruct him not to send them World of Warcraft players. He said there is a belief that WoW players cannot give 100 percent because their focus is elsewhere, their sleeping patterns are often not great, etc. I mentioned that some people have written about MMOG leadership experience as a career positive or a way to learn project management skills, and he shook his head. He has been specifically asked to avoid WoW players.”
Although the comment comes from one Australian recruiter during a conversation over lunch, the underlying message is still perfectly clear whether it’s from one person or a handful of company executives: gamers, especially those that dump hours upon hours into MMOGs, tend to be unreliable and unable to put 100 percent into their job–no not the job of leading a raid. One respondent to the blog claimed to conduct interviews and hire/fire employees “all the time,” saying that as long as the games don’t impact performance, he doesn’t really care. The respondent even commented that MMO players were no worse than those that pick up hookers, smoke pot, or sing on the church choir.
“Actually the choir guy was the worst, because the @#$%! kept asking to leave early to make rehearsals. I liked the whoremonger and pothead while the churchmonkey, umm, decided to quit,” added the respondent. He also went on to say that he would rather avoid hiring married people with young children. “If it weren’t illegal, I’d hire the unkempt surly gamer with a neckbeard over the married professional guy with a lovely wife and infant at home any day of the week.”
Do recruiters and employers discriminate against certain gamers? It’s certainly possible, especially when a lack of sleep and a lack of focus come into play. There’s an imaginary level of immaturity that comes with game playing, a less-than-serious aura more identifiable with kids and older teens. Many gamers realize this, and would rather not reveal their game playing habits just as porn addicts wouldn’t want to admit their sins to fellow church members. “If I were playing an MMO, I would never let a potential employer or recruiter know about it,” says another respondent to the forum post. “It’s a good red flag for employers, like the GED.”
Could MMO gaming be considered as an addiction? That’s quite possible as well, and if employed gamers show that the only thing on their minds is the next mob raid, and they’re spending valuable time trolling game-related forums, employers will consider the “addiction” as a conflict of priority. - linagee, on 01/04/2009, -7/+56Sorry, gamers are not a protected class. Discriminate away.
- stuffradio, on 01/04/2009, -1/+49Say no to prop 64!
- pilardi, on 01/04/2009, -0/+42I doubt my company would do that since my supervisor and I are in the same WoW guild and my division manager runs another WoW guild. So long as you don't let the game interfere with your job, you should get no problem.
- LordVance, on 01/04/2009, -0/+41Or you could just say "I'm not a particularly avid gamer myself" and get the ***** on with the rest of the interview; maybe even "Hell, I enjoy the occasional round of solitaire as much as the next guy." and then laugh out loud.
- Khast, on 01/04/2009, -0/+41Thank god I still play Tetris and Sokoban. I probably have desirable traits for working in a warehouse...
- Licurgo, on 01/04/2009, -3/+43if some chick loves gta 4 as i do , i dont care if she is fat and ugly.
- Arkavus, on 01/04/2009, -3/+42I think the Video Game Industry might be hiring gamers.
- LordVance, on 01/04/2009, -2/+40And how many people do you know who never even got that degree? How many do you know who played games and still managed to do well and keep on schedule with their college? I'm in college now and you would be far harder pressed to find someone that DIDN'T play games that someone who did.
Sure, not everyone plays wow - but pretty much every dorm room has a PS3/360 or a Wii that gets used like the city bicycle. - callmevil, on 01/04/2009, -0/+38IM A LVL 80 DRUID GODDAMN IT!! MY LIFE HAS VALUE !!!
- houndeyex, on 01/04/2009, -2/+39And that's why you should never mention it.
- iamacyborg, on 01/04/2009, -0/+35I was interviewing this guy for a desk job but I he's got CEO written all over him.
- Zarokima, on 01/04/2009, -7/+41Unless you're decked out in epics you're not successful.
- TwoKill, on 01/04/2009, -3/+37I work for a game company and almost didn't get hired for not playing enough... If only the rest of the world worked so wonderfully.
- wolferz, on 01/04/2009, -0/+33And you think the ability to stare blankly at a moving image for hours on end does? Or how about the ability to dump all of your spare change into building hot-rods? A hobby is a hobby is a hobby. None of them translate into real life unless you happen to get a job working in the associated industry.
The fact that you don't see this speaks of your own lack of life experience or as the saying goes: you can keep your mouth shut and be assumed an idiot... or open it and remove all doubt.
The issue is a completely different one than what translates into real life useful skills. The issue is the addictive behaviors associated with gaming... behaviors that gamers have just as easy/hard a time dealing with as couch potatoes (tv addicts) do. In the end there is no quantifiable difference beyond the stigma and associated stereotype. - ousthouse, on 01/04/2009, -1/+34good
- jflaker, on 01/04/2009, -1/+33Some of these gamers just blow off steam by playing. It is a way of removing oneself from reality for a little bit......There are addicts, but that is a different story.
- breakerjump, on 01/04/2009, -3/+35What a bunch of ***** this stuff is. I'm a successful interactive developer who owns my own (small) business - and makes damn good money. When I go on business trips to LA, I stay with my contact (who's even more successful than I) and our favorite pastime is getting baked and playing CoD5 zombie mode for hours. Then we get up in the morning and go close deals worth tens of millions of dollars (or really, he closes them - I'm not that cool yet).
Welcome to the 2000's. - MikeMitchell, on 01/04/2009, -2/+33Thats it, time to make it a religion.....
Then we nerds can sue. - gojason, on 01/04/2009, -2/+33I've earned multiple degrees in the last 4 years while playing WoW.
Engineering...
Mining...
Herbalism...
Alchemy...
har har - houndeyex, on 01/04/2009, -0/+30aka "Spreadsheets in Space"
- ABadPerson, on 01/04/2009, -1/+29RTS players ftw
- bongfarmer, on 01/04/2009, -16/+44The absolute worst students I know are WoW addicts. One guy didn't show up for over a month
- Arcae, on 01/04/2009, -0/+28-50 dkp for missing raid because of job interview.
- oboshoe, on 01/04/2009, -1/+29"The respondent even commented that MMO players were no worse than those that pick up hookers, smoke pot, or sing on the church choir."
Thats a relief. Tomorrow, after church, I'm finally going to get my character up to level 80 and to celebrate, I'm going to bang a couple hookers and get stoned. - TotalHalibut, on 01/04/2009, -6/+33 Quite. 'WoW addict'? Really? Come on, even the 'gaming addiction' clinic in Amsterdam says that 90% of 'gaming addicts' aren't addicts at all, and the 10% that are suffer from an addictive personality, it's nothing to do with the game - (source - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7746471.stm)
No, what you were was a guy with his priorities in the wrong place, and an inability to appropriately manage his time. There is a way to fix this, it involves 'growing up'. - Rubyss, on 01/04/2009, -1/+28classes can be protected? I thought only methods and properties.
- papashawn, on 01/04/2009, -1/+28Well *****, I wouldn't either.
- 80 undead warlock, Durotan - fattony80, on 01/04/2009, -4/+31Because my work suffered while I was playing.
- Idietired, on 01/04/2009, -1/+27I miss my 64 ... I used to play Starfox all the time.
- solmakou, on 01/04/2009, -0/+26I have never let minesweeper get in the way of performing my duties.
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