Should Staffing Professionals Consider “Gaming” Experience?
A recent Wall Street Journal article explored the growing trend that has some young job seekers listing their video game accomplishments as skills and achievements in the work related social media profiles and resumes. The article focused specifically on individuals who have used their accomplishments in the vastly popular World of Warcraft (WOW), produced by Blizzard Entertainment, due to its prominence and uniquely complex gaming experience. According to some avid fans of the game, many of the skills necessary to be successful guild leaders and campaign managers in WOW are directly applicable to their roles and duties as managers or project leaders. While some job candidates have found great success by adding their recreational accomplishments to their professional resumes, wide spread acceptance and praise over the virtues of video gaming is far from upon us.
But should the staffing industry encourage divulgence of these extracurricular activities to gain better insight into potential job candidates? Like any leisure activity, gamming can be very telling about an individual. Games have come into the spotlight recently as potentially useful staffing resource when trying to identify candidate’s skills. Some of the most commonly cited skills honed through video games are leadership and management skills, coordination, ability to follow directions and problem solve, diligence, task oriented and results driven, multi-tasking abilities and teamwork.
What can staffing professionals learn about an individual based on their outside interests and achievements? For years staffing personnel have used a candidate’s special interests to learn more about the personality of an individual. Many special skills and interests can be are very useful in work setting. For example a candidate who is interested in travel may not try to get out of a mandatory business trip or someone interested in digital art production might have graphic design skills or the aptitude to learn them. This information can also help staffers place candidates into positions where they will fit into the corporate culture. If nothing else they are a fantastic conversation starter to get candidates to open up about themselves and break some of the typical interview tension.
The staffing industry faces challenge and risks unique to their niche services and profession. At World Wide Specialty Programs we specialize in ensuring that staffing industry members receive the best Staffing Industry Insurance coverage and a full spectrum of other solutions for staffing professionals, from workers comp to professional liability. For more information about all our offerings please give us a call today at (877) 256-0468.