Job Recruiters Told Not to Hire WoW Players?
- Thread starter Keane Ng
- Start date
It's entirely fair. If they are paying someone to do what they want, you will do exactly what they want, or they will find someone else who will. It is not your right to get a job with them, and if they don't like the fact that you play games like WoW, tough shit. Guess that's not the job for you.
I was asked if I played WOW at an interview once. My response was "I have heared of it, but dare not play it for fear of it consuming all my free time," which was true. I got the job by the way.
In a job interview, if anyone asks you a question about your hobbies, particularly gaming, lie. Your hobbies, while almost completely irrelevant to your job, can inspire categorization as one of "those people."
Some employers are going far enough to feel that if your mind isn't always "on the job" that you're not going to be appropriately productive. Basically they feel that they own your ass for the 40+ hours a week you're at work and if you spend too much time thinking about WoW they don't want you in their company.CoziestPigeon said:
Wait, did he just compare PC gaming to getting spanked with a leather whip...?Keane Ng said:
Anyway. I can understand that a WoW addict might get distracted too often, going to WoW forums and what not, but to instruct people not to hire any WoW players is a bit much.
Playing world of warcraft is something I wouldn't even admit in casual company.
Mentioning it to an online company-- one where the interviewer knows what the game is-- is not bright. I wouldn't hire a wow player either, and when I'm doing the hiring, I plan on asking. Not that its any worse than crack\hooker\booze addictions, but i know when i played i gained 15 pounds and accomplished nothing at work for a year.
Just like the question "should I get the giant spider tatoo on my face?" should answer itself when your dream job is in commercial pharm. sales.
Mentioning it to an online company-- one where the interviewer knows what the game is-- is not bright. I wouldn't hire a wow player either, and when I'm doing the hiring, I plan on asking. Not that its any worse than crack\hooker\booze addictions, but i know when i played i gained 15 pounds and accomplished nothing at work for a year.
Just like the question "should I get the giant spider tatoo on my face?" should answer itself when your dream job is in commercial pharm. sales.
Haven't you heard of that monitering software that's being developed? Soon some more paranoid employers will be able to moniter the productivity levels of their employees through invasive, almost Big Brother Esque means, things like eye movement, heart rate, persperation etc, There's also that new employment test in the works that is supposidly impossible to lie too.ckeymel said:
To be fair to the guy as well as the employer, the interviewer may have asked the question that lead to the response he gave. When I applied for the job I have now, they asked me what I liked to do in my spare time, and I'm pretty sure the fact that I liked to spend my time online counted against me, but then I said that I rode a motorcycle and suddenly I was OK again.
The point is though A LOT of World of Warcraft or big time MMO players let it effect there life so it's easier for employers to go "NEXT" then figure out if it's something thats gonna effect your work or not.ckeymel said:
Bingo.ckeymel said:
It's just discrimination, but of someone's hobbies instead of the usual sex/race/disability discrimination we hear about more frequently for refusing someone a job. And to those who don't know, using a personal-trait to decline someone a job unless that trait is illegal in the country/state they are in, or they have specifically stated in the company's job profile, is illegal (at least in the UK).
If the interviewer can PROVE that playing WoW will adversely affect that potential worker while during work hours, then thats fine. If the potential worker knows his limitations and keeps it to their self, not allowing their hobby to encroach on his work performance, then there isn't any reason to NOT hire them.
It's like declining someone a job in an office merely because they occasionally eat a whole forest gateau during the weekend. If the activity is legal and doesn't affect the worker adversely during work hours, then the company have got no right to decline a job on these grounds. If this in turn makes the person fat and the position is for a male/female model, then thats perfectly fine if stated. But out-of-working hours hobbies etc can NOT be used as an excuse if it has no impact on the worker's ability to perform the work profile.
Well let's see, judging by the fact that the productivity of my sole group member who plays WoW is constantly down because he is constantly playing WoW, I can say that it certainly does affect it.
I don't think they should be allowed to reject immediately, but the thing is the stereotype is there for a reason.
I don't think they should be allowed to reject immediately, but the thing is the stereotype is there for a reason.
I'm pretty sure you could take this to equal opportunities and (possibly) win. Avoiding applicants is one thing, specifically stating "do not hire WoW players" is another.
If by some miracle you then actually got the job, resign the next day just to prove a point (probably a bad idea, but amusing nonetheless.)
Edit: I actually put a comment in my resume about playing online games (CS, NS, etc.), and I still got the job.
If by some miracle you then actually got the job, resign the next day just to prove a point (probably a bad idea, but amusing nonetheless.)
Edit: I actually put a comment in my resume about playing online games (CS, NS, etc.), and I still got the job.
Strange. Why would a job application hinge on wheather or not your a leve 75 Shaman? It just seems incredibly prejudice, a employer shouldn't hire base on what you do on your free time.
It's a trick HR question. They don't care if you play WoW; they already know, using their HR mind tricks. They just want to know whether or not you'd admit it. Then they reject you because you're "Overqualified" or because the position "Does not meet with your ambition".
Y'know, the same things they put down when you're the wrong religion/colour.
Y'know, the same things they put down when you're the wrong religion/colour.