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I think this varies from person to person but I've been playing World of Warcraft since its release, and have lead an 80 person guild for a long time now. You'd be surprised at what I have to deal with in terms of organization, creating meetings, and dealing with "people" issues. Attendance, performance, and ethics all have to be maintained in the guild. Its really been a great learning experience and something that I can easily use at work. It gave me the opportunity to learn leadership skills that I may have never attained had I not started playing.
I totally agree.
I am in an admin position of a very large gaming guild.(we just went from one game to a multi-gaming guild)
We have over 450 active members from across the world in different games. I have learned what is proper etiquette when talking with people from other countries/cultures,conflict resolution skills,time managment, working under a deadline, deligation of authority,and more than a few SQL tricks/tweaks from other members of my guild.
Along with dealing with attendance, administering discipline, and ethics issues I have also learned some diplomacy skills in dealing with troublemakers(usually kids and sometimes some adults)
Also as a representive/ambassador for my guild when dealing with other guilds I have learned the art of selling my guild as I attempt to forge alliances.These skills come in handy in my everyday job.
I have also learned the hard way to NOT allow my gaming to interfere with my normal job.
Would I hire a gamer for a position in my company?...yes as long as they can show/tell me how gaming has also taught them these things too.
I am in an admin position of a very large gaming guild.(we just went from one game to a multi-gaming guild)
We have over 450 active members from across the world in different games. I have learned what is proper etiquette when talking with people from other countries/cultures,conflict resolution skills,time managment, working under a deadline, deligation of authority,and more than a few SQL tricks/tweaks from other members of my guild.
Along with dealing with attendance, administering discipline, and ethics issues I have also learned some diplomacy skills in dealing with troublemakers(usually kids and sometimes some adults)
Also as a representive/ambassador for my guild when dealing with other guilds I have learned the art of selling my guild as I attempt to forge alliances.These skills come in handy in my everyday job.
I have also learned the hard way to NOT allow my gaming to interfere with my normal job.
Would I hire a gamer for a position in my company?...yes as long as they can show/tell me how gaming has also taught them these things too.
I have been gaming since the early 1980s (yes, a long time) and I believe that gaming has greatly improved my value as an employee, While Wally is mainly talking about MMOs, I think the Infocom Text Adventure games had an impact on the way I approach problems. It is very difficult for me to accept that a problem does not have a solution - you just have to find the right approach.
The ability to manage and collaborate with a diverse group, with varying skill levels is the way "knowledge workers" have to work to get things done. A MMO only reinforces that perspective.
The ability to manage and collaborate with a diverse group, with varying skill levels is the way "knowledge workers" have to work to get things done. A MMO only reinforces that perspective.
There is a significant difference between the average gamer and a guild leader in an MMO. One can cause trouble, be selfish, steal off his colleagues and switch from guild to guild.
The other has to deal with the first sort and maintain structure and cooperation between many diverse types of players.
All gamers are not the same. The important aspect is the term "leader". Guild officers in MMO games are usually respected as well, but in my 14 years of online gaming I would probably only consider employing about 30% of the people I've met..
The other has to deal with the first sort and maintain structure and cooperation between many diverse types of players.
All gamers are not the same. The important aspect is the term "leader". Guild officers in MMO games are usually respected as well, but in my 14 years of online gaming I would probably only consider employing about 30% of the people I've met..
"Only" 30% of the people in 14 years? Any person working with recruitment and HR would say thats a high number of possibly hires for a qualified job. I am a Project Manager myself and have been playing alot of MMOs on my spare time the last 10 years. I would and say that the one thing that i have learned to do better from gaming in MMOs is grinding, i.e. working hard for a long time with hardly no rewards towards a bigger goal, without giving up.
I meant that I would only even bother reading a CV from 30% of people. They would obviously have to be qualified as well.
The point about grinding is true and the 30% would fit in that category, working hard for stuff that doesn't really exist (bit like profits in a downturn).
The other 70% are quick fix, power game, non loyal exploiters, they often don't last long in guilds and I expect they probably don't last that long in jobs either.
The point about grinding is true and the 30% would fit in that category, working hard for stuff that doesn't really exist (bit like profits in a downturn).
The other 70% are quick fix, power game, non loyal exploiters, they often don't last long in guilds and I expect they probably don't last that long in jobs either.
Who has time for games? Between work, my family and my house, I don't have time to invest in role-playing online games ( and it requires a lot of time, always has, even when the games were board games ) Any spare time that I have for on-line is for research and keeping up with the industry ( and downloading music, gotta have my music ).
This sounds like someone trying to justify themselves or using an undersized sample. Since they represent a cross section of the population, I think it would be safe to say gamers as a group have no more or no less leadership skills than the rest of the population. The leadership skills of guild leaders probably measure up nicely against the skills of bowling league presidents, kids sports coaches, or choir directors. In other words, good leaders are a subset of the population and we should expect an even distribution of these leaders across all recreational activities. Applying this from the other direction I would say it is unwise to assume an individual has no leadership skills just because he/she is a gamer. The gamer has the same probability of having leadership skills as someone who gardens for a hobby.
Being a leader of an online guild is MUCH harder than it sounds. Try organizing a 40-player raid within your guild - you have to specify time, make sure you have the right mix of player types, assign group leaders, set communications guidelines, and act as traffic cop at the same time as you are involved in the raid. To top it off, everyone is only there for one purpose: to score loot. After those 3-4 hours is over, you lose all control over that individual. Leading a guild is a lot like leading a political rally - you are taking a wide cross-section of society and trying to focus them on a specific task for a few hours.
If you run an iron fist at work and everyone is meek little soldiers to your every command, you can get away with a smaller management skillset and probably don't need someone who has captained a guild. And let's be clear: I'm not advocating that being a guild leader automatically qualifies one for management. But having played several different online games, I can testify that it is pretty easy to find good leaders and tacticians among the MMO crowd. I wouldn't count out anyone who had led a successful assault on Ragnaros or taken over a starbase in 0.0 in EVE Online. Those events take planning, coordination, delegation, and control.
And don't knock gardeners either
If you run an iron fist at work and everyone is meek little soldiers to your every command, you can get away with a smaller management skillset and probably don't need someone who has captained a guild. And let's be clear: I'm not advocating that being a guild leader automatically qualifies one for management. But having played several different online games, I can testify that it is pretty easy to find good leaders and tacticians among the MMO crowd. I wouldn't count out anyone who had led a successful assault on Ragnaros or taken over a starbase in 0.0 in EVE Online. Those events take planning, coordination, delegation, and control.
And don't knock gardeners either
I'm not saying being a guild leader isn't hard. ALL leadership positions present challenges. That's a given.
My point is that including or excluding individuals from any normal population based on their preferred recreational activity is a fundamentally flawed concept. It is not supported by simple statistics.
My point is that including or excluding individuals from any normal population based on their preferred recreational activity is a fundamentally flawed concept. It is not supported by simple statistics.
Being a leader of an online guild is MUCH harder than it sounds. Try organizing a 40-player raid within your guild - you have to specify time, make sure you have the right mix of player types, assign group leaders, set communications guidelines, and act as traffic cop at the same time as you are involved in the raid. To top it off, everyone is only there for one purpose: to score loot. After those 3-4 hours is over, you lose all control over that individual. Leading a guild is a lot like leading a political rally - you are taking a wide cross-section of society and trying to focus them on a specific task for a few hours.
If you run an iron fist at work and everyone is meek little soldiers to your every command, you can get away with a smaller management skillset and probably don't need someone who has captained a guild. And let's be clear: I'm not advocating that being a guild leader automatically qualifies one for management. But having played several different online games, I can testify that it is pretty easy to find good leaders and tacticians among the MMO crowd. I wouldn't count out anyone who had led a successful assault on Ragnaros or taken over a starbase in 0.0 in EVE Online. Those events take planning, coordination, delegation, and control.
And don't knock gardeners either
If you run an iron fist at work and everyone is meek little soldiers to your every command, you can get away with a smaller management skillset and probably don't need someone who has captained a guild. And let's be clear: I'm not advocating that being a guild leader automatically qualifies one for management. But having played several different online games, I can testify that it is pretty easy to find good leaders and tacticians among the MMO crowd. I wouldn't count out anyone who had led a successful assault on Ragnaros or taken over a starbase in 0.0 in EVE Online. Those events take planning, coordination, delegation, and control.
And don't knock gardeners either
With comments like "I think" and "probably" dont really cut it when trying to make a claim yourself. While the main authors article is just a quick overview of an entire book it hardly digs deep into the type of specific data that was collected and analyzed (both quantitative or qualitative). Its nice to have an opinion, but dont bash someone elses claims unless you have read the information yourself.
There are a lot of aspects that the author hinted at but did not mention. Either as a GL/RL or simply a member you have time management, resource management, advanced preparedness, following instructions, knowledge retention, social & communication skills that employers pay good money to send people to seminars for. Maybe they should start to invest in gaming for employees, would be cheaper and hey who knows, maybe employees would become more loyal to the company!!!
While there are definitely some benefits to gaming, unfortunately some gamers become obsessed with it and then it affects their work. I have seen coworkers who have consistently come in late or have missed work for an entire day because they were up all night gaming. Like any good thing, it can be abused and it needs to be put into perspective.
I have seen much value to my own ability to work in and lead groups in a fun, relaxed way through my participation in an MMORPG. Given that the other players actually pay to play, the strategy of do it because I said so is not as effective as in the workplace, so you learn how to motivate people in positive ways instead, which in the end is so much more effective. The MMORPG has even helped me to clearly and effectively discover, understand, and change attributes about myself in social contexts which need improvement; where no manager or co-worker could enlighten me. The relaxed environment and lack of "job repercussions" allowed me to bring the defenses down enough to see room for improvement and to see how natural leaders help others to improve in positive ways.
If the person manages to leave the gaming world behind then they could become a valuable employee or leader. If they stay stuck in that world then of course no.
maj
maj
The author doesn't mention the large amount of slacker gamers who only give 20% of the time at work. The rest of the time they are planning gaming strategies at work and not working.
Well, that's probably true about a lot of nocturnal gamers but regarding that's how most people seem to behave at work it isn't too bad. Actually, that make gamers more effective since they sleep less and eat worse but have the same 20% effective work time window ;-D
I've found that there are lots benefits from playing MMOs besides the Carpal Tunnel, red eyes, wife agro (maybe last one will be hard to understand if you dont play and married LOL) and maybe some frustration; like team working, communication skills, leader ship, problem solving and planning.
But if know that, would you add playing MMOs as item in your CV?
But if know that, would you add playing MMOs as item in your CV?
I just landed a new job and mentioned my gaming experience. Well, let me clarify. I was asked what material or tech magazines I subscribe to and I mentioned TechRepublic and IGN's gaming site. I joked about how staying abreast of the latest gaming equipment correlates to my desire for learning and staying on top of new hardware and ways to make things faster. Also, in doing my research on my interviewers, one of them used to be a gaming programer before they worked for the company. So, since I landed the job, I don't think it hurt me, but I wouldn't bank on that as to why I got the job.
The gaming system, all lined up next to the interview table... to test if applicants really put in 80h of gaming a week, like they claim on their CV...
You can just print your WoW playtime-report and put in your CV. I actually use that even though it's really for parents to control their kids. I get reports about how much I play ones a week and I almost always think i have played much less than what the report says. It kind of opens your eyes to how easy it is too fool yourself.
Teamwork? - play soccer!
Fight and never give up? - practice judo!
Strategic thinking? play chess!
What i see in video games is so far from real life, let alone is too simple.
May be good to relax from complicated real life, though.
Fight and never give up? - practice judo!
Strategic thinking? play chess!
What i see in video games is so far from real life, let alone is too simple.
May be good to relax from complicated real life, though.
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