Recruiter told not to hire WoW players

[Surlyboi]

I wouldn't hire a WoW player to wipe my ass.

That said, the Music Man reference was a slice of fried gold.

[Tarami]

I can't say I disagree. I wouldn't have hired me in 2006.

Would you hire you now? I mean, has it made you less employable for life? Or did you go back to being as employable as before, or more so?

I would. I think I'm a more motivated worker post-WoW, mostly because it made me realize a few things about myself. Had me burned, if you like to put it that way. Every time when I think back at how I largely wasted two years and without really picking up any professional skill, it drives me to work harder. Every cloud has a silver lining.

But I still wouldn't have hired me back then.

[Venkman]

I think a lot of people go through and have gone through this. We all reach a point where we "peak" in obsession. Some try to keep that peak for much longer than they should. Others recognize that event for what it is: a wakeup call. My own was SWG circa 2002 when I probably spent 3/4 of my daytime and all of my night managing my energy business and city (with Slack). I'm glad I went through it because I've since largely been able to keep my distance since. Occasionally I might raid for a few weeks, but mostly I realize the depth of obsession I had then is pretty much done unless I want to change my lifestyle, which i don't.

It's around that time I started to observe how what people think they want in a game can be biased by how they used to be able to game. And I'm reminded of this for myself each time I try Eve again. I just can't do it. My lifestyle really does not support the way in which I want to play it, and there's better options for me for the kinds of things I can have fun in nowadays (get in, quest or fight, get out).

[kildorn]

So basically the thread boils down to "don't hire someone with an addiction, they might have conflicting priorities from the company" gotcha.

However, the OP's recruiter is pretty silly, considering that "don't hire WoW players" as avoiding that behavior is akin to "don't hire anyone who goes near the beer on beer fridays"

Avoid people who won't do work, but you're cutting yourself pretty badly if you eliminate a giant pool of potential recruits immediately. I will say that I get a bad vibe if people bring up video games or any other has-nothing-to-do-with-anything subject during an interview, but that's usually because I assume they're trying to run out the clock on real questions.

[Comstar]

I thought the current conventional wisdom when hiring someone is you want someone who fits the current office culture. IE- if the office culture is to talk about the latest WoW patch notes and why hunters need to be nerfed, it's a good fit for both sides.

[Lum]

Generally in the gaming industry, of course, there's nothing wrong with 'admitting' to playing the most popular MMO of all time. It's more unusual when someone *doesn't* play WoW. Here at Webwars I'd say we have 2 hardcore raiders, 4 or 5 casuals (I count myself there) and the rest (4-5) play shooters or strategy games.

Of course it's not *always* a good thing. I interviewed a designer once who was really burned out and asked what he did at his last job, and got "played WoW all day" as a response. Without irony.

[Raph]

Eep, I (accidentally) got this thread BoingBoinged. 1070 guests viewing. Hi, guests.

[ashrik]

Hello, gamer forum.

For the record, I don't think it's okay for employers to discriminate against MMO players. But on the other hand, I find it perfectly acceptable to exclude people who think discussing their MMO habits in an interview is a good thing. It's funny like that.

Although I'm sure that there are employers out there who'd like to know that 90% of the time, when you're not at work, you're at a computer.

[Slayerik]

It's just like any vice. Control it or it controls you.

And like any vice, don't admit to it in an interview!

[fuser]

I play WoW, I avoid the forums. Maybe search something on wowhead or mmo-champion for news time to time. If I have downtime and want to relax I'll take a look. But hell who doesn't lookup or pursue something of personal interest if they can at work.

It's all in moderation, no matter if its WoW, fantasy leagues, facebook, youtube/collagehumor(any video site of the day) your going to find people who are going to waste sometime. The problem is when people do it to excess, that it effects their work. Interviews are strictly suppose to avoid any personal questions as it can be used for discrimination but a counter to it, every time I have had one questions like "what sites do you visit for news to keep up on technology"  came up.

btw, a great answer would be infinite solutions..

[gehrig38]

Hit your milestones, meet your deadlines and put out kick ass content, assets, code, and I don't care what you do away from work.

[kildorn]

Hit your milestones, meet your deadlines and put out kick ass content, assets, code, and I don't care what you do away from work.

Unless it's insider trading. 

But really, the only reason to be concerned about WoW players at the office is if deployments keep getting delayed due to "naxx night"

[bleeder2112]

I am an owner of a technology company, and am also the manager of all of the technicians.

There was one instance where I had a SERIOUSLY ADDICTED EQ2 player working for me, and I have to say that it SO SERIOUSLY affected his performance that I had to let him go.

It was SO BAD that I:

- Had to block outbound RDP because he was RDP-ing to his desktop at home to play during idle time at work (which wasn't really idle time it was just time that the phone wasn't ringing, we had PLENTY to do, as I'm sure all consultants know).
- Had to block other random ports when he figured out how to run RDP on a non-standard port (like the next day, he wasn't dumb...)
- Had to tell him to shave because I could'nt send him to clients looking like that
- Had to tell him to go home and come back the next day rested enough to be effective (the new EQ2 world of whatever came out that week so he was up all hours playing it)
- Since he was a guild leader or something and posted FURIOUSLY on forums all day, I had to sit down and tell him that this was not important during working hours and he had to realize what was inevitable if he could not curtail his "addiction"

It was such a horrible problem!  I really tried to work it out, to get him to realize how ridiculous it was that we even had to be having the conversation when REAL LIFE was at stake.

I've played these games myself, and it's easy to get caught up in it, but after spending 3-4 hours one night MINING, CRAFTING, and doing whatever other "work" you needed to perform in order to better your character in this fake world I thought "This is the most retarded time sink I've ever fallen into!" and quit.  Completely.  It was fun, but man...

And after seeing someone do this to themselves and lose their job over it, I can honestly say that I agree with the person that said that they should avoid hiring people that play WoW, etc...

I understand that the addicts may respond to this post furiously as well, as it rubs against the grain of their carefully crafted rationalization (I can function in real life JUST FINE and play online games for 14 hours each day), but really, come on, can you honestly say that RUNNING A GUILD parallels leadership qualities in real life?  I mean, maybe a LITTLE, but mostly I think it's just a problem when it gets to the level that some people get to.  AT LEAST IN THE CASE OF THIS EX-EMPLOYEE, I found this to be true.  Maybe I'm over generalizing, but I have a lot of friends that fell into the same trap.  SO, if you have a gaming problem to the point that your rationalization includes "MMOG Leadership qualities" I think you need to do a reality check.  As it is, reading REDDIT once an hour causing me issues at work, imagine having the NEED to play an online game? 

[DraconianOne]

Made Massively too.

[fuser]

Made Massively too.

It made reddit's front page too. Good job on keeping SMF going guys 

[Lucas]

Hit your milestones, meet your deadlines and put out kick ass content, assets, code, and I don't care what you do away from work.

Yep, guess it goes down to that; the "tendency" might indicate it is just wishful thinking when it comes to MMOGs, but again, at least for now, we can only gather a collection of single, positive and negative (like the one posted above by Bleeder) experiences.

(hello 1184 anonymous cowards/lurkers guests :P)

[DraconianOne]

I know of someone whose wife took their kids and left him and whose friends gave up on him because of his particular obssession. It made him quite ill in the end and he was advised by his doctor to take it easy. Recruiters would probably have loved him though because his obssession was work: he was a high-flyer in some company and he spent all of his time in the office and all of his time away from the office thinking about or doing stuff for work.

Last I heard, he'd been been made redundant.

[trias_e]

I've played these games myself, and it's easy to get caught up in it, but after spending 3-4 hours one night MINING, CRAFTING, and doing whatever other "work" you needed to perform in order to better your character in this fake world I thought "This is the most retarded time sink I've ever fallen into!" and quit.  Completely.  It was fun, but man...

Getting seriously addicted to these games usually requires a sort of disconnect from the world around you in the first place.  Whether it's an issue of incompetence, apathy, or active hatred of the 'real world'.  One friend of mine who has played 15 hours a day and wasted his college years, simply has no prospects.  Never had a girlfriend, never had a job that fulfilled him in any way.  His playing is a reaction to a view of the outside world as both inaccessible and a waste of time.*

Is it any surprise that a peon might choose to live in a fantasy world where he has influence and is well known and liked?  I guarantee his job didn't fulfill him in the same way that playing the game did.  Which is kind of a sad state of affairs.  There's no doubt also a large impact from failure and/or withdrawal from the mating game, which is one of the biggest motivators to make money and be socially successful in the first place.  Games like this can offer escape from the harsh reality of being a male loser in the mating game (whether it be a genuine fact or simply a perception). 

*I've wasted my college years similarily, but as I simply cannot do something for 15 hours a day I mainly escape through a variety of activities including gaming, random interent browsing, basketball playing/watching, and alcohol.  : P.  I try to also 'escape' in what I consider good ways (reading philosophy, listening to good music, going on walks by myself or camping with friends), but these require effort, and the first things not so much.  

Anyways, yes, being totally addicted to a MMORPG is a sign that you don't care much for the real world, and thus will be doing just enough to scrape by.  Most WoW players aren't addicts though, so saying to not hire WoW players in general (which will be a massive percentage of the possible employee base in any technological field) is simply ridiculous.

[Nebu]

Most workaholics I've known were that way because they would rather be at work than face their home life. 

[MrHat]

Most workaholics I've known were that way because they would rather be at work than face their home life. 

It's a fine line I think.  I've seen it both as the core problem of just really really preferring work to everything else and as a symptom of a shitty home life.

[Mrbloodworth]

Most workaholics I've known were that way because they would rather be at work than face their home life. 

A mmo addiction by any other name.....

[naum]

f13 gets boing-boing-ed

[Soln]

you know, there's also sleep apnea they could go after if they're worried about people tired at work.  But then that would be illegal unethical something.   

[Soln]

f13 gets boing-boing-ed

this too shall pass

[Raph]

I feel guilty over the likely bandwidth bill. :(

[Mrbloodworth]

f13 gets boing-boing-ed

this too shall pass

(via Raph Koster)

[Slayerik]

I feel guilty over the likely bandwidth bill. :(

That's okay Raph, we still hate you. 

[schild]

I feel guilty over the likely bandwidth bill. :(

We would need to be on every major news aggregator every day all month long to even cap the bandwidth.

For the rest of you, does it matter? We don't have advertising. Unless guests donate, it's just a bigger number at the bottom.

The real question is: How many of these are WoW players looking for a job that can't get one because they don't put on their pants the same way as the rest of the world?

[HaemishM]

The question isn't whether you would hire a WoW player (as we all know from the official forums that the likely chance of any WoW player being a complete mouth-breathing retard is high). But would you hire someone you knew from f13?

If so, can I send you my resume.  

Fake edit: No, I do not need a job.

[Tale]

My employability in online media ... tricks to engage today's online users and make them click on stuff ... WoW players are probably too busy to click on my content.

Sometimes things do better than I expect

[schild]

I interviewed a designer once who was really burned out and asked what he did at his last job, and got "played WoW all day" as a response. Without irony.

The number of developers for whom this is true, I would imagine, just from folks I talk to, approaches an unsightly and unacceptable number.

[Phildo]

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that over 10 million people are currently unemployed in the United States.  Blizzard tells us that over 11 million people play WoW.  Wrath of the Lich King came out right when the market really started turning to shit.  Gentlemen, we have not yet hit rock bottom.

[Stormwaltz]

And now Kotaku'd.

[Soln]

Having been a major MMO player for the better part of the past 8 years [which is older than some of WoW's sub base], I can't help but agree with the prospective employers' concerns.

too funny.  Everyone agrees.

edit: grammar snake

[schild]

Of course they do, they're forced to, they've seen the WoW forums.

I also probably wouldn't hire someone who listened to Britney Spears on repeat, all day, every day.