[kiwi]

I manage a recruitment company, and spent 10 years working for what is now Monster.com. Here's my take on recruitment based on that: (albeit Asia PAcific Region)

Poor recruiters will ignore your resume based on Poker being a scary word
Good recruiters, or those that are poker fiends, will say - "Check out this poker guy - let's meet him tomorrow"

Poor recruiters have average clients and job openings, good ones the opposite. You will get exposure to less openings, but they will be relevant and interesting.

Everything is relative - if 50% of your resume is consumed by your Poker journey, you are looking at entry level roles anyway. If you have a great degree, 5 years with Microsoft, and play golf like Tiger, I'd interview you if you had just left jail.

You are possibly focussing too much on the detail of the Poker bit. "18 Months - Professional Poker PLayer/Author" may be better. Pad your resume with non-poker stuff, rather than the thing you are worried may be an issue.

Finally, good leaders hire based on ability and potential, not just experience. 90% of hiring managers want the same 10% of candidates. The smart, personable and innovative ones that will make them money. You simply need to get yourself in front of decision makers, and make sure your resume isn't flawed, as someone pointed out. The rest will be about your innate abilities relative to the other candidates.

Whatever you do, leave the shades and ipod at home, and don't yell "I've GOT THE STONE COLD NUTS" if you sense the interview is progressing well [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]