The Myth of the Resume Gap

[_TKO_]

Just added this thread to my favs in case I ever go full-time, come back, and need good lines on my resume.

I'm a big fan of being totally honest on your resume. Everything you do in life has an impact; find the positive spin on it and you're gold.

[bkholdem]

I don't know if this has been mentioned in the thread or not but something I've heard is a concern (and can see why) is that playing poker is like running your own business. You are the one in control and the decision maker answering only to yourself. Someone from this background can be difficult to manage and supervise and have problems functioning in a team environment.

I have heard some very successful people say they would not want to hire someone who has run thier own business for a long time for the above reasons. 15 months isn't long, but this is just some food for thought.

[Richas]

[ QUOTE ]

I don't believe everyone knows someone who plays poker. Because of the social circles we are in, we THINK everyone plays or knows someone who plays. Every TV segment I have seen about online gambling on the networks cast it in a negative light. Just because WE watch WSOP and WPT doesn't mean everyone does. I believe only a tiny fraction of americans watch these shows.


[/ QUOTE ]

How many Americans watch House? I just watched the episode where House kicks ass by mobile in the hospital fundraiser tournament.

How many watch Star Trek with their regular home game including Stephen Hawkings?

Presidents play poker, Hollywood stars play poker it is part of the folklore of the American West.....far better to tell the truth than lie.

[_TKO_]

[ QUOTE ]
I have heard some very successful people say they would not want to hire someone who has run thier own business for a long time [...]

[/ QUOTE ]

I find it interesting if that's the case. I would think that companies seek leaders.

[Fishy McDonk]

It is interesting to hear the perspectives of hiring managers, but none of you have said you actually hired someone who admitted to being a professional poker player. If you have, how did you go about justifying the decision to your own boss? I think the % of hiring managers out there who would appreciate the concept of a "poker pro" is very small.

Lying on a resume: skip this section if you have scruples.

Advantages:

1-gets you more interviews in this "numbers game"
2-more interviews mean more possible job offers

Disadvantages:

1-some prospective employers check out your story "before" hiring you and you don't get a job offer (Of course many of these would not have interviewed you to begin with if you had told the truth)

2-possibility of an employer checking you out "after" they hire you and then firing you. (Although this is a possibility, I think it is remote. Why would someone who was inclined to check you out go thru all the paperwork hassle of hiring you first? Naturally, it will be humiliating getting fired, but from a practical point of view, you are basically where you would be if you had told the truth; unemployed. Just put it behind you and continue the numbers game). This actually happened to a friend of mine, but it was a freak accident (not because of a post hiring check). His new boss took him and a couple of his co-workers to a local restaurant and one of my friend's neighbors happened to be there and he came up and inadvertently said something that exposed the lie. This was a very unusual situation because he worked near where he lived. They were actually going to let him keep the job, but he decided he didn't want the job anyway and then started day-trading.

[dustyn]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know if this has been mentioned in the thread or not but something I've heard is a concern (and can see why) is that playing poker is like running your own business. You are the one in control and the decision maker answering only to yourself. Someone from this background can be difficult to manage and supervise and have problems functioning in a team environment.

I have heard some very successful people say they would not want to hire someone who has run thier own business for a long time for the above reasons. 15 months isn't long, but this is just some food for thought.

[/ QUOTE ]

It depends on the company. This is a valid point, though. Some companies see self-employed types as "disloyal to the man" and unlikely to stick around. Other companies embrace this type of person because they get more done and know how to be independent. If you are a self-employed type, I'd try to find a company who aligns itself and embraces this type of personality, because you will ultimately be more successful than if you work somewhere that frowns on this type of personality.

There are more self-employed people than ever before, so this type of profile is way more common than it was 30 years ago. So many people have internet ventures/businesses that companies who discount people with self-employment histories are really missing out on lots of great candidates. But like me and a couple others have said, those companies probably suck anyway, if they are insecure enough to not hire people with a work history that requires them to take some sort of initiative.

[Fishy McDonk]

[ QUOTE ]

How many Americans watch House? I just watched the episode where House kicks ass by mobile in the hospital fundraiser tournament.

How many watch Star Trek with their regular home game including Stephen Hawkings?

Presidents play poker, Hollywood stars play poker it is part of the folklore of the American West.....far better to tell the truth than lie.

[/ QUOTE ]

Playing poker as a hobby or in a home game while you are employed in your usual trade is not going to be perceived the same way that a "professional gambler" is perceived. Richard Nixon partially financed his first political campaigns with his poker winnings but you can be sure he never brought it up in his campaigns.

Not sure what watching Star Trek has to do with anything. Are you going to put "trekkie" on your resume and hope that the managers you send it to are also "trekkies"?

[Hume]

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As a complete aside, I would ask you if you posted to any poker forums and what your handle was on those forums--you better be making good posts.

[/ QUOTE ]

sup big bro?

[Eratosthenes]

[ QUOTE ]
It is interesting to hear the perspectives of hiring managers, but none of you have said you actually hired someone who admitted to being a professional poker player. If you have, how did you go about justifying the decision to your own boss? I think the % of hiring managers out there who would appreciate the concept of a "poker pro" is very small.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have never been faced with a resume that contained some poker pro background. I have hired many people who had some non-traditional background. For example, you will occaisionally encounter someone who received an engineering degree and then went off and did something not related to engineering for a couple of years. I'm going to ask questions about why you made the decision to follow the path you did and why you have decided to return engineering. If you gained valuable experience during that 2 years, then you probably have a leg up on a new grad, but you are probably behind a candidate that has been working in engineering for those 2 years.

There are certainly some managers who will put the poker pros resume in the reject pile without further review. I suspect that this is well less than half the managers. You don't want to work for these dunces anyway. (OK, these guys aren't all dunces, there are some industries/jobs where you would not want to consider someone with a "gambling" background.) There are many, many managers who are able to think outside the box and see the benefit of alternative experiences.

[revots33]

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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"

[/ QUOTE ]

I really don't think this is a good recruiter/poor recruiter situation. It depends on the recruiter's personal feelings towards someone who gambles for a living. Are you saying all good recruiters will have no problem with someone who's played poker for a living?

Besides, a so-called "poor recruiter" could still have a job you want, so I don't see the point of jeopardizing your chances by making such a point of highlighting your poker playing on your resume.

I just think it's a lot more likely to hurt than help. And I certainly don't think that a couple good interviews or whatever is evidence to call the resume gap a "myth".