Writing my CV - Include Poker?

Originally posted by IngridN
Why shouldn't you add it?

be proud of it, many people can't understand the poker world so you'll have a chance now to stand up and explain people how poker works and how it changed your mindset/view on life (if).

Poker isn't just a game but also an activity which requires huge amount of study, self discipline and hard work to succeed at. If anything, this is positive and shows you're willing to put a lot of effort into things and could possibly be a great factor to remember of you by the interviewer.

don't you think? aren't you proud of your successes and don't you wanna tell people how hard it is actually to play (even if its just micro stakes) professionally/occasionally ?

Ingrid

This!

I would, without question place this on my CV. In fact, I already have done in the past.

The days of Poker being a back alley game played in a smoke filled underground room are LONG gone. Certain people may still have this opinion, however, are we going to say nothing and not educate them otherwise?

Education, education, education!

If they don't know, they don't learn imo.

From a personal point of view, I had an interview for a job around 4 years ago and on my CV I had mentioned Poker as a hobby. At the time and now still, I play recreationally and for fun or in other words to keep my sanity.

The interviewer stopped and asked all about my poker activity and he had a genuine interest. I explained to him the ins and outs as clear as I could and I believe I changed his mindset on our beautiful game.

So stand up and be proud of your hobby! If the person doesn't like it, then the chances are they are ignorant and you wouldn't want to work for them in the first place!

You won't know until you try!

Best of luck,
Gary

Originally posted by Alficor1
Tbh i wouldnt include poker unless you have some reasonable success. Which, in your case, i dont think you have. Simply because its imo kinda ridiculous to include it in cv, and then if they ask you how much success you had you'll say something like "Oh, i won like $500 in past year, you know, im doing fine".

Imo you don't have to include money when someone asks how much success you have had, you can reply with "well I'm beating/have beaten x stakes comfortably over y amount of hands and am on my way to beating my current stakes by putting the following skills into practise bla bla"

This imo makes it sound much more respectable and less degen than saying i won 500 bucks or whatever the case may be

I'm not sure I would. IMHO, poker still has a big stigma, at least in my country, as the average person doesn't look at it as a game of ability.

If I were you, I'd either omit it altogether, or put it AND write right next to it exactly what it taught you (discipline, money management, keeping calm in the face of adversities, etc).

Although I don't think that writing $ amounts is advisable I definitely agree with alot that Fongie spoke about.

If you are applying for a job that you can use your poker skills for then it is a really good addition or "top up" to your CV. I know jobs such as Trading are always keen to hire poker players and actually Wall Street have head hunters who try to lure in poker players.

If you are going for a job where poker is totally unrelated and you have not been playing professionally then I would probably not speak about it in great depth. There is a big difference between talking about key skills & attributes and hobbies and interests.

If you're applying for a job in a supermarket/call centre then talking about playing poker as a key skill will most likely come across degen and have a negative impact as it doesn't have anything to do with customer service etc.

So I guess that first of we should try to work out. Has poker and the skills that poker requires got anything to do with the job that I am applying for? If not then we should put it on the hobbies and interest section, although even then it is probably better to write about sports imo.

Originally posted by HollyMichelle

The days of Poker being a back alley game played in a smoke filled underground room are LONG gone. Certain people may still have this opinion, however, are we going to say nothing and not educate them otherwise?

Education, education, education!

If they don't know, they don't learn imo.

I understand your point, but there's a time and place for everything. When you're interviewing for a job, you're in a pretty delicate and precarious situation. Why should you be the one to educate the interviewer? Better to play it safe imo. Like I said before, I'd either omit it or explain right in the resume what it taught you.

So stand up and be proud of your hobby! If the person doesn't like it, then the chances are they are ignorant and you wouldn't want to work for them in the first place!

In this economy?

Originally posted by HollyMichelle

Originally posted by IngridN
Why shouldn't you add it?

be proud of it, many people can't understand the poker world so you'll have a chance now to stand up and explain people how poker works and how it changed your mindset/view on life (if).

Poker isn't just a game but also an activity which requires huge amount of study, self discipline and hard work to succeed at. If anything, this is positive and shows you're willing to put a lot of effort into things and could possibly be a great factor to remember of you by the interviewer.

don't you think? aren't you proud of your successes and don't you wanna tell people how hard it is actually to play (even if its just micro stakes) professionally/occasionally ?

Ingrid

This!

I would, without question place this on my CV. In fact, I already have done in the past.

The days of Poker being a back alley game played in a smoke filled underground room are LONG gone. Certain people may still have this opinion, however, are we going to say nothing and not educate them otherwise?

Education, education, education!

If they don't know, they don't learn imo.

From a personal point of view, I had an interview for a job around 4 years ago and on my CV I had mentioned Poker as a hobby. At the time and now still, I play recreationally and for fun or in other words to keep my sanity.

The interviewer stopped and asked all about my poker activity and he had a genuine interest. I explained to him the ins and outs as clear as I could and I believe I changed his mindset on our beautiful game.

So stand up and be proud of your hobby! If the person doesn't like it, then the chances are they are ignorant and you wouldn't want to work for them in the first place!

You won't know until you try!

Best of luck,
Gary

I disagree with the majority of this Gary. I think in an interview process trying to educate those who are hiring is not the wisest idea. If they ask to speak in depth about a passion that you have and you are able to do a full presentation showing ev etc then perhaps, but this is just not the case in interviews.

Educate is fine, but I think there is a time and place. For example if I was a manager of a clothes shop and somebody came for an interview and when asking them about their interests they said poker and I uneducatedly replied "Isn't that gambling?" only to be met with a 30 minute tirade from the applicant I would probably give him the 1 minute thanks but no thanks response.

Like I spoke ^^^ if I was an employer for a financial investor who was trying to find a new enthusiastic, smart and determined trainee then I would be really interested in how he used mathematics, studying and psychology in his last few years as a professional poker player.

I understand your point, but there's a time and place for everything. When you're interviewing for a job, you're in a pretty delicate and precarious situation. Why should you be the one to educate the interviewer? Better to play it safe imo. Like I said before, I'd either omit it or explain right in the resume what it taught you.

Why not though, from my previous personal experience it worked out really well.

Imagine not mentioning it at all and qualifying for a WPT/EPT/WSOP main event or something. What are you going to do then?

Also it doesn't matter about the levels that you play. It's about using the skills that you have acquired to your advantages. If an NL2 player can articulate themselves better than a NL1000 player then they will have a better chance at getting the job. Employers DON'T CARE about how much $ you have made from poker, but the skills that you have acquired from poker.

Look at this guy - chipstar1

Showing an employer that he has played NL2 for 2 years and been so disciplined is so good and would come across as super impressive in an interview.

Originally posted by pleno1

I disagree with the majority of this Gary. I think in an interview process trying to educate those who are hiring is not the wisest idea. If they ask to speak in depth about a passion that you have and you are able to do a full presentation showing ev etc then perhaps, but this is just not the case in interviews.

Educate is fine, but I think there is a time and place. For example if I was a manager of a clothes shop and somebody came for an interview and when asking them about their interests they said poker and I uneducatedly replied "Isn't that gambling?" only to be met with a 30 minute tirade from the applicant I would probably give him the 1 minute thanks but no thanks response.

Like I spoke ^^^ if I was an employer for a financial investor who was trying to find a new enthusiastic, smart and determined trainee then I would be really interested in how he used mathematics, studying and psychology in his last few years as a professional poker player.

Well it's all dependant on a lot of different things Patrick.

I just gave my 2 cents on a previous personal experience from a few years back. It's up to the OP to do what he feels is right for him.

Don't think a 30 minute tirade is what I was speaking about above, just a casual mention and answering whatever was asked would suffice here.

Going into a interview with a defeatist attitude is ridiculous imo. Yes it's scary, yes it's potentially life changing but you are who you are and if you can't be yourself, why bother then? If you're not being yourself then you're not being truthful to your potential employer.

If you are the right person for the job and you have the qualifications or the know how then I don't see why being a Poker player is going to effect your chances.

Originally posted by HollyMichelle

Going into a interview with a defeatist attitude is ridiculous imo. Yes it's scary, yes it's potentially life changing but you are who you are and if you can't be yourself, why bother then?

I don't think just because you don't want to mention that you are a poker player means you are being defeatist. I think there is a big difference between realistic and defeatist. Whilst poker isn't the game in the back alleys that you spoke about before, if any employer did take a sudden interest and do a quick research into poker they wouldn't see a perfect trouble free world. Bots, scamming, multiaccounting etc etc.

Originally posted by HollyMichelle

If you're not being yourself then you're not being truthful to your potential employer.

Just because you don't mention you're being a poker player doesn't mean you're not being truthful to your employer. If you like to go out on a Friday night and have 10 beers it doesn't mean you should tell your potential boss in an interview.

Originally posted by HollyMichelle

If you are the right person for the job and you have the qualifications or the know how then I don't see why being a Poker player is going to effect your chances.

But if you are adamant that you are the right person for the job and all the qualifications are fine etc then why risk mentioning about being a poker player. If you are indeed the "perfect person for the job" then poker can only have a negative impact on the result of the interview imo. Poker should only be mentioned in an interview if you think it is going to have a positive impact on the chances of you getting the job.

Don't get me wrong I've mentioned poker in previous interviews and like to speak passionately about it, hence how I have ended up at Pokerstrategy.com.. I was personally asked in a previous interview would I give up playing poker if I was given a job. I told them if an employer asked me to do that then I would rather not work for somebody who wanted to dictate my social life.

I don't think just because you don't want to mention that you are a poker player means you are being defeatist. I think there is a big difference between realistic and defeatist. Whilst poker isn't the game in the back alleys that you spoke about before, if any employer did take a sudden interest and do a quick research into poker they wouldn't see a perfect trouble free world. Bots, scamming, multiaccounting etc etc.

I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. I play poker (never going to be a pro, never going to win millions of $$) but I'm hugely proud of this and I will always stand up for what I believe in.

Yes, there have been many negative impacts in this industry these last 12 months but we're still alive and kicking and the only way is up from here.

Just because you don't mention you're being a poker player doesn't mean you're not being truthful to your employer. If you like to go out on a Friday night and have 10 beers it doesn't mean you should tell your potential boss in an interview.

Well you are not being 100% truthful to yourself is what I am trying to point out here. This would bug me personally, maybe not so much other people. Although, I do like the sound of 10 beers right now

But if you are adamant that you are the right person for the job and all the qualifications are fine etc then why risk mentioning about being a poker player. If you are indeed the "perfect person for the job" then poker can only have a negative impact on the result of the interview imo. Poker should only be mentioned in an interview if you think it is going to have a positive impact on the chances of you getting the job.

Agreed, if it doesn't relate to the job, then I wouldn't be in as much pains to mention it. I still feel I would have it on my CV and if the interviewer asks about it, I would just give my general detail and wouldn't mention too much about it. However, if it does, then I feel like you do that it would be +EV here.

Don't get me wrong I've mentioned poker in previous interviews and like to speak passionately about it, hence how I have ended up at Pokerstrategy.com.. I was personally asked in a previous interview would I give up playing poker if I was given a job. I told them if an employer asked me to do that then I would rather not work for somebody who wanted to dictate my social life.

I would have said the exact same thing. Work is work, but after work then I control my time.

Originally posted by pleno1