Hi. I'm going to be applying for QA positions in the next few weeks so I've been working on a resume and cover letter. I have a pretty extensive background playing games competitively and I was wondering if this would be something I should include in my resume or if I should leave it out. Would that be of any benefit to me to include or would it be considered irrelevant or make me seem arrogant?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, I know QA and competitive gaming are entirely different things. From the perspective of a developer I can imagine that having testers who are good at the game they're testing would be a valuable asset, but I have no idea how people in HR would view putting things like gaming experience on a resume.
Thanks for the insight.
Moving this to Breaking In. Shake, you should read FAQ 5, and some of the other Breaking In FAQs.
I have a pretty extensive background playing games competitively and I was wondering if this would be something I should include in my resume
It doesn't belong in a resume, really. You WILL be asked about games you've played, if you get an interview. You can mention your background in your cover email - and maybe allude to it in your "profile" section of your resume, if you have one.
That was written before I noticed the "competitively" in what you said. If you were a pro gamer,and you were paid to do it, you MUST include it, as you would any job.
If you did it just for fun and glory, it's worth mentioning, but you'll need to show (by what's in your resume and how you write your cover email) that you are a communicator and technical problem solver, not only a player.
I have no idea how people in HR would view putting things like gaming experience on a resume.[/quote]
They will probably assume you would get bored quickly and quit.
Depends if you think you can express it to your benefit. I.e. How has Competitive Game Playing helped you better understand QA?
As long as you have a selection of good answers, it probably would help you. Of course you should make sure you express how it is related in your resume.
for instance,
- Submitted [#] bugs to [company name] relating to [game]
- Used QA Experience to determine [game]'s weak points and exploit them.
- Methodical approaches used in gaming would apply to QA work because of
- - Strong attention to detail,
- - Tree/List building to break down application/game mechanics and determine weak points.
- - Discussions with other players to identify defects over intended game mechanics/Business Logic.
Of course it also matters where you are interviewing. Is this the sort of place you think has a sense of humor? of so, go for it. When I went to work at Microsoft, in QA, I included Foosball on my resume, because I knew they had a table in the break room. I got the offer.
However, it is my experience the the farther east you go, the less people have a sense of humor in the work place.
If they seem more polished, suit wearing, etc... you may want to refrain. Just include what you can easily make your resume work.
Remember, most places don't have a checklist of point-based questions in an interview, so the person who gets the job is the one who makes the best general impression. Having game experience on your resume might give you that memorable/likable edge over the other candidates.
hpdvs2 brought up a good point that I think everyone can benifit from; do your research before applying and tailor your resume to suit. The fact that you learned they had a foosball table in their break room and customized your resume to reflect that may show the person hiring that you have attention to detail and are really interested in the company. Every resume you put out there should be custom made or edited to fit with the position and company you are applying to.
It doesn't have to be something silly either. If a company has a history of developing for a specific platform and you've worked on something relating to the platform, you should include it in your resume. Just use some common sense and you'll do fine. 
