I read the Realm forums.. I always have thoughts and often I will type a reply.. but then never post it because then you need to filter out the forum trolls and rubbish to get to the real issue.. and in a completely non relevant forum discussion about who is the most famous on our server, someone commented “It’s not really something you can put on your resume now is it?”
and that started a discussion ( but not a new thread) about ” Would you employ someone who has they played wow? – Or was a GM or Officer in a Guild in Warcraft”
I think it slightly odd that they would put it on their resume. But I have in the past when I had ‘hobbies’ on my resume, put Kungfu, Writing and Singing on there, and when I did a year of Chinese Sword I had that on my resume too. Those activitys showed I was creative, active, the martial arts shows discipline ect ect.. But even though I used to play chess ( not necessarily well- but I was in the chess club at school ( shhhhhhhh ) ) Or Play trivial pursuit and monopoly, and Mech Warrior and Sims and Tomb Raider or even Dnd, I would never consider putting them on my resume but, if your in a management position WOW does have alot of real life skills which can cross over, but is it enough to be recognised as ‘real’ experience.
It would depend on how they sold their ingame learning skills to me as to whether they are useable.
Knowing about Gaming would give you additional questions to ask in the interview.
So your a Guild Master now..
How Big is your guild?
Whats your chain of command like?
Whats the aim/type of guild?
Show how an ingame experience can be used as a real life example?
Explain a difficult situation you have been in where you have had to performance manage someone.
You of course would have to talk about time management. ( I am writing this at lunch.. i am.. )
I think the job they do that some Gm’s that actually GM, or a raid leader are amazing.. the thought, planning, mothering, fathering, manageing, planning, ect ect eg like you can see that goes into it through a Guild master and BloggerChickgm.
Even though its game you are still dealing with real people, from all cultures and backgrounds, the sheer exposure to multitudes of people, and having to learn to work together. Or ignore.. ( silently curses the Battleground Leader that split an EOS into 4 groups and put the two priests – a shadow and holy – in the same group rendering my VE and VT useless. and yes I use VT in Bgs sometimes – more for the dot then the mana to stick on warriors with 16k health that are beating me up. ) Breath.
But yes. I think being a GM gives you transferable skills you can use in the real life. As long as you time manage and prioritise.
but having said that because unless I was applying to a ‘gamer’ friendly role or company.. then its not something I would put on my resume. Most people just wouldn’t understand, or know what questions to ask.
Provided by 
Pugnacious Priest's Warcraft Blog 
Well, I have certainly had roleplaying (ie. D&D) on resumes in the past, and list interests as computer games.
I figure that as you say, it shows I have a broad set of interests (obviously these aren’t the only things on my resume), and for each of those examples I have stories to back them up… Dungeon mastering, Club creation and management, Guild creation and management etc.
The inclusion of these things certainly hasn’t hindered me from getting jobs.. well at least I have been constantly employed for 23 years now. So I think it is about being able to back up stuff on your resume.
I could put that am a PHD that runs BHP, but I can’t back that up, so rather go with a gaming truth rather than a RL falsehood.
Having worked as a leader for a few years in RL, I actually think that raid leading and guild mastering takes skills that many leaders in RL lack. It’s extremely hard – if you want to perform it well – and it learns you tons about how to organize, lead and motivate people. So I’d definitly think it would be a great merit if I was hiring someone. But on the other hand I wouldn’t put my gaming experinces in my own CV.
Most people haven’t got a clue what it’s about, I’m afraid they would rather see it as a problem than as a merit.
I think that being a guild leader or a raid leader takes real leadership skills; I know that I have improved my teamwork and leadership skills significantly through my time playing WoW.
Unfortunately, I think that the way a lot of the world looks at Warcraft still makes it a hard thing to put on your resume for anything other than a hobby. I know that I’ve been in interviews where I have been asked for an example of my leadership skills, and I had a great example from being a guild leader – but sadly, I don’t think that would fly. People who don’t play the game simply don’t understand the skills that are necessary!
Zanderfin actually does put his GM experience on his applications as showed here.
http://zanderfin.blogspot.com/2008/07/wow-on-resume.html
I think it is very viable, but it would still be difficult for non gamers to take it seriously.
When written like that it certainly makes it documentable experience.. 🙂
None of my bosses, and very few of my co-workers, from a string of jobs have even heard of roleplaying games, let alone understand what’s involved. If they have, it’s probably through alarming newspaper reports about addiction and obsession. Sure I could try and explain why spending hours a week on a computer game is a worthwhile activity, but I’m not sure anyone would be convinced. I guess it depends on the kind of industry you’re in and the level of the job. It would be great for junior creative jobs, but probably not financial services!
Coincidentally, I’m having the same dilemma about my blog. My work touches on social media and online communications, so it is very useful to show I keep a blog myself. But revealing the nature of my blog is the same as putting WoW down as a hobby. Right now I opt for a vague interest in ‘blogging’ but I should probably make more of it.
I wouldn`t put WoW on my resume because almost no one will understand what that is and probably the employer would assume i sit and play 24/7.
But i learned some good skills from WoW. I was the recruitment and members officer for 1 year, kinda like HR Manager in RL 🙂
It was time consuming because I had to review the applications, interview the members, sometimes I would ask them to join Vent so I`m sure there aren`t 12 years old and then give them advice, see how they do in raids, and so on. Also I was responsible with kicking them out if they were bad so during those times some people hated me.
Perfect guide, well written I have to admit.