Job Interview - "What are your hobbies?"

[Mark Chance]

Re: Why?

Depends on the situation, Mark.

Maybe for you, but not for me. I just can't justify lying so easily.

I live in the deep South where there are probably more Baptist churches per capita than anywhere else in the country, and I've never felt compelled to hide my hobbies as if I'm some sort of criminal.

And that includes not hiding my hobbies from Baptist churchgoers I know socially or on the job, where I teach in a private religious school.

Maybe I'm fortunate in that I can literally count on one hand to number of people in the world who have opinions that I actually value.

 

[Tsyr]

Re: Re: Why?

Maybe for you, but not for me. I just can't justify lying so easily.

Is it a lie?

Yeah, I suppose, technicly. It's a lie through ommision. Strangely, though, I'm not going to loose sleep over it. Mostly because I don't actualy consider it a lie, as such. I mean, yes, I recognise that it is a lie in a technical sense. I just don't consider it relevent. I mean, I did tell them some hobies. It's not like I'm holding back anything that they need to know. (AKA, if I was a bungee jumper, I think that would be relevent... it could potentialy effect the length of my employment ).

I mean, to answer this question...

Why not just tell the truth?

well... that's very simple. Because you want the job, because it beats either being unemployed or flipping burgers, but you have a sneeking suspision that admitting you play DnD would hurt your chances of getting the job. I haven't been in that situation, yet, but I can easily concieve of it. And in that situation, yes, I would lie through ommosion and not mention I play DnD as one of my hobbies.

Though, to be honest, and to side track this on a slightly different topic... where does "hobby" start and "just something I do" end? I mean, how many people would really consider "watching TV" a hobby? I wouldn't. It's just something I do. Now, "watching anime" I probably would consider a hobby. So what's the difference?

I honestly can't tell, and that puzzles me.

Likewise, until I really thought about it just now, I didn't actualy consider playing DnD a hobby, per say. It was just something I did. I considered my Warhammer playing a hobby, but I never really considered my DnD playing a hobby... and again, why is that?

/me goes off to think in a corner for a while

 

[Joshua Randall]

A job interview has one primary purpose (for you, the job seeker): to get you a job offer. If you believe that saying you play D&D will harm your chances of getting a job offer, then don't admit that you play D&D. If you believe that saying you play D&D will help your chances of getting a job offer, then by all means talk it up.

 

[Hygric]

As with anything else about a job application, you try to maximise your chances.

I don't wear a tie and generally only bother to shave every few days. I also prefer to wear jeans and worn, but comfortable, doc martens. When I go for a job interview however, I wear a tie, shave, wear my best cloathes and otherwise try to present the best image possible. Is this lying or just applying 'advertising' to yourself?

A good friend of mine advised me once that when you are trying for a job, you are trying to sell that company a product, namely yourself. So promote yourself like a product (eewww, makes me feal all dirty and corporate to talk like that...).

Although, as to not telling them that my hobbies include role-playing games, I mention it among my interests on my resume and leave it at that. Role-playing has such a nice middle-management ring to it these days.

 

[mmu1]

Well... If you can afford the luxury of loosing job opportunities by being perfectly honest during a job interview, then I envy you.

Obviously, you owe it to yourself and the employer to be truthful when it comes to your skills and work experience, but when it comes to personal questions...

I can see it already...

Me: "Well, I like to do a lot of target shooting, and I collect firearms".

East Coast liberal arts major interviewer: .... "Really... What else do you do?" (besides training to be a serial murderer apparently)

Me: I read a lot, exercise, play rugby, but not as much as I'd like to now that I'm not in college...

ECLAMI: "That's nice" (you durnken misogynist violent jock pig)

Me: "Oh, and I play Dungeons and Dragons with my friends"

ECLAMI: "Ah... Is that anything like the movie?"

Obviously an exaggeration, but I did run into people at interviews and at work that'd have had pretty much those reactions...

 

[zouron]

Perosnally I always admitted to playing roleplaying games in job interviews, and it always seem to bring a reaction to hear what this thing is, and since I don't mind explaining heh that is just neat, never had a truly bad reaction to it, and by doing something unusual the interviewer will remember you better if there are a lot of people that apply = much bigger (or lesser) chance heh.

I think a lot of the bad reaction to it might be the way it has been presented, if you presented it as just another hobby, and don't get too defensive or aggressive about it then I doubt most will mind. In my experience job interviewers mostly concerned about personality, and possibly qualifications (though those should already be settled if you are called up for an itnerview).

anyways the only thing to fear is fear itself ;-) be honest straight forward, look nice (smell nice), and put on a smile, then you will do just fine IMHO.

 

[KenM]

Well I don't tell anyone I game, unless I can tell that they game, or at least have an open mind. I do this because in high school, we were doing introductions, I said " I play RPG's" and everyone laughed at me, I was very humilated. I know i'm a geek, and proud of it. But I was only 14 when that happened.

 

[Emiricol]

I wouldn't mention it in a job interview, because my hobbies are not the business of my prospective employer UNLESS they impact my ability to do the job, either positively or negatively.

However, I admitted it once to an open-minded co-worker in conversation, and got a really funny look. So I stole a line I once read ON THESE BOARDS and it worked like a charm.

I said, "Well, role-playing games are simply interactive storytelling, and they are the only "narrative" medium with which the audience becomes the author. I think that's pretty cool."

Ha. Dunno if it is an absolutely correct sentence, but it worked.

 

[kingpaul]

I've had, for years, in my resume that I read, collect comic books, play RPGs and do genealogy. No one has ever batted an eye.

 

[Rel]

I've put "Games" on my resume before and it didn't present a problem (They didn't ask about it anyway).

I think that a key issue is what ELSE is on the Hobby line on the application. Pretend I'm interviewing for a job and looking at applications/resumes. I get two applicants that are identical except for Hobbies:

One says - "Dungeons and Dragons"

The other says - *"Reading, Running, Canoeing, Hiking, Camping, Dungeons and Dragons, Scuba Diving, Woodworking"


Well of course I pick the guy who put only "Dungeons and Dragons"! That guy has focus! That guy has drive! He knows not to clutter his life up with a bunch of hobbies that detract from his ability to play Dungeons and Dragons!

Screw that other guy. He's probably too busy with all that other stuff to even come to work.


Just kidding of course. I think that a diversity of interests shows that you are willing to learn about new things, which is always going to be important when learning a new job.

*That is my actual list of hobbies. Although I should admit that with the exception of Reading and D&D, I don't have much time to pursue many of them these days thanks to my 15 month old daughter.