[iraise50]

I think many of you are actually wrong on this issue. I have several years of management experience working with charities in a variety of positions. For an entire year the only "job" I went to was playing poker, and while I dind't crack 6 figures, I did ok enough to enjoy it. I more or less miss at least some of my time being with others, so I was looking for only terrific jobs that I would truly enjoy being at. It really amkes your job search entirely different when you say, and mean..."Well, I jsut don't think that your organization is compatable with my needs". So, I finally found a position at a place I really love, I manage a coffeeshop. I love coffee. It's my friend.

I told you all of that to tell you that...I enver misled anyone about my poker playing. What I found was that people were uniformly impressed that I was willing to take such risks, had enough beleif in myself to do it and the courage to admit it to what could possibly be a skeptical audience. I think if you focus on the romantic aspects of it, of pitting yourself agaisnt others in a kind of real life survivor...if you focus on your willingness to try something new, to take risks, to be totally accountable for successes and failures, to have to reasearch and learn ever-more efficient methods of success...all of these things make you a more valuable employee. You'll sound too phony trying to replicate an imaginary year of your life in an interview.