[jb9]

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As a hiring manager familiar with poker, I have to say I would be very impressed by a college-grad applicant that explained a 2-year gap in employment like this:

"At college I learned to master aspects of the game of poker, and I successfully played poker for a living and continue to do so up to the present time. For various reasons I have decided to apply for this full-time, 'real' job."

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I'm willing to consider explanations for gaps in people's work history, but I would not be too excited to hear this.

As FMThe2nd says, I would have concerns about the person's willingness/ability to work as an entry level team player taking orders from others after 2 years of being a self-employed decision maker who made a living being aggressive and outsmarting/deceiving everyone they interacted with and who didn't even have clients or customers to keep happy.

It can be difficult enough for people to make the transition from college to corporate, and I don't think tossing in 2 years as a gambler helps.

I wouldn't refuse to consider an applicant because they spent 2 years playing poker, but it wouldn't be something I would see as a positive. They would have to tell me a good story about why they wanted the position I was hiring for (and they would be wise not to use the phrase "real job" anywhere in their story).

Also, I would have to question the person's second level thinking skills for not expecting me to think the way I think and adjusting their story accordingly [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img].