Would you mention poker in a job interview?

[OldLearner]

Ever smoke a bit of pot....do you mention this?

How bout porn....ever surf a bit of porn...do you mention this?

The majority of people see poker as gambling and incorrectly (or correctly for many gamblers) associate it with degenerate activities.

Best advice for this poster? Listen to Mason.

No need to mention it.

[Wake up CALL]

[ QUOTE ]
I've been interviewed for jobs at least 15 times, and I have never been asked about my hobbies. Ever.

Regards,

T

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps eventually someone will hire you. When this event, however unlikely, does occur please tell us if that prospective employer asked about your hobbies?

[Homer]

Mentionning poker to strangers is social suicide.

Yeah, but who wants to be around people who aren't rational enough to understand what poker's all about, even after you explain it to them? I'd just as soon be alone.

[BadBoyBenny]

It's all about reading the interviewer. Half of the people I've interviewed with, I could tell it would be a bad thing to mention the minute I walked in the door. I've had maybe one interviewer in my life that I knew would respect it. I got that job by outdrinking him so I guess I didn't need to mention gambling. I think the ratio would be different if I was some kind of salesperson or trader where successful gambling could be seen as an asset to my job. Interviewers expect you to try to make yourself look good. If asked about my hobbies I would probably mention cards along with some other things. A lot of time they're just trying to make sure you have a healthy social life and won't go any further. I'd tiptoe around the issue of gambling until I see how they reacted to my playing cards.

As shameful as it sounds writing it out, in most situations I'd play the role I thought would get me a job even if I didn't like the interviewer but really wanted the position. Anything I could do to identify and build rapport through similarities without lying.

[rharless]

What would you have to gain, by mentioning that you play poker in a job interview?

Imho, mentioning poker in a job interview is unnecessary "gambling".

[bdypdx]

I once had an interview with a fitness club for a web site manager position. They inquired as to my hobbies, and so I mentioned golf, fitness cycling, hiking and weight training. Poker didn't seem to be relevant, so I felt no need to mention it.

Otherwise, I've never been asked about my hobbies in a job interview.

[Lawrence Ng]

Hi Henke,

I have to agree with most of the other posters here. I never have mentioned playing poker as one of my hobbies to an employer before. Most people out there are just too biased about it.

I've tried talking to friends about it, and most of them don't even think I should play. Ironically, many of them are Finance, Math or Stat majors too! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[mosch]

Asking about hobbies is common, especially if the job involves interpersonal skills. A person's hobbies are usually used to find out if that person enjoys the company of other people, or if they prefer solitary pursuits.

If your salesman's hobbies are collecting foreign currancy, and building detailed models of ships, odds are your salesman doesn't actually enjoy human contact and will be crippled as a salesman.

[clovenhoof]

Hi Henke,

Back in the pre-internet poker days, I kept my poker background under wraps in job interviews and remained unemployed for about nine months. After a particularly meaningless interview, I went to speak with a senior lawyer at a firm whom I had dealt with, and had suggested once "feel free to drop by anytime you're nearby". He was good to his word, and his advice was to be up front about it. In the first place, he didn't think it looked that bad as long as I wasn't applying for a job as legal counsel to a church. In the second place, he said it's tough to hide something in an interview and not make it look like you're hiding something. In the third place, he said any place that had a problem with it was probably a place I didn't want to be working.

I got an offer in the very next interview -- turns out the boss was a card counter at blackjack.

'hoof

[rkiray]

I talked about poker at my job all the time at work and no one cared. Most people weren't interested and the few who were wanted to know how to do it. I got layed off when Comcast bought AT&T broadband (with over 8000 over headquarters people), it had nothing to do with poker. But my old southern Califorian techies friends are suddenly interested in poker (after years of me trying to convince them it was the one game in Vegas they could beat). In high tech poker is considered cool from what I can see right now. I still wouldn't mention it in a job interview though. Who can tell, your interviewer maybe a right wing Christian King George supporter.