Airsoft as hobby in CV? good or bad idea?

arleitiss

Hey, kind of starting to look for part time job, so decided to print 100 CV's and go dropping them at random places in city centre. So i thought before I print them, I should make one completely from scratch as my last one was when I was in 5th year (2 years ago). So do you think I should put Airsoft in hobbies section? I mean as far as I know they like seeing team play involvement, and airsoft kind of is team play (sometimes apparently). I think that would really stand out of all other things I list? and if during interview or so they don't know what it is, it could really pass time if they ask what it is?
Anyone done this before? or better not?

TheDoc

I have it on my CV.

As gay and as bent as it sounds reading it, it prompts dicussion between you and the interviewer. There is the obvious " o whats airsoft" and you get to have a little chat to break the ice.

I have on my CV that I play airsoft and worked in an airsoft shop for two years and its always a good discussion piece for interviews.

I would look at it as a way to show how " You have great organisational skills and can **** up noobs"

I genuinelly, no word of a lie, was going through a stage where I couldnt get a job cleaning toilets.. Popped on my CV for a laugh that I played world of warcraft and in about 4-5 interviews, for jobs I really didnt want, explained how WoW helped me learn about organisation ( organising 25 people to raid), working as part of a team, responsability and getting to grips with various personalities.

Then I realised I was being a spa and took it off my CV

Zen 2nd

I had it on my CV but it was never asked about. Depends on the type of job you are going for.

TheDoc

Zen 2nd wrote: »

I had it on my CV but it was never asked about. Depends on the type of job you are going for.

I wouldnt pop it on if your going into an Army recruitment interview

Zomg Okay

Can go both ways. Obviously, you need to be able to explain that it's more than teens and adults running around the woods playing Cops and Robbers/Pew Pew/etc. :pac:

The whole working as a team thing is a good angle but on the other hand some employers wouldn't be interested if the thing that makes you stand out is a hobby.

CpcRc

TheDoc wrote: »

I wouldnt pop it on if your going into an Army recruitment interview

I can see why you might say that, but I know a good few military lads who are airsofters.
Including someone who was at the army recruitment stall at a careers fair. It won't be as advantageous as saying that you were in the reserves, but you may be able to show that you picked up some positive attributes from the sport. Such as patience, determination and teamwork. And appreciation for authority unless you're the person who agrues with marshalls, haha

jayod30

I have it on mine. On explaining I'd say it is on a par with paintball, the obvious difference being the realism of Airsoft compared to paintball, but the principals are pretty much the same, team building and what not. Alot of companies do bring their employees on team building exercises such as paintball I've heard some are even bringing them Airsofting now. My bosses just laugh at the whole idea, especially when the day after a good skirmish I can hardly walk:D

o1s1n

TheDoc wrote: »

I have on my CV that I play airsoft and worked in an airsoft shop for two years and its always a good discussion piece for interviews.

I'll go one further with the embarassing factor - back in 2006 I had that I was chairman of the IAA on mine. :pac:

It did result in some interesting conversations though..even some which resulted in jobs.

Inari

I wouldn't recommend it. I wouldn't even put a Hobbies section in. My attitude with CV's in this market is quite simple:

It is an over-saturated market. There are hundreds and thousands of people who need work. There are hundreds of other people applying for the very same position. Stick to what is relevant - if you're right for the job, then you get to interview stage and then you can do your best to set yourself apart from the hordes of other hopefuls.

Obviously it is up to you, but short sweet and to the point is my ethos. Shine in your interview and make yourself stand out, but the CV should literally be a case of deciding who is suitable, and who is not.

Lemming

Inari wrote: »

Obviously it is up to you, but short sweet and to the point is my ethos. Shine in your interview and make yourself stand out, but the CV should literally be a case of deciding who is suitable, and who is not.

To echo this; a cv is a tool designed to do one thing; get you from the applications pile into the 'maybe' pile.

Lets assume a CV takes on average of three minutes to read and take in properly. If a company/agency/whoever take in 300 applications for one position, that's 300 * 3 = 3000 minutes / 60 = 15 hours of reading. Assuming someone sits solid at CVs for seven & a half hours a day, that's two days of reading; realistically you're into three days territory with whatever other workload or duties may be carried out. No way in hell a recruiter is going to do that. They will scan the first page, taking perhaps 30 seconds per cv. Your cv is either binned or dropped into a much smaller 'come back to later' pile. That's 300 * 0.5= 150 minutes = 2.5 hours. So they'll maybe have thirty CVs to come back to out of that three hundred. Then they'll give it the three minute treatment and decide whether or not to call you for interview.

Your cv will have as little as 20 - 30 seconds lifetime on someone's desk. Remember that.

ricka

Inari wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend it. I wouldn't even put a Hobbies section in. My attitude with CV's in this market is quite simple:

It is an over-saturated market. There are hundreds and thousands of people who need work. There are hundreds of other people applying for the very same position. Stick to what is relevant - if you're right for the job, then you get to interview stage and then you can do your best to set yourself apart from the hordes of other hopefuls.

Obviously it is up to you, but short sweet and to the point is my ethos. Shine in your interview and make yourself stand out, but the CV should literally be a case of deciding who is suitable, and who is not.

In other words, you conned me!

Inari

ricka wrote: »

In other words, you conned me!

Cheeky son-of-a :P

promethius42

I have it on mine for the simple reason its a decent place to break the ice between employer and employee, the employer generally doesn't have a clue what it is so you can spend a while explaining it, also makes you stand out from the crowd as its different to the usual cycling and running employers usually see.

gerrowadat

CVs are a funny thing, depending on the place you're going for, something unique can be either good or bad. It might set you apart as being 'the airsoft guy'. Which can be either good or bad depending on where you're applying. For example, applying at a Bank saying you've a load of replica guns at home, probably not the brightest of ideas.

NakedDex

The days of a general purpose CV are gone. You have to tailor them, these days, to suit the job you're going for. Even if you're putting in the same basic points, sometimes the wording might need to be tweaked to catch the recruiters attention.
Honestly, the days of a hobby section are pretty much gone. Having reviewed CV's in the past, they were rarely even read, nevermind any heed paid to them. Unless you've held a specific position related to a hobby or sport that indicates valuable skills for the potential job - like o1s1n's example of a chairman position, or coaching a local sports team - then I can't imagine how what you do in your downtime would have any relevance to your job prospects.

vader65

As has been mentioned in a previous comment by a few posters it really does help to break the ice and the team leading and communication aspect that you can talk about if done right can sound impressive

ironclaw

To echo NakedDex, you shouldn't blanket bomb with 100 general purpose CV's. Bear in mind there are literally thousands of people out of work, high paid bank managers now looking for what was once considered a student job in the local Centre.

You should always tailor your CV to suit your role. Subtlety play up to your strengths and why you'd be good for the job. For instance, being able to organize a team means nothing if all your doing will be stacking shelves. What would be more important in that instance would be personal organization, a track record of keeping on top of things and being on time. On the other end, a summer camp organizer would need to be able to organize people.

Personally, I would not put Airsoft on a CV. In many peoples eyes, its a military themed sport and you never know who might be interviewing you i.e. A at-night anti-war campaigner etc.

VonLuck

ironclaw wrote: »

Personally, I would not put Airsoft on a CV. In many peoples eyes, its a military themed sport and you never know who might be interviewing you i.e. A at-night anti-war campaigner etc.

Also, you may have someone with preconcieved notions reading your CV and thinking "do I really want someone who runs around with replica/toy guns working for our company? They must be childish/violent".

Although as you say, it all depends on the job you're going for.

Sterling Archer

Nevermind

MagicIRL

Having just got a job for the first time, I spent a good 15 mins talking about my hobbies during my interview. Even ended up talking about my managers stag night!

So hobbies do belong on a CV, even today. And yes, Airsoft was and will remain to be, on my CV.