Everyone has probably heard of the tales of people getting jobs because of their in-game credentials - some may be true, they may be false, but the fact is: You CAN get a job from Wow... By being able to identify and analyse the transferable skills that you learn along the way, to include on your CV.
Whether you are a loner, a raid leader or even run a guild - there are many skill sets that you develop and use on a regular basis.
It is not just World of Warcraft that gives you these transferable skills. Most MMORPG's will share a similar skill-set, as well as many single player games.
So... What are these skills you may ask? Well... lets analyse!
From the moment you pick the game up from the shelf you are analysing the product and will need to figure out if it will work on your machine, how to install it, register an account and get it working. A little bit trickier than your normal plug and play console game! This develops some basic I.T skills surely?
What if you play the game for a while? Well - you likely have a main character and multiple alts. These characters all have an inventory, a bank, trade skills, talents, be working in different areas on different things... This all requires a level of organisation to get by. In your day to day gaming you are likely to work in a group with others, trade items, ask/answer questions and perhaps interact within a guild. This helps to develop your communication skills, as well as your reading and writing comprehension. (Although it all this is solely through the use of trade chat spam, the point is questionable! :p)
Most of these skills don't sound impressive - but being able to evidence these skills is a good thing and can be transferred to almost any job position. Now, what if you are a raid leader, or run a guild? On an almost daily basis you are responsible for managing a group of people, to problem solve, work as a team, communicate through issues and organize the team/guild/guild bank/officers, etc. You may even be required to build or maintain a website or forum - more reinforcement of your I.T Skills as well as some web-design abilities.
One last area that pops to mind is Macros and Mods. You may just use them, or modify them to suit your own needs - but you might also be involved in the creation which requires some basic programming skills. Again, maybe not something that may relate to the job you are looking at getting, but it shows your willingness to learn and take on new challenges.
There may indeed be a day where you can put on your CV "Plays World-of-Warcraft, 3x level 85's" but I wouldn't be this blatant on your CV - the fact is more likely to be frowned upon than praised - but the transferable skills are there, and they are real - especially if you are a raid leader, or a guild leader or officer.
Good luck out there!
-V
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