Huge gap in resume: Be honest or no?

Okay so this might be an odd question, but here it goes.

On my resume, from 2005-present, I don't have any work experience. Here is why: from 2005-2010 I played online poker semi-professionally (technically pro because it was my main source of income but I wouldn't consider myself pro by any means). I did not make huge sums of money (biggest single lifetime win was ~$10k). I made just enough to pay the bills (apt., car, etc), have some fun, and not have to get a "real job".

When all the legal crap started hitting the online poker industry (black friday), that's when I decided that going pro (my dream) wasn't feasible (for me at least) and I decided to go to college for my first passion - IT.

Well...I still haven't been employed (technically/legally/whatever?) since 2005. How should I approach this on my resume?
Tell the truth?

Which I feel like can extremely backfire because the majority of people view poker as straight up gambling and would consider me some sort of degenerate/addict (which could not be further from the truth).

But being that a lot of IT guys are huge math geeks (i think? lol), if I start throwing around terms like Nash's Equilibrium, Independent Chip Modeling (ICM), and Expected Value (EV), etc, and if they smell what I'm cooking, perhaps it could be a major plus?

This has been driving me crazy lately because I am so close to trying to find my first IT job. Please give me some ideas and opinions! Thanks guys! (and yes...I did make a "The Rock" reference...get over it :P)

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Comments

draught

I think listing "Professional Online Poker Player" on your resume would probably be a bad idea unless you are applying for a job at a casino...Terrible idea if you expect to be taken seriously. If I were a hiring a manager I would laugh at your resume and then toss it. Sorry just being honest, I think your best bet is to come up with something else to fill the gap.

Danielm7

Did you work in IT before 2005? What I mean is do you even need the experience from before then? Maybe you can do some volunteering or something now and list if if you're looking to get in at an entry level position.

W Stewart

I know a lot of managers that wouldn't completely over look you as long as you knew your stuff. IT can be very unprofessional outside of large enterprises.

CoolAsAFan

Danielm7 wrote: »

Did you work in IT before 2005? What I mean is do you even need the experience from before then? Maybe you can do some volunteering or something now and list if if you're looking to get in at an entry level position.

No I didn't, I was a Realtor for 3 years prior to 2005. I found not too many people were comfortable with a 19 year old overseeing the biggest financial decision of their life lol (did get employee of the year my first year tho :P). I see what your saying though, to just basically not mention past employment history because it is not relevant? For some reason I was thinking I had to list at least something since I am now 29 years old, but I suppose it would be best to just leave employment history basically blank and really sell my education and certs. Just entry-level, so that should be sufficient right? I do intend on going the volunteer/intern route if I don't have much success within a certain time frame.

W Stewart wrote: »

I know a lot of managers that wouldn't completely over look you as long as you knew your stuff. IT can be very unprofessional outside of large enterprises.

I am hoping that after I graduate that I will qualify as really knowing my stuff, at least for an entry-level job lol. Perhaps this and my decent interviewing skills will help managers overlook the big employment gap?

A follow-up question: When they inevitably ask me what I did in that time period of nothingness on my resume, how should I proceed?

I mean I am not ashamed at all of playing poker for 4-5 years. I put in as much work studying the game as I do with my classes in college or certs I have attempted. I'm talking dozens of books, thousands of hours of coaching/video tutorials, and even more time analyzing hand histories and discussing optimal strategy driven by game theory. It's not much, but I averaged about $35k/yr over the 5 years, but for a 21 year old in the Midwest, it was the coolest job in the world lol! I mean there are a ton of professional poker players all over the world. Most making just a decent wage like I was, others making hundreds of thousands if not millions a year.

That being said, I totally understand the mentality of most people that are not familiar with the game, which is obviously a huge majority. But I don't really want to lie to anyone either, so I am really at a loss as to how I would answer my above follow up?

aftereffector

Why not just say you were self employed? If they ask, you can elaborate, but if not just leave it alone. Did you coach anyone else while you were playing? If so, you can talk about coaching others in game theory...

stryder144

To be quite honest, I'd say be upfront about your experience. Let them know, if they ask, that you are fascinated by math and that got you into playing poker. Tell them you saw an opportunity to really learn and apply strategies (game theory) and you decided to take it. As long as you stress that it was legal, no one should really care. Legit work is legit work, period.

If you make something up but can't prove it, that will get you into trouble in the long run. My view is that honesty pays.

Just my .02c.

Cheers

--chris--

Id follow what the others have said. List it as a period of self employment and be honest about why you did it. I think most people would do something similar if they were able to pay the bills.

Just judging by your experience and your certs, you are probably applying to entry level jobs right? I think this whole issue may be no big deal anyways...

roch_greg

If I'm reading this right, for the last 8 years you have no relevant work experience in the field is that correct?
When did you get all those cert's that you have already? Prior to 2005 or between then and now?

Since you have to write a resume I would look around for examples for entry level work with no experience. There really isn't any need to list any irrelevant work history on a resume. So just put down "self-employed" and be prepared to answer some questions.

Jon_Cisco

I might consider how you filed you taxes. If you filed as a professional gambler I might consider adding it to the resume but I doubt it.
Be honest but vague and seeing you are going for entry level positions you should be able to talk your way through it in an interview.

The first job will be the hardest but after that your skills will become the driving force for your career.

Good Luck

CoolAsAFan

Eh the taxes...well...that's why the feds shutdown online poker in the USA (which is why I quit)...they didn't have their hands in the proverbial tax cookie jar. I do have plenty of reports/graphs/stats both local and through online services that detail my earnings, I could present those if they were really interested or I thought it would help get a job.

It seems like the most optimal route would just to say I was self-employed and elaborate if asked. And since it is just entry-level I am looking at, that my past work experience is pretty much irrelevant, but again if asked, just to elaborate.

roch_greg wrote: »

If I'm reading this right, for the last 8 years you have no relevant work experience in the field is that correct?
When did you get all those cert's that you have already? Prior to 2005 or between then and now?

Correct, I mean I have been the "go-to-guy" since I was teenager concerning all end user problems with family/friends/and even for a few real estate offices in my city, but everything was under-the-table. I earned all of my certs listed in my sig just this year, been busy!

Thanks everyone so much for their input! I am starting to feel much better about this black hole on my resume lol.

cisco_trooper

You don't want to work for a bunch of uptight people anyway. Don't put it on your resume since it isn't relevant to your IT career, but be truthful when they ask, because they will. You want to work with people that respect ideas and can see the fascination poker can provide. These are more intelligent people. They are not hung up on being politically correct which is simply tyranny with manners. Screw those guys. Find a shop where you can be you and people respect the accomplishments of mastering game theory, what that means for your analytical capabilities, and what THAT means for your future in IT.