Should companies consider video game skills when deciding who to hire or promote?

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Marc Cenedella’s career has been shaped in part by his love of video games.

“I played Space Invaders and Centipede and Mission Control and my first job at Yale as an undergraduate was running computers for the Yale School of Music,” says Mr. Cenedella, now 56.

He says his first jobs after university all involved understanding how to take real-world information and put it into computers. “When they started to have connected gaming and we were all collaborating virtually with our squad, well that’s just remote work.”

From early computer programming to remote collaboration to virtual and augmented reality and now artificial intelligence, Mr. Cenedella says games have been instrumental in familiarizing young people with the tools that will become vital to their future careers.

Now, as the founder and chief executive officer of Ladders, a New York-based job platform for six-figure jobs, Mr. Cenedella is encouraging employers to take gaming skills and accolades as a serious indicator of candidate potential.

“Understanding the dedication, structure, talent management and organization skills inherent in modern gaming and where it’s going are useful waymarks on the path to hiring,” he says.

Mr. Cenedella acknowledges that most employers won’t take candidates who advertise video game experience and achievements on their résumés seriously.

“You’ll be laughed out of the room,” he says.

However, a growing body of research suggests otherwise: For example, a study published in July by researchers at Shanghai Normal University and the University of Northern British Columbia found “a statistically significant but small correlation between video game play and cognitive ability in the domains of memory, spatial ability, visual attention, cognitive control and intelligence.” The correlation was present despite age, gender, culture or game, the study showed.

In a study conducted by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC), 80 per cent of Canadians self-reported that gaming improves their problem-solving abilities, 77 per cent said it helps with their critical thinking and 76 per cent said it contributes cognitive skills.

“There is an incredible sense of reward when you take 70 attempts to beat a boss,” says ESAC CEO Paul Fogolin. “It demonstrates that mindset of developing the patience, the perseverance and the endurance to overcome these objectives.”

Mr. Fogolin says skills such as remote collaboration, creative problem solving, reaction speed, persistence and perseverance are emerging as the most sought-after in an AI-enabled workforce.

“Those are the kind of skills that you’ll learn through play,” he says.

While Mr. Fogolin agrees that video game experience and achievements should probably be left off resumes, he believes there could be value in mentioning how gaming has contributed to the development of relevant skills in job interviews.

“Rather than listing your competitive gaming achievements, take that and say, ‘here’s what it means for you,’” he suggests. “It means that I’m better working in a team, it means that I can think in real time, I can collaborate, I can lock in. I think that would be a great approach.”

With 61 per cent of Canadians playing video games regularly, according to a previous ESAC study, and with the average age of gamers globally now 41, Mr. Fogolin says it’s becoming increasingly likely that the interviewer across the table is one too.

“If someone shares their gaming accomplishments proudly on a resume or CV, don’t laugh it off,” he says. “Look at the studies and the research and recognize that these are real skills.”

Mr. Cenedella suggests taking it a step further” “Hire the guy with the high score.”