Warlock or druid?

A handful of job seekers are listing achievements in videogames such as the role-playing platform "World of Warcraft" on their résumés or LinkedIn profiles, betting that virtual-world accomplishments will impress hiring managers in real life.

"World of Warcraft" players complete quests as warlocks, druids or other class of soldier and battle monsters in a fantasy world, recruiting other soldiers, training team members and developing strategies for missions. Prominent fans include Stephen Gillett, chief operating officer of Symantec Corp. and a former chief information officer at Starbucks Corp.

Some players say the game's tasks aren't that different from the duties of the modern office job.

That was the view of Heather Newman, who included her Warcraft experience on the résumé that helped land her current job as director of marketing and communications for the University of Michigan's School of Information.

In the "Leisure/Volunteer Activities" section of her résumé, Ms. Newman noted that she has managed guilds of as many as 500 people and organized large-scale raids of 25 to 40 players to complete tasks for several hours four to five days a week. These tasks, she said, "directly apply to the kind of job I hold."

Ms. Newman, 43 years old, said she knew some people wouldn't be familiar with the game, but she wanted to highlight how her experience leading volunteers online showed her abilities as an effective communicator and manager in the workplace. Plus, she believed that administrators who make hiring decisions at the technology-focused school would view her game expertise as a sign she would fit with the culture.

"I knew that Heather could 'talk geek' and that she would get where many of our students were coming from," said Jeffrey K. MacKie-Mason, dean of the U-M School of Information.

John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology, an information-technology staffing division of the Robert Half recruiting firm, said he has seen few résumés that mention game skills. He added that his clients haven't sought hires with game experience.

Nevertheless, Mr. Reed said videogame experience could be a conversation-starter in an interview, although a hiring manager may wonder whether the candidate will be playing games in the office all day. He cautioned gamers to broach the topic "very subtly."

Gamers' ability to accomplish complex tasks across virtual teams could be seen as a plus for some companies.

Françoise LeGoues, the former vice president of innovation at International Business Machines Corp., said gamers can thrive at firms like IBM, where employees must collaborate with colleagues anywhere in the world, often without having met in person.

"This capability to engage in strategy-building, team-building, knowledge-sharing and problem-solving remotely is really important," said, Ms. LeGoues, currently vice president of transformation at the YAI Network of nonprofits.

As he searches for a full-time work, Don Spafford, a 30-year-old electronics engineer from San Antonio, lists his class and guild rank on his résumé along with his role leading raids in "World of Warcraft." That experience, combined with his past job at Norwegian Cruise Lines and six years in the U.S. Navy, proves his abilities as a leader and communicator, he said.

"It's a chance to stretch your leadership ability," said Mr. Spafford, pointing to his experience heading teams of easily distracted virtual soldiers on raids. "Sometimes it's like herding cats."

Still, hiring managers haven't shown much interest in his game experience, and he acknowledged that the videogame details may be landing his résumé in the reject pile.

In online forums, game players worry that touting their hobby will lead others to perceive them as lazy or socially awkward.

Peter Morris, a 50-year-old regional sales executive at New York-based analytics software provider Information Builders, is an avid player of "World of Warcraft." But as a former hiring manager, he has warned fellow gamers against putting their game achievements on their résumés.

"At the end of the day, it's all make-believe," said Mr. Morris, adding that few recruiters understand how a leader in a fantasy game can be a valuable employee.

Mr. Spafford's fiancée, Mary Brenner, a freelance broadcast technician, includes her experience coordinating "World of Warcraft" meet-ups and other events, on some versions of her résumé, but keeps it off for jobs that don't involve event planning.

"I would feel uncomfortable with the judgment in a setting where it wouldn't make sense," she said.

Dmitri Williams, an associate professor of communications at the University of Southern California, said accomplished players of massively multiplayer online games such as "Dungeons and Dragons Online" and "League of Legends," demonstrate exceptional skills in strategy and team-building.

Most gamers use those traits both in and outside the game environment, according to Prof. Williams's research, which focuses on the social and economic impacts of videogames. Many of the prominent gamers he has interviewed are leaders in virtual and real life, such as a young player whose raid-leading experience helped him understand how to succeed in college and the workplace and another gamer who led a guild and went on to manage a game-design studio, later founding one of his own.

"There's this misconception that when someone goes in the game that they act like someone else," he said. "The research shows that the game world tends to magnify what's there already."