I ended up putting in my number of credit hours, gpa (3.93 - the one B I got was unfair. bastard.) and the types of classes taken.
The ad had kind of a “tell us why you’re the person we want” feel, so I wrote a letter in addition to the resume.
About the poker, I wrote this:
On my resumé I’ve listed a period of self employment. During this period I
made a substantial income playing poker professionally. I feel as though
this is a positive; in order to succeed for a long time at poker, a person
must be smart, focused, possess good problem solving skills, good judgment,
and discipline. However, I enjoyed it more when I had a primary income,
regular income through a conventional job and played poker on the side as a
hobby.
…
And I just realized that I repeated “income” unnecesarily in the sent version. I thought I fixed that. Argh.
What the hell? I also thought I changed “I feel as though” to “I feel that” … I only had one version I was working with, so I don’t know how the changes magically reverted themselves. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now.
Not bad, but I’d get rid of “I feel as though this is a positive.” It’s a weak statement, and it sounds defensive, like you’re used to people bad-mouthing your profession.
Maybe something like this:
During this period I made a substantial income as a professional poker player. My discipline, intelligence, focus, problem solving skills, and judgement lead directly to my success. Although I’m glad I had this opportunity, my priorities have changed, and now I am seeking a long-term, stable working environment.
Boom. No waffling, no hesitation – if they got past “professional poker player” you’ve got them.
Leave it in with no excuses. Heck, add some bullet points about your accomplishments.
Poker is a huge rage right now thanks to all of the televised tours and popular sites like PokerStars. Lots of successful business people are risk takers. It is very possible that many of the people who see your resume will be poker buffs. Your three years as a pro will make you interesting and memorable – maybe even enviable.
(In my company of 35 people, there are probably 10 casual poker players and 3 very serious addicts.)
