[anonymouz]

Kind of neat, but strange as a recruitment device: It seems difficult enough to get good people, why would one put such an arbitrary filter as a first barrier? People who don't play computer games or Portal 2 are probably much less likely to apply that way.

[jiggy2011]

I see your point. I've been put off jobs in that past where the requirements have listed stuff like "You must kick ass at Xbox games!" for completely non gamedev jobs.

Now I love video games as much as the next geek and I've always assumed it was a light hearted hint towards company culture rather than a hard requirement.

But I just find something a little off about stuff like this, like it sets off a little red light in my brain that I can't put my finger on. We would probably think it was weird if they said "we all love cricket so you should too!", I guess it feels a little patronising to be told "of course you love Xbox, you are a geek after all!"

As a Segue the use of the term "geek" in job descriptions irks me also.

Edit: Wording corrected

[noonespecial]

I hate to be that guy but FSM help me, I am.

Segway: a goofy 2 wheeled scooter invented by Dean Kamen.

Segue: to make a transition from one thing to another smoothly and without interruption: The conversation segued from travel anecdotes to food.

[partisan]

Some places mention that they have an XBox on site for you to play with, but that's usually just a red flag for me. I love playing games, but if I am going to be at work long enough to feel the urge to play then I am at work way too long.

These are probably the same places that think adding an extra hour to your work increases your productivity by 16%.

[rhizome]

"XBox on site," says to me, "we're (hiring) young people."

[ruswick]

It sort of irks me that people assume that 1) all young people play prodigious amounts of games to the point where an X-Box is some sort of alluring factor, and 2) only young people play games and that gaming is a way to differentiate between ages. I am young, and I would be put off by this sort of thing. If the most appealing part of your company is that you have an X-Box, you're doing it wrong.

[rhizome]

It's not so much "XBox" as a specific device, but of the lifestyle and time that younger people are more likely to pour into their early jobs. They're simply more receptive to a job-includes-hobbies lifestyle. This doesn't prevent older people from participating in this world, but statistics would tell us that more older people have children and non-job hobbies. Frankly, as an older person who owns a PS3 and Wii, it tells me that not only do they want hanger-outers for employees, but ones that play specific kinds of games.

[MartinCron]

And you can make the inverted inference: "we're not hiring older people"

[jiggy2011]

I don't take issue with an Xbox on site, after all plenty of workplaces provide leisure facilities of some kind, especially since there is a legally mandated lunch break here in the UK.

What raises the red flag is making it such a prominent part of the actual job description.

[tobyjsullivan]

I don't think this is in any way a necessary step for applying there, which is good.

It's simply one more avenue of lead generation for recruitment. And a very creative one that's likely to get them quite a bit of exposure. It also has the benefit of clearly demonstrating that they are a "fun" company, not your run-of-the-mill boring enterprise product corporation.

[anonymouz]

Ah, if it's optional it is indeed nice. That was not clear to me from the page.

[dsl]

Because they made the front page of HackerNews (likely the target audience), and will probably be picked up by a few other techie sites as well.

As with all the other "hiring games" that Google and others do, you can also just submit your resume, you don't have to play.

[mrgoldenbrown]

Why do you consider it a barrier? It is not required. If you want to submit a resume the normal way, they have a link to do that too.

[jarin]

I think the idea is that developers who are also gamers are probably going to fit a certain company culture.

Personally, I like working with other developers who like games and good beer. I haven't had great experiences with the type who lock themselves in their offices and don't come to happy hour.

[OGC]

It's a PR stunt