The survey for our next Nigel Frank Careers and Hiring Guide closes soon, with time running out to win either an Xbox Series X or a $500 gift card. We know that it can be all too easy to “waste” gift cards on essentials, whereas an Xbox guarantees you receiving something fun for yourself!
However, it can also be classed as a professional tool. Can’t it? We originally thought not, but since studies suggest otherwise, we’ve had a look through the Game Store and found five games that you might be able to justify spending time on *ahem* professional development.
Unfortunately, there’s no game credit if you’re fortunate enough to win our prize for taking part, but surely the following arguments can help sway your boss into putting some on the company credit card to go alongside it anyway? It’s worth a try!
Train Sim World
Okay, so taking the control of any number of freight or passenger trains around the world may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s a variety of routes available across an almost infinite number of engines, from steam to diesel and even electric. So, that’s already one tick in the “learning to be adaptable” column for your soft skillset.
But once we settled on a route, our excitement wore off quite quickly, as the game became all about keeping an eye on strict speed limits and sticking to schedule—points are deducted for driving too dangerously! So it’s helping improve your concentration levels as well as your adaptability? Count that as two ticks in that all-important skillset!
Roblox
Yes, building actual digital solutions for other people might be a bit too much like just doing extra work during your downtime, but it’s also fun to just really let your hair loose, isn’t it? Creating an innovative solution that solves a genuine business critical issue is satisfying, but it’s rare you can do that using a unicorn!
Think of Roblox as the ultimate sandbox and you can see why it might hold some curb appeal. And even if you do think adding a rainbow might be beneath you, it’s surely a great way to prove to your kids that tech can also be fun.
Planet Coaster (console edition)
Let’s be honest—roller coasters are awesome, so any game that lets you build and ride your own creations is always going to be a blast. Planet Coaster sees you take control of your own theme park, building rides and slowly building your park up—creating rides that meet your visitors’ needs and solutions for the challenges that crop up around them.
Yes, that’s right, there’s an element of management skills. It involves strategic planning and problem solving, and you could also argue there’s a bit of STEM required if you’re building your own coasters from scratch (building your own world-class attractions will bump your score up massively). Arguably the most work-related option on this list!
Police Simulator – Patrol Officer
First up, yes—this is a real game, that sees you patrolling the mean streets of the fictional American municipality of Brighton. You play the role of a police officer, upholding the law as you go on patrol on foot and in car, with the option to alternate between single player or online co-op modes.
It really is as pedestrian as issuing parking tickets, interacting with the public and collecting information on traffic incidents, but you’re issued points depending on the way you behave and interact with people. Okay, so having a video game judging your people skills and responses might not be ideal, but it’s maybe one way to gauge your reactions under pressure and people skills?
Age of Empires
Finally, we could have chosen any number of games that involve playing online in teams to achieve an objective, but have stuck with Age of Empires. Now into its fourth edition and with over 25 million copies sold, it’s probably the most popular example we could find. The real-time strategy game sees players try and develop from a handful of hunter-gatherers into, as the title may give away, an entire, functioning, civilization.
While that may be a bit too grandiose a goal to liken to any professional skills, being able to collaborate and work in a team to achieve this certainly isn’t. So if you’re prone to struggling to delegate tasks and working together with people, why not fire up your Xbox for a quick practice run to get the hang of it?
And if none of this sounds like your idea of fun, you can always take the survey and opt for the $500 to spend as you choose. So why not do your bit for the Microsoft community today!
