Getting a job in the game industry

from JoeUser Forums

I’ve been reading through a lot of resumes lately as we are now in full hiring mode here at Stardock.

We’ve got openings almost across the board (here are some samples)

  1. Game Developers
  2. Artists (general)
  3. 3D Modelers
  4. Concept Artists
  5. Web designers
  6. .NET developers (all kinds, big demand here)
  7. Web developers (Microsoft centric)

With that in mind, I’d like to give a few suggestions to people that I think might help them not just here but everywhere.

Suggestion #1: PLEASE provide a cover letter that includes your willingness to relocate (if applicable) and provides some background on the company you’re looking to work at along with how you might be ale to help them.

Suggestion #2: If possible, include a URL to your own website.  The decision makers are extremely busy and as a result there is a tendency to just weed out those who don’t include a link to their website in their resume.  We want to see your art, code, etc.

Suggestion #3: If you only are into “computers” at work and turn off at night, you probably won’t get looked at beyond an interview at most small companies. We are looking for people who are into this stuff.  One of the reasons we’ve done so well here, for instance, is because we love doing this stuff. It’s not just a job.  We don’t work crazy hours but when we go home, we like to play games still or like to tinker around with things. 

I spent part of my vacation learning Python. Why? Because I enjoy doing it, not because I have to. I know that most people go home and live “normal lives”. That’s great but a small tech company may not be a good fit for you then.

Those 3 things would be extremely helpful in getting people to the front of the pile. :)

60,835 views 27 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

 

Thanks... awesome list.   Hopefully one of these days I'll have enough experience to be considered.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

Damn't. One of those rare moments I wish I hadn't chosen engineering as a career.

SoundPackager - Customize the Windows sound scheme
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

I see no problems with this list... just need to finish my education... NOW!

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

I can't help but wonder if the cover letter/resume I sent in helped spark this post.   ;P

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Typo, Suggestion #1

might be ale to help them.
End of quote

In think you meant to use "able" instead of "ale", unless you want people who party.

Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

2/3/4... name your price. I wouldn't cross any borders though! Just joking, again. Linked.

The rare youth & willingness pearls are always there for YOU to fish out of the oceans of proper knowledge & key experience-- good'a luck'a.

B)

Reply #7 from Demigod Forums Top

I currently read gamedesign and gamedevelopment at university in sweden... To bad I'm not able to relocate out of country as it is now :'(

Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Don't worry, Oslo suburbia(s) will soon catch up with the usual flow of brain drains (referenced & rated, btw) -- everywhere and since i can't even remember when. F*C* Ubisoft of the late 80's.

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

I'm not looking to move at the moment, since where I am is quite interesting/challenging, but I am curious, so...

What would you look for in a website for someone applying for #6: a .NET job. I ask this because I am a pretty major techy, and artistic work tends to drain the enthusiasm out of me. So, while I nominally work for a web development company at the moment, I've asked not to be put on any GUI stuff, and they mostly have me doing databases, services and deployment instead.

So, how would I impress a potentially employer with a website given that it would basically just be text? Some fancy JavaScript? A technical blog? Downloadable projects? Or something else?

Good luck with your recruiting.

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

The .NET part it's interesting. If I may ask: that's for games (I suppose it would be for tools) or for your windows applications part of the company?

Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top

Damm Can a 2nd year Game Development and Entrepeurshihp student apply?

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

I've always wondered why including some facts about the company you're applying to is important. Takes likes 5min to look up some facts so I guess you just want to see people put down that effort.

Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Campaigner, reply 12
I've always wondered why including some facts about the company you're applying to is important. Takes likes 5min to look up some facts so I guess you just want to see people put down that effort.
End of Campaigner's quote

My guess is, it just feels good to read about how great the place you work at is - makes it easier to go through the next two million applications without exploding.

;)

Reply #15 from Demigod Forums Top

One day i'll work for a games company, don't know shit about coding. But i'm good at storyboarding and choreographing, my drawing is shabby since i havent drawn since i finished school. :S

 

The important thing is though that I play games ALL the time :C feck i'm playing Wipeout on the PsP at work atm  :C

 

zooom!

Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top

As someone who's reviewed resumes in the past (at several jobs), I have one big big big tip for anyone submitting to Stardock.

KNOW THE COMPANY AND THE PRODUCTS. 

If you want to work here, know the applications & games we've developed & published.  Be familiar with Impulse, take a look at our desktop applications.  Not knowing the company or the company's products when you apply in may be OK at the resume stage, but if you get called up for an interview it becomes obvious very quickly. 

A little bit of research will get you a long way.  Don't try to fake it either, we'll pick up on it.

Reply #17 from Elemental Forums Top

Thank you very much Frogboy and Zoomba for taking the time to do this, im very interested in this field of work and this helps out a lot! |-) If i wanted to be a game artist/animator one day what would you recommend i go off to school to study? I've been looking at graphic design but i don't know if thats specific enough?

Thanks again!

Reply #18 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Raging, reply 2
Damn't. One of those rare moments I wish I hadn't chosen engineering as a career.
End of Raging's quote

Seconded.

 

Edit: Somehow, the quote mechanism grabbed NTJedi's name instead of Raging Amish's.  Very strange, but I fixed it.

Edit2: And in the process of editing, I broke the quote.  Maybe this will fix it.

Reply #19 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting Zoomba, reply 16
As someone who's reviewed resumes in the past (at several jobs), I have one big big big tip for anyone submitting to Stardock.

KNOW THE COMPANY AND THE PRODUCTS. 

If you want to work here, know the applications & games we've developed & published.  Be familiar with Impulse, take a look at our desktop applications.  Not knowing the company or the company's products when you apply in may be OK at the resume stage, but if you get called up for an interview it becomes obvious very quickly. 

A little bit of research will get you a long way.  Don't try to fake it either, we'll pick up on it.
End of Zoomba's quote

To which extent, I wonder? I haven't applied many times yet but when I did I familiarized myself with the company, meaning: what area do they work in, what is their vision, what are their products. But I wouldn't really go as far as - in the case of a gaming company - to actually play the games before an interview, or buying object dock to fiddle around with it. I'd read a couple of reviews on the apps though to see what they do and what makes them great, and maybe if I'm a programmer to see which languages/technique they use. What's your take on this? When have you actually read up enough to go to an interview you'd be the interviewer of?

Also, I get the use of familiarising yourself with a company, but what is the actual use of putting it in your application letter? (I do not know what a cover letter is). Where I live it's not a custom to write that in the letter as far as I know.

Reply #20 from Sins Forums Top

RisingLegend, looking at the various job postings I've come across in that field over the past years, I'd say experience and portfolio come first, formal education second.

BUT, having a degree *never* hurts, so if you got the chance, take it and get one. If you already have one and are wondering if you should get some sort of formal education in game art/animation, then personally I'd spend money on that only if I had lots to spare. :) When it comes to game art, its like any other art - they can't teach you to have talent, they only show you how to use tools effectively, and there are far cheaper and faster alternatives to doing that than enrolling in an CG school.

Of course, student status allows you to take advantage of some of the student only discount offers most major CG software companies offer, so I guess you could look at it that way too. Going freelancer ain't cheap when you first start.

Oh, and I think you'd want something more specific than graphic design if you want to do games only. Graphic design covers a LOT of things, some of which may not even have much to do with computers (like making billboard adverts).

Just my two cents, hope you don't mind!

Reply #21 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting JSW_Ballz, reply 18



Quoting NTJedi,
reply 1
 

Thanks... awesome list.   Hopefully one of these days I'll have enough experience to be considered.


Seconded.
End of JSW_Ballz's quote

Thirded

Reply #22 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Quoting RisingLegend, reply 17
If i wanted to be a game artist/animator one day what would you recommend i go off to school to study?
End of RisingLegend's quote

This obvious suggestion wasn't enough?

|-)

Show me some results of what you have done since!

An artist creates round the clock; fingers are bleeding with colors & shapes, sketching carbon stains the palm, sheets piled up, canvases fill.

Learn (or rather, imagine) perspective rendering & texturing of objects. First or last, fast or later.

Cuz it's not in the shadow of an idea, it's within the light that shines.

Reply #23 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting twifightDG, reply 19



Quoting Zoomba,
reply 16
As someone who's reviewed resumes in the past (at several jobs), I have one big big big tip for anyone submitting to Stardock.

KNOW THE COMPANY AND THE PRODUCTS. 

If you want to work here, know the applications & games we've developed & published.  Be familiar with Impulse, take a look at our desktop applications.  Not knowing the company or the company's products when you apply in may be OK at the resume stage, but if you get called up for an interview it becomes obvious very quickly. 

A little bit of research will get you a long way.  Don't try to fake it either, we'll pick up on it.



To which extent, I wonder? I haven't applied many times yet but when I did I familiarized myself with the company, meaning: what area do they work in, what is their vision, what are their products. But I wouldn't really go as far as - in the case of a gaming company - to actually play the games before an interview, or buying object dock to fiddle around with it. I'd read a couple of reviews on the apps though to see what they do and what makes them great, and maybe if I'm a programmer to see which languages/technique they use. What's your take on this? When have you actually read up enough to go to an interview you'd be the interviewer of?

Also, I get the use of familiarising yourself with a company, but what is the actual use of putting it in your application letter? (I do not know what a cover letter is). Where I live it's not a custom to write that in the letter as far as I know.
End of twifightDG's quote

Well, if you're applying to work on the games team, it would make sense to familiarize yourself with the kinds of games we develop.  If you want to work on app dev, it's a good idea to have at least a little bit of experience with the shareware/demo versions of some of our more popular apps.  Of course it's important to research what languages we use, and be sure that your resume/skills match to that.

It's called going the extra mile, to show you have a genuine interest in working here.   Which is especially important in a down economy, applying to a work at a place that would be in high-demand even in a good economy.

Basically, you can never be too prepared.  Having a solid skill set is of course the most important thing.  But if it comes down to two candidates who are equal in skill, who do you think stands the better chance?  The one who has first-hand knowledge of our products, or the one who just read the web sites and a few reviews?

Reply #24 from Demigod Forums Top

Forgive me for highjacking this thread for a second :)

Quoting Zoomba, reply 23
Basically, you can never be too prepared.  Having a solid skill set is of course the most important thing.  But if it comes down to two candidates who are equal in skill, who do you think stands the better chance?  The one who has first-hand knowledge of our products, or the one who just read the web sites and a few reviews?
End of Zoomba's quote

Ofcourse, that goes without saying. If you have to make a choice between a candidate that did A and a candidate that did A + B the choice is easy. But it's never that simple. As an interviewer you have to not only weed out the 'average' person (what person is average probably often depends on that specific job) but also find that one talent, the one person with that 'extra' for your company. And ofcourse that choice is never black and white. I wonder how anyone reviewing people for a job actually finds that one person.

Reading the OP again the matter is pretty simple ofcourse; do whatever you can to make you stand out and convince the company you really want to work there, even more so than others. But I imagine that is ultimately only a part of what makes the future employee the best choice. I guess my post really boiles down to this: when you've taken out the people that actually show interest and care for you company, how do you find the one person out of that pool that is really the talent? [edit to clarify]: I've worked with people in the software engineering department that only had a diploma for Electrics. They 'roll in' and end up being a real 'talent'. Who would have thought?

Forgive me for going offtopic too much, I can continue this in another thread. Also, I'm not looking for a job at Stardock, do don't be afraid I'm trying to 'cheat' my way in by asking specifics about what you want to hear here, I'm just curious ;)

Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top

I have a question regarding Stardock's hiring policies.  Would they help candidates relocate from their home countries, in case they are from outside the USA? I'm currently hunting for jobs in the gaming industry, and I am not in the USA.