Great Article About Upholding Your Reputation in the Gaming Industry

It is true, once you start college you are being judged from day one by your professors. Some students may want to goof off in school and have a huge social life and not focus on their school work. Well, the competition is already hard enough among the people who are avidly crafting their skills and applying themselves, so if you are not focusing in school you should have not attended in the first place. The whole reason why you are attending school is to prove yourself to your professors, as they are supposed to be connected to the gaming industry and will give you a referral whenever studios come looking for college graduates. You also want to prove yourself to your fellow students, and the students that are working hard gravitate to each other: so if you are not friends with or in the crowd of the rockstar students in your game development courses, you are probably doing something wrong. You should always make them your friend and work with, learn from, and collaborate with them. They will be the most likely to transition into a real job once they graduate, and will want to refer you if the studio they are working for is looking for new hires. These relationships last forever and you want the best people to have the best impressions of you.

A quote from my book, "4 years of hard work for 40 years of enjoyment are better than 4 years of enjoyment for 40 years of hard work" is true: if you want to slave at a regular job and regret the rest of your life then blow off college and don't expect following your dreams or goals that you have set out at an early age. Sure, you can always change this later in life, but it will be exponentially more difficult with more responsibilities--such as having kids or a home mortgage to have to pay for. It's hard to go back to school once you have been dependent on a full time job for years. This is why college is the prime time for you to work your hardest and really learn as much as you can because you have freedom and time to do it.

I just read this article by Zuby Ahmed and I must agree that it is 100% correct and I have hit on all of these points in my book. It is good to hear it from a different perspective, though. If you want to find out how to truly make the most of your schooling and how to keep up with the rising demands of the video game industry, then take a few minutes and read it.

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/get-ahead-video-games-industry

-Ken

Some Ways of Unlocking the Hidden Job Market

It should be becoming clearer and clearer that most industries thrive from referrals and networks. In fact, entrepreneurs have a saying that goes: "Your network is your net worth." For an industry like video games, this could be altered to: "Your network is your next job." It is definitely job security and also the ability to move on to new companies, because when you know someone who knows people at a studio that you want to work for, and you have a good rapport with them, you better believe that getting a job interview will be a walk in the park at that point. Sure, you do have to have the skills yourself and also be good with marketing yourself, but you won't get far unless you reach out to people that are relevant to your job search. People make the World go 'round, and all companies really are, are a collection of people who share a similar vision and interest. Opportunity many times comes down to knowing the right person at the right time, instead of being in the right place at the right time. You could be in China and know someone in San Francisco. There may be hoards of people in San Francisco looking for a job. But, if you knew the CEO or a manager at a company in San Francisco, it doesn't matter if you live there or not: because your relationship to that person has the ability to last forever, yet your location is only temporary. Here are some ways that you can tap into the hidden job market:

1. Use your network. This is the long and hard method, as it takes years to build your reputation and most of the time your network is only as strong as the impression that they have of you: so you can't simply be friends with someone on LinkedIn that you met once on at a conference and expect them to refer you for a new job, since they don't know your work ethic or skill level. Go out to lunch with people at work and also to social events. Get to know them on a deeper level and make sure to have all of their phone numbers. Call them. A lot. Calling people is the best way to keep in touch, because it shows that you've set aside time for them and that they are in a special reserved spot in your friend circle. Simply sending emails or social network updates to them just means you are an acquaintance.
2. Contact people on LinkedIn, who work for the studio that you would like to be at. You may not be able to filter and find these people unless you already have a large network on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is very good about drawing similarities between your contacts to help you find new ones. I will go into finding the right people at the right studio more in depth, in the future, and have considered saving this for a new book that I am planning on writing. Let me know if this is something that you would like to see!
3. Informational Interviews. You can't be shy anymore in this competitive world. I know that most developers are introverts and I have had to snap out of that really fast whenever I am at a conference. The best way to get an informational interview is to meet someone at a conference or be able to be introduced from a friend and go out for lunch with the new acquaintance. This way, you can ask them things about the job without sounding too desperate and also show that you are capable and that you would like working for their studio. Just talking to someone face-to-face makes them remember you, and you are already way ahead of the others out there sending in their electronic applications with no face or personality.
4. Attend mixers or game-industry events. When a company throws a party or a mixer, they are not doing it just for fun or to show off how much money they have. They are trying to find new employees. You must make an effort to talk to the HR manager and whoever else may be there representing the company. You may feel like: oh, well I asked the HR manager some questions but they had scripted responses like they always do. Wrong! You need to get on a personal level and ask them about them-self and the studio and also share your own personality and interests. You may not know it, but if you send in your application and mention briefly how you met them at the mixer and what you talked about, they will remember you (especially if you gave them a business card). They want to help people they know, so they will get you lined up with an interview rather than passing over or second-guessing your resume--if they knew nothing about you.

Some other articles mention that you should target the company's job listing directly on their website. I agree, that are some job listings that are not listed on the more public national job boards and have less competition since not everyone knows about it, but, technically this is not the hidden job market. Just the fact that they have the listing online means that they are not serious about hiring someone immediately and that they still have quite a few people that will be applying for the job. You want to get in on the hidden job market, where there is little competition other than a few people. The job search is more personal and will move a lot faster than waiting to hear back, like in a normal application process. The hidden job market is awesome and you will most likely not even notice it when you find it, because by that point everyone will be your friend and it is really just friends helping friends. So make a lot of friends in the industry, and keep producing top-quality work!

-Ken

http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/5-ways-uncover-hidden-job-openings/

Are You Killing Your Job Search?

Searching for jobs may not be the most exciting practice there is as part of your ability to do a job well and complete your job description. It is a process that is highly subjective and each person will want to approach it differently and on their own terms. Well, even though you can customize your job search and implant your own personal style, you are going to want to follow the fundamental structure of an application process, which includes:

1. Error-proofing your resume. Make sure that you have not lied about your credentials and also that there are no grammatical errors such as misspellings. Studios are increasingly wanting to have the duration that you have worked for each title, so make sure you include the month and the year that you began and ended a position (just like in LinkedIn format).
2. Be professional and get to the point when sending in your application. You don't want to blabber or come off sounding like you are gloating. It is pretty difficult for a hiring manager to gauge your personality from a digital application--which most are--anyway. Your references will do the bulk of the work convincing the person in charge of hiring that you are a good person to work with. They also have tons of applications to read so you want to give your contact information, attach your resume to the email, and wrap it up with a chance for a follow-up, such as "I would enjoy the opportunity to interview with you."
3. Use a cover letter when possible. Not all applications require one, such as small studios that don't have organized websites or have less requirements for a candidate. If there is a section for a cover letter though, you will want to submit one. Hey--if there are two resumes that are similar and one has a cover letter and the other doesn't, it will look that much better during the decision process and make you seem more professional.
4. Keep your resume simple. Text-only and word doc format. I haven't found a job application that won't accept Microsoft word. I even save mine as Word 2003 compatible in case the studio is using old software to view the document. You don't need pictures of your work or yourself on the resume, you don't need colors, and you especially don't need it to be rasterized and saved as a pdf: it will be too hard to decipher your information and the resume is mainly to communicate your credentials, not to make an impression (except a bad one, if you don't follow these rules).
5. Being too rowdy on your Facebook page. I have past friends and childhood acquaintances that I am friends with on my social networking page, namely Facebook. Some people feel the need to be too comfortable on Facebook and share too much information. You will be guaranteed that your future studio will be viewing your profile and that your boss will friend you one day on a social networking site. Having pictures of yourself doing keg stands or having hateful or immature posts about how you are angry at the the world, or worse--your boss--will be bad karma for those who don't know anything about you yet other than what you decide to reveal about yourself online. Also, make your page public: if you have it as private, the studio may not be happy not being able to find out more about you. Just make sure to screen your pictures and untag yourself in any pictures posted by your friends that compromise your professional image. Why do you think it is such a blow to a movie star's reputation when they are caught in the lens of a candid-camera in an unflattering act? It is because they understand the importance of marketing their image and the world only knows them by what they choose to reveal about themselves. You should be on your best, most charismatic, and most exciting and interesting behaviors. Post pictures about you participating in hobbies like sports or being with friends to show employers that you have a life outside of work. Then post pictures of your work so that they know that you are passionate about your work and enjoy sharing it with your network.
6. Use LinkedIn to your advantage. When you meet someone at a networking event such as GDC, get their business card (make sure to have your own to hand out) and then go home and add them on LinkedIn with a personalized comment about what you discussed the night before. You should write a personalized detail about them on the back of their business card--after the discussion--so you don't forget.
7. Follow up after an application submission. Keep yourself fresh on the studio's mind and they will also understand that you are actually interested in the position. Keep these emails simple and professional. Sometimes you may not be able to follow up if you submitted via an online application system, which is unfortunate. The only way around this is to try and find the HR manager or Recruiter for the studio on LinkedIn and alert them that you submitted your application and that you would love the chance to interview. Don't be too pushy and give it at least a week or two before checking up on your application.
8. Send personalized thank you letters after an interview. Most of the time you will only be dealing with an HR manager until you get to the actual interview. If you are an artist, you will unlikely not be talking to any developers until you have passed the art test. Still, if you fail the art test, send a thank you letter to the HR representative just to show that you have decency and also to keep a good impression on their mind in case you decide to apply later in the future.
9. Always be on good terms with your ex-boss. They are your main reference, and they will most likely always be contacted before you are brought in for an interview. Unlike other references, you can't choose this one, and prospective studios know this. They don't want staged/canned answers that they might get by talking to your good friend at a studio, so they can count on your boss to give a realistic evaluation of your work. Don't ever make a bad impression on your boss, willingly, and also try to correct any difficulties you may have with them while you are still on the job. They will most likely be hard to contact after you leave the job, unless you were really good friends with them.

So, if you follow this checklist you will be grade-A quality for being able to get to the interview, which is really when the rubber meets the road and the process is becoming serious to hire you. These steps are a certain unwritten rule-set that HR managers play by and you have to be playing their game in order for them to understand you. So be a professional player and make sure to hit it out of the park!

-Ken

If you want tips on what not to do during your application process, check out this story: 12 Deadly Sins that Kill Your Job Search. http://newgradlife.blogspot.com/2010/01/job-openings-new-jobs-job-search-job_11.html

Great Game Development Resources for Learning about Game Design

This article by G4 is more specific to game design, as there are lot of good resources that will teach you about working in game engines and the theories of design and player entertainment. I have just read an article recently that covers some of the points that I discuss in my book about the benefits of going to college vs. being self-taught. Also, there are some wonderful resources, such as the Gamasutra Jobs Boards, where you can find jobs and seek out what studios are wanting from a candidate for the position that you want to be hired for. This way, when developing your portfolio, you can tailor your portfolio in a way that will meet all of the checkpoints for that studio and will also be valuable to other studios as well.

The article also recommends reading books and that having insider-information is one of the most important tools to propelling yourself forward to gain the skills and know the expectations of what it will take for you to get a job in the video game industry. All the more reason to read books like mine, How To Get a Job in Video Games.

Perhaps one of the most useful bits of information that this article from G4 provides is that you should start designing games, now! Don't wait around until you decide on the right college to go to. Many of the game engines are simple and also free to download and tinker with, and that's exactly what you should do. You will learn so much more by trial and error than by having someone tell you theories in school, because eventually you will have to test those theories yourself and they will be more sticky in your mind because you did it yourself. Game Development schools spend a large portion of their time giving you your own time and freedom to work on your own projects. The professor is not going to hold your hand the whole way throughout your development process, so you might as well get used to learning on your own early and then, if you do decide to go to school, you will have that much more experience than your peers. What do all of the child prodigies have in common? They started their talent early in life! The sooner you begin, the more time you have to learn and the better you will become overall. Someone going to the gym once and doing five hundred pushups will not benefit as much as someone who has started when they were fifteen and go to the gym three times a week and complete fifty pushups each time. You will learn more with consistent dedication and work instead of a flash in the pan--if you think the only time you will every have to work on your portfolio is during college and then stop altogether. This industry is one where you are constantly learning new processes and technology and improving your own talent, so beginning as soon as possible is key to having a job arranged for you at graduation time.

To read the article and see what they have to say about going to college and joining online forums and which engines to focus on in your portfolio, you can check it out here: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/716473/how-to-get-a-job-in-video-games-your-career-resource-guide/

-Ken