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

Keeping Connections may be the Most Important Tool to Job Security

If you ever find yourself unemployed, which is not uncommon for any industry in the current era--especially creative ones such as video game development--then you may wonder what steps you can take to find your next position. It has been more and more clear that network=net worth, and the quality of the people that you know and associate with on a daily basis determines the quality of your life. If you want to be able to find a job quickly after having been laid off from a studio, then look no further to your direct circle of industry peers: the people who you get along with at work are also the same people that will most readily give you a raving recommendation. In order to find these kinds of people, constantly offer to take them to lunch and also join other coworkers' lunch outings. Find a group that you can really associate with--which will almost always be those that are in your same department. Then, keep up with them and make it a point to attend parties or lunches or other social events that those people are part of.

Many of my colleagues, especially the less social ones, like to save money by budgeting their lunch and bringing in their own meal from home. While I also do this as well, I make sure to not go one whole week without eating at least once or twice out with my colleagues. It may save you a small amount of money in the short run--say, $30-40/week--but it will most certainly cost you more money in the long run: when you are having trouble finding a new job because nobody at work really got to know you and connect with you on a deeper emotional level. That's right: people are creatures of affection and need social interaction. So, if you want to get ahead in any industry than you'd better learn to have friends in your industry because they are the network that supports each other and starts new studios together. Most studios care more about referrals than any other type of application submission. The only other way around getting a referral is by attending networking events such as conference and job fairs and meeting the HR department, or other team members, directly. You will have far less chance of getting a test or an interview, but at least you will have better chances than the luck-of-the-draw for the other applicants who are merely submitting their application from the company website. So remember: doing your work at your job is great and will keep you at your current job. But, if you want to transition to other companies or excel your career, you will not want to spend all of your time working but balance it by adding a fair amount of interacting with fellow colleagues and building your reputation as someone who is easy to get along with and who is not labelled as a "complainer".

If you would like to know more on the subject, there is an interesting book out there that covers the topic more in-depth. I still have yet to read it but it has been on my wish list for quite a while:

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
http://www.amazon.com/Never-Eat-Alone-Secrets-Relationship/dp/0385512058

-Ken

Non-Sense of Entitlement

This is an interesting topic: people who become very successful also seem to be the most entitled people around, no? Have we not all heard of how demanding actors and actresses are when in their trailers. The food selection has to be right, the color choices of the decorations have to be right, etc, etc. As a society, we have just come to accept that those in extremely successful situations are allowed to get away with being more than just a little full of themselves. But this is more of a weakness for them, than a strength. In an article posted by infochachkie.com (http://infochachkie.com/nonsense-of-entitlement/) It has been proved that even great people such as Babe Ruth are not entitled anymore than some average person on the street, for getting a new job. We should treat each new job and opportunity as something that we are willing to fight for and put all of our effort into. If restaurants started watering down their drinks do you think that they would be in business much longer? Just because they have the reputation as a successful establishment, that means that now they have to uphold that status more than ever or they will lose it just as quick as a hot stock loses value during a down market. It is the same as babies having less freedom to mess up than teenagers: the larger and more mature someone's career or business becomes, the easier it will be to mess up majorly. Sure, one could argue that they now have a safety net to fall back on whereas when they were getting their start in their career every choice had to add up perfectly in order to grow. I can see both sides of the spectrum. I will say, though, that being cocky and feeling entitled is not something that game development employers will be looking for so, even if you have a spectacular portfolio and have worked for tons of great studios in the past, you will still need to put in the work to prove yourself to the new team that you will be working with. Since you had been working at the top studios, they will expect even more from you and will be ashamed if you are not able to live up to your perceived value as a team member and an employee.
  A good part of the article says how Babe Ruth thought that he would have an instant coaching job based on his reputation. He was not used to selling himself and charming others and really convincing others to want to use him as a coach. He just waited and wanted the managers to come to him with new jobs. But they didn't come and his career in baseball ended there. If you think that you are going to get a job based on your portfolio alone, you are wrong. It may help to get your foot in the door, but your personality and your willingness to work with others will be displayed during your interview and it is something that teams will be looking for just as much as the talented work that you provide. So remember to have pride and passion in any job that you partake in, even if it is in QA or some small no-name studio and you are just starting out your career. The dedication you give to each job will build your reputation and open new doors for you in the future, but remember: you still have to be the one who makes the effort to walk through those doors!

-Ken

Salary Negotiation Tips & Tricks

Salary Negotiation. Probably the most feared aspect of the job application process for introverts aka most game developers. As a result, most game developers do not negotiate their salary and will take whatever the company offers first. I have a friend who is a programmer at Sucker Punch who told me that he does not negotiate his salary but he tells the prospect studio that he is applying for his current salary, and let's them figure out a new salary for him. This may not be the best strategy to get the highest pay, but it definitely seems like the best way to have job security as the company is offering you what they want to pay. Most studios in current times will always ask your previous pay anyway. It used to be a good strategy to not disclose this information--perhaps back in your parent's generation--but the new process of hiring absolutely requires you to list your previous salary. It is seen as being non-compliant if you don't. You also don't want to lie, because good HR managers will contact your previous employer to confirm this information.

Remember that at the end of the day you are providing a service that others are able to provide also, so the competition and supply and demand of the position dictate the market price for your salary. You can't expect to make more or less than around $5,000 of that average figure, for your level of experience and based on your previous salary. For instance, if you were getting paid $45,000/year in Seattle and the same position paid $65,000 in Los Angeles, you can expect that the most the employer will be willing to pay is $70,000, no matter how good you are. There will always be someone nearly as good as you who is willing to accept the average pay for the position. Don't let this discourage you: in fact, you should be researching average salaries more than ever because an employer will want to know what salary you expect and you do not want to be too far outside of that figure when giving them your estimate.

When an employer asks for your desired salary, give them a range of around $15,000-$20,000. If a job pays an average of $50,000 then you should tell them you expect $45,000-$60,000. You want to start lower than the average just to show that you are flexible, and then pivot the average of your range slightly higher than the average pay for the position. The average of $45K-$60K is $53,000--$3,000 higher than the median. The employer will most likely not pay you the bottom figure in your range just to show that they care more about you, and they will want to pay somewhere in the middle.

How do you find average salaries for an area? You could try simplyhired.com and click on "salaries," although I have found this to be wildly inaccurate and gives you a very rough estimate of what you can expect. You can also try a cost of living comparison (if you already have a job), such as CNN's http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/. These are also inaccurate because housing is such a big factor and the sad reality is that game developers usually live in the nicest cities in the USA but they do not own homes in those cities. Another website that is more accurate, because it relies on actual user data and experience level, is Payscale.com. It takes a while to fill out their report, though, especially if you are looking for quick estimates and in different cities. 

Want to know a little secret that I discovered recently, that is the best of the best for figuring out a fair salary for your position? Glassdoor.com

Glass door is users inputting their own anonymous data about how much money they are making in their current position. You can search by studios and all of the big names have good data: Blizzard, Naughty Dog, Rockstar, etc. I highly recommend this website and encourage those in the industry to share their information with others. This is the best defense that we as employees have over HR departments exploiting us and trying to charge too little for our valuable work as game developers. I'm sure that studio owners and publishers hate this, as they would want to keep more profit for themselves, but there is such an unfair advantage right now of how much publishers are profiting from the hard working developers--who are doing the real work in making video games.

Even if you are shy it is worth it to practice negotiating your salary. You will probably have less room to do this if you are just starting out, as I didn't negotiate my first couple of jobs because I was so eager to start working and didn't want the opportunity to pass me up. I don't know if I would change that if I could go back in time, so you may want to do the same. But, if you are getting more experience, then studios are expecting you to negotiate and you will feel more valuable as a person for being able to charge what you feel you are worth.

Good luck getting the most pay for your hard work!
-Ken

http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/salary-negotiation-tips-tricks/

A Free Sample Referral Cover Letter

I have already mentioned in my book, How to Get a Job in Video Games (available on amazon.com), the importance of referrals in the job application process. Numerous publications claim that 80% of the job market is unlisted (http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500173_162-7167784.html). This "hidden job market" is something that you are absolutely going to need to have access to. The best way to gain access is by networking: building your relationships with people who matter in your industry and your peers. You want to be seen as someone who is reliable and a hard worker. The only way to do this, most of the time, is by actually doing a good job--but, a large majority of it is going out to lunch with coworkers and attending social events (ex: drinking at a bar or going running together or a movie watching night, etc.) or stopping by your manager's desk just to say "hi." All of these tactics make you more likable and more memorable. If you do a good job only, then you will not be remember as much as someone who did an okay job but was very friendly. I know that this is a problem that I had: thinking that I would impress everyone with my work alone and that it would speak for itself. I was WRONG! People crave emotional and interpersonal connection! It is at the core of our existence. You must learn to love people and make friends with your coworkers, or else they will not trust you or give you referrals as much as you would like.

Now that you have your referral, how is the best way to utilize them? Well, you will want to have a referral from a game development studio that you are planning at working for. How do you get a referral from a studio that you haven't worked for before? Well, this is where experience is key: you will meet people at your first studio and they will move to other studios. The same goes for classmates at your university. You must keep in touch and then they can help you get a job and you should do the same when your colleagues need you. Another method to try is to email someone at a studio who has a high online presence and makes their email readily available: try to gain a relationship with them and show them samples of your work and ask for their advice on how to impress the studio that they work for. They may end up being able to serve as a referral, but most of the time referrals are between people who know your track record and don't expect one from a quick acquaintance.

Once you have your referral and they work for a studio that you want to work for, use their name in an application email or cover letter sent to that studio (as some studios accept online applications only and the only spot to add notes is in the "cover letter" section. I just saw this on the Sucker Punch website). You are basically using your existing cover letter but adding the very important first line with your referral name (you do not want to beat around the bush!). For example: "John Doe works for your studio as a programmer and referred me of the open programming position that you have available." You better believe that the HR manager will check with that employee to make sure that this is correct, so don't lie about this.

If you need more information on how to construct the cover letter with opening the referral line, check here: http://www.quintcareers.com/sample_referral_letter.html

-Ken

Having the Psychological Advantage During Interviews

I was listening to NPR this morning and heard a story about the interview process and how not all candidates are viewed the same by the interviewer. This is the bias of the human mind. A couple of key points:

1. You are the best candidate if you've followed after a candidate who had a weak interview. 
2. You are automatically interpreted to have 2 extra years of experience simply by being the last interview candidate of the day, but only if all of the other interviews for that day were disappointing.

This is an interesting study and the most helpful part that I found is a theory of the "gambler's fallacy:" people who gamble lose so many times that they think that one time must be a winner, or vice versa: if a movie critic has seen 10 movies for the week and they are all great, they will subconsciously feel that this is not possible and be extra critical on a few of the movies.

Listen to the article, it is interesting and shows that at the end of the day we are all human and understanding human thought is essential for having the advantage in the job world. None of the results of the study are predictable, by the way, so even if you are able to know that these findings are in effect, there is really nothing you can do about it (except be the last interview of the day, because you are at the most risk).

https://www.transitionconcierge.com/tc/customer/smartStrategy/transition/evaluating_and_negotiating.do