As I prepare to head back to San Francisco in a couple weeks for the annual Game Developers Conference, I find it useful to reflect on my experience from last year. Here are some of the lessons I gleaned, both from meeting with video
game industry professionals and from my own participation in
the whirlwind (see my post from last year at this time to find the original installment of this content):
***
- You can't please everyone. There is no
perfect resume; there is no perfect business card. One professional's
advice and suggestions are rubbish to another. For example, some
recruiters love the objective statement while others told me flat out
that it's a waste of space. Whatever. Research the particular company
you're interested in and tailor your materials to reflect what they're seeking.
Find a strong template and get solid general resume advice from faculty and pros, and then just make yourself shine in the best way that you know
how.
- That said, there are definitely better and
worse ways to illustrate what you can offer a company. Do more showing
than telling on your resume. If a skill can be described in its precise
context as it was exercised during a project or product development,
that is infinitely better than simply listing what you can do. (At
least, that's the story I got from most pros--a couple said they liked a
brief list so they knew what to expect from the other details. Again,
whatever.)
- If you have multiple professional
interests and broad skill sets, focus your resume on one core discipline
and make sure that every detail on that resume supports your specific
professional goal. If you would like to try your hand at a couple
different disciplines, make completely different resumes that focus on
one discipline each. Companies want someone who can nail the specific
jobs they need done, not someone who can kind of do a bunch of other
people's jobs. It's still a good idea to include jobs and skills that
are related to game development in other ways, but make sure your
description contextualizes and focuses them onto your core professional
discipline. For example, why does knowing some basic programming enhance
your ability to be a producer? How do animation skills help you be a
better senior programmer?
- Talk about team sizes and
your personal contributions to the nitty-gritty of your projects'
development cycles. The more you can convince someone that you actually
make games and are valuable to a team in the process, the better.
-
Make games. Seriously. Just make games like crazy so that you can show
people your passion, your work ethic, and your creativity with something
they can personally see, hear, feel, experience, and enjoy. Also, get a
tablet so that you can show off your stuff. It's 2013.
- Ask questions. You want to
learn from them--let them know that. Let them know how excited you are
by treating them like the experts because, well, I suppose they are.
They are the ones getting paid to do this, after all.
-
If you are talking to a company's representative, that company should
be the greatest thing since sliced bread. You want to be with them. You
need to be with them. You have amazing things to offer them, but they
have the world to offer you. Be excited! Brag on them and let them know
how honored you are to be talking to them. And do it all genuinely, even
if it's not exactly what you think. You have to play the salesman card
in every way possible, without being a tool. Sound hard? It's incredibly
difficult for me to be like this. I haven't mastered this skill, so I
didn't reap its benefits, but I watched other people do it right in
front of me, and it works wonders. Practice, practice, practice!
-
Go to have fun! There's a ton of work to be done, but pace yourself.
Play the IGDA's meta game, go to parties, and just talk to everyone
who's willing to lend an ear. You never know how much work you can
actually get done in the video games industry by playing with other
people. Just remember to play nice. :)
***
Do you have any advice or experiences you can share with me or with others in the same boat?
- Troy
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