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Pre-GDC: Career Pavilion Hints Tips For Success

2010-03-09 03:00
Since GDC is coming up this week, and with it the Career Pavilion, this guide -- originally published in Game Developer magazine -- compiles advice from hiring companies on what they re looking for, plus important do s and don ts if you do want to get a job in the mainstream game biz. 2009 has been tough for the games industry. Layoffs, consolidations and reorganizations mean that not only have talented staff found themselves without jobs, but fresh graduates have found themselves entering into an uncertain future. Game Developers Conference 2010 s Career Pavilion (Thursday, March 11th-Saturday March 13th in Moscone South Hall, accessible with all GDC passes, including Expo or Student passes) presents an opportunity to receive face time with recruiting studios and publishers, and with only three days to make an impression itв s important to not waste any time. Weв ve talked to some of the top recruiters from companies including Blizzard, Ubisoft, and Sony to ask them what theyв re looking for, and with that knowledge at hand, you can ensure that every impression you make can be positive. Really! Be Prepared! Not only the motto of the Boy Scouts, Be prepared! is also overwhelmingly the advice of every recruiter we talked to. Before even beginning to research the Career Pavilion, recruiters strongly advised that all job seekers have a specific position in mind, and organize their preparation toward getting it. Too many times folks come to a booth and say they want work as an artist, programmer, or a designer, said Maggie Bohlen for High Voltage Software (a multiplatform developer that recently developed The Conduit for Sega). Donв t expect to leave your choice of career in our hands-know where your strengths lie and focus on that specific direction. Once you know what youв re looking for, tailor not only your resume to the position, but your portfolio (consisting of art, code samples, audio work, or whatever is most relevant to the discipline) and remember that even within disciplines it helps to be as specific as possible. All too often Iв ll have an artist walk up and say, в Iв m a concept, environment, and character artist, I can do it all!в , said Kraig Docherty for Blue Castle Games (currently working on Dead Rising 2 for Capcom). This will not help your case. Once youв ve got your tailored resume and portfolio, strip it down. Ensure your resume is as clear and as short as possible (recruiters advise it must always fit on two sides of one sheet of paper) with no spelling mistakes, typos, or formatting mistakes (every single recruiter told us this very important). Whittle down your portfolio to only the absolute peak of your output-your best work and the work you are most passionate about, and include descriptions. Then, though this may seem awkward, make sure that you are prepared to offer both your resume and portfolio to recruiters in a format that suits them-because if thereв s one thing our recruiters couldnв t agree on, it was their pr...
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