Are you applying to work for a game studio for the first time?
How do you stand out from your peers or the thousands of new grads entering the job market
each year?
How can you nail an interview?
If you think this is a lot to think about, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s a competitive world out there, and game development is a competitive industry
to break into.
We’ve seen too many hopefuls make common mistakes when applying and interviewing at
game studios.
And over the years, it seems like these mistakes keep repeating themselves!
In this video we’ll go over the top mistakes that we see candidates make, and share simple
things that you can do to avoid them!
We are Ask GameDev, AKA Childish Game-bino, AKA Mario Partynextdoor, AKA wubba lubba github,
and these are 8 game studio applicant mistakes to avoid!
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1.
Not showing an interest in games.
People join the games industry because of their passion for games.
Games are an art form and this passion shows through in the final product, and so companies
are usually looking for people that love games to join their team.
If an applicant doesn’t play games, doesn't hold any opinions on current games, or expresses
that they are interviewing with non-game companies, they may lose favour to a similar-skilled
applicant that lives and breathes all things video games.
2.
Not telling the company WHY they should consider you.
We didn’t think this would be on the list because it’s so obvious, but after speaking
with recruiters from the games industry, we were shocked!
You’d be surprised at how many applications come in without a cover letter!
If you don’t have a lot of experience, your resume probably looks a little thin, right?
Good candidates use a cover letter to show why the details on their resume suggest a
good fit with the hiring company.
Resumes are typically very factual and don't illustrate a story.
A proper cover letter should have three things: 1.
Tell them why you want to work for them.
Why do you like the company?
Why do you like the position?
This is a great place to show what you know about the company.
2.
Demonstrate how you’re a great fit for the position.
Job postings always list the skills and qualifications needed for a role.
Include examples of your work and experience that directly correlate to the needs of the
role.
3.
A call to action, asking for an interview.
Ask for that interview!
Tell them when you’re available, and provide the best way to contact you.
3.
Not having project or portfolio references ready
Walking into an interview without a quick way to access and showcase your portfolio
is a bad idea!
Whether the position is for programming, art, design, audio, or any other related discipline,
have a portfolio handy.
Does the job require coding experience?
Well then have your projects ready on repository like GitHub.
Make sure they’re organized and ready to grab at a moment’s notice.
If the company is looking for someone who knows a certain language, then make sure you
have some projects that illustrate your understanding of that language.
If this is for an art position, select your pieces that are most in line with the vision
of the project that you’ll be working on.
4.
Looking for new opportunities while in the middle of a dev cycle for another developer.
Leaving a project mid-stream can be very destructive to the project, and no one would want to bring
someone onto their team that has a history of this behaviour.
If you are doing this, make sure the interviewer understands why you aren't planning to see
the project through.
Hopefully it's a good reason.
5.
Blending in too much with the other applicants
If you sound like a robot, or sound generic, it will be hard for people to remember you.
You need to add something that will make you memorable.
You need to add some personality to everything you do.
Personality is what makes us human.
When you’re a junior, with not a lot of experience, one of the best things that you
can do, whether it be during an interview or written in cover letter, is tell a story.
Never forget the power of storytelling to facilitate a human connection.
It’s not hard to tell a memorable story.
Here’s an example: try making a game or application, and document your process, then
tell a story about your development.
Don’t make the story too generic.
Here’s a bad example: “I wanted to make a platforming game, so I downloaded Unity,
then I purchased and implemented a platforming framework.
The end”.
There’s no conflict there, nothing exciting.
People are impressed by difficult challenges that people take on.
If you have to get from A to B, and you take the shortest route possible, a straight line,
that’s not that impressive.
That’s not a cool story to tell.
BUT - If you go from A to B, but take the scenic route, or get lost along the way, or
get sidetracked, or discover something new, you’ll have much more to talk about.
A longer journey uncovers insights, builds stories, and better prepares you for real
world situations.
6.
Not researching the company
When it comes to talking about the company, don’t forget the A.S.K. rule.
Always Sound Keen!
Aside from being straight up rude, showing disinterest in the studio or the studio’s
portfolio is THE quickest way to fail an interview.
Learn everything about the company!
What games do they make?
What awards have they won?
What are they working on next?
If it’s a larger company, what’s their stock trading at?
What were the highlights of their previous year’s annual report?
What’s their culture like?
All of this information is readily available, and you should know it all.
Once you know it all, you need to know how to use it!
Don’t come in guns blazing, spouting off how great you think the company did in Q3
of last year!
Just have some talking points ready, and pepper them into the conversation where you see the
opportunities.
This is just simply to signal to the interviewer, that yes, you’ve done your research.
7.
Not following up
Some people just don’t follow up.
If a company doesn’t get back to you, don’t feel rejected - they’re probably just swamped!
You’re not doing yourself any favours by not following up.
But when to follow up is the question.
Some interviewers will tell you when you can follow up, at the end of the interview.
Sometimes they don’t, and that can be very stressful.
At that point its ok to ask them when you should follow up.
8.
Not having any experience
Not having any experience will apply to almost all new grads.
This one is the easiest to solve, because it’s also fun to solve - build something.
Make something cool, and learn from it.
The internet is your textbook, cheerleader, teacher, mentor.
You’ve been taught the basics at school and it's time to take yourself to the next
level.
Now is a better time that ever as so many things are free now!
Free game engines!
Free art applications!
Even free ready-made assets!
Apply what you’ve learned, join some of the great gamedev communities out there (like
the Ask Gamedev Discord Server), leverage free knowledge and free tools available online,
and build something.
Well that’s all 8.
We hope you avoid these mistakes when you apply for a position at a game studio!
If you want to check another video we have on Career Planning, check out our video on
the hardest roles to fill on a game development team
Thanks for watching! we are Ask Gamedev and we make game development videos on how to
elevate your games and inspire others.
What other tips about applying for jobs can you share with the Ask Gamedev community?
Let us know in the comments.
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