Building Employability

Recruitment Process

Multiple talks helped prepare me for applying for a job in the game’s industry. The differences in advice made it clear that each company may have a different process. Dan Bernardo told me that his indie studio’s process includes:

1. A first interview that’s meant to help Dan figure out how anxious the applicant is, as well as give the applicant a sense of what the work environment is like.

2. A second interview focused on the company’s current and future projects to make sure the applicant understands what they’re getting into, and for Dan to see how much the applicant engages with the projects and what ideas they have.

3. A practical test to see how the applicant does in a work situation.

4. A final interview is a call with the whole studio team to see how them and the applicant interact with each other.

He emphasised that in an interview, the applicant is interviewing the company as much as the other way around, and I should be asking them questions. This taught me to research a company so that I have plenty of questions in mind. If a company states it is ‘getting rid of crunch’, I will inquire as to how exactly they plan to do it, to help ensure I can make an informed decision about whether I truly want to work for the company.

Additionally, I listened to a talk on ‘Careers and Employability’ provided by a member of the university in a department that supports students and graduates through multiple steps of employment. In the talk, I was told the recruitment process generally consists of:

1. Giving your CV, a cover letter, and your application.

2. Online tests (numerical, verbal or about situational judgement)

3. First Interview

4. Assessment centre tasks (e.g., roleplay, case study, presentation, etc.)

5. A final interview

She said to research and find out what styles/requirements each company has, so I can underline what about the company interests me in my cover letter to them.

All this information on the recruitment process has helped me consider my priorities on what skills and pieces to develop (such as my portfolio, which will be elaborated on below).

Portfolio Website

Multiple talks helped me learn what the contents of a portfolio website should be. It was made clear that it’s important when seeking employment. As I aim to work in narrative design, I made sure to note relevant advice and ask questions regarding it, as I have been unable to find good narrative design portfolio examples.

Dan Bernardo said that showing flexibility in art style is not particularly important, which I feel extends to writing styles and writing in different genres. Whilst I still want to show variety, I do think it will be better to prioritise demonstrating the style I most want to work in. Dan said that one should end their portfolio with a ‘bang’, something showing originality. It was also emphasised how important it for me to show my understanding of processes and pipelines, and explained how to do so:

• Many use bullet points in which they give their responsibilities, but Dan believes it doesn’t demonstrate how the points are connected, and by extension doesn’t demonstrate one’s understanding of the pipelines.

• Dan feels that a concise paragraph explaining one’s part in a project is better, showing where your work starts and ends, and what part in the process you had.

Furthermore, regarding narrative portfolios, Dan said quality matters more than volume. My work should show as much as possible within a small amount of text; being precise, enjoyable, and invoking an emotional response. Each piece should on my portfolio should only need to be two paragraphs.

Joel Beardshaw also gave advice on portfolios, saying that they should be ‘focused’. Each featured project should take up roughly one A4 piece of paper, and can include clear bullet points, gifs, photos, and similar. They should also include self-reflection. He also felt that the quality of a project matters less than showing that one tried something and reflected on the results.

I received advice from multiple speakers that participating in Game Jams is a good method to build content that can be added into my portfolio. Across the second semester of my course, I will be taking what opportunities I can to participate in Game Jams that will not take up so much time that they interfere with university work. In this time, I will also make a website through Wix to put my portfolio on and decide on what projects to highlight.

Business Cards

My university lecturer gave one talk on a few different things, one of them being that one should have a business card, whether physical or digital. It was described as ‘the gift of your contact details’, and should include a phone number, email, my portfolio website link and my social media accounts. I also saw some examples, which all seemed quite simple, informing my attempt to create a rough attempt of my own, shown below:

I felt the advantages of this business card are:

• Gives 5 different methods to contact me, including LinkedIn, which is the social media most used for professional relationships.

• Includes my face, making it easy to recognise it in my profile on social media so someone is confident they found the right account.

• The darker red attracts attention to it, and I think the white text is clearly readable on it

However, some thoughts are:

• The red on white might not be as easy to read for people with colour-blindness, I am not well informed, and might be something to re-evaluate in future attempts

• If I have contributed to any published projects in the future, I could briefly note them on the other side of the card.

CV

A CV is a history of one’s education and past jobs (including your own personal projects) that might include a brief personal statement. My lecturer, Adam Procter told me that they should be 1-2 pages, with information kept concise and relevant to the job one is applying for.

The CV should be evenly split between information about myself and my work, but should exclude basic interests (like going to the movies), age, ethnicity, etc. CVs should have a simple layout: clear communication of information matters far more than an appealing aesthetic.

The university has a CV building guide that I will be using to make a first draft based on the information I have been given up to now, and show to a career’s advisor from my university. From there I will continue to draft and update my CV under their guidance.

Social Media Presence

Multiple speakers emphasised the importance of using social media, as it serves to demonstrate who I am as a person to potential employers, who will always check one’s social media when you apply for a job. LinkedIn is particularly important to be active on, as it often used by professionals to contact each other. Whilst less important, having twitter and a blog can also be useful as additional forms of social media presence that are public-facing.

I was also advised by Mark Rands of Barclay’s Eagle Labs, that one should try to post at least once per week –although not necessarily posting work or being impressive, just showing who I am. He also advised to comment on other’s posts. I have already watched a guide on contents to add to my LinkedIn profile that I will follow to develop my LinkedIn profile between the 19th of January and the 26th of January.

Covering Letters

Covering letters are an additional component to seeking employment, it serves to pitch yourself and persuade people that you’re worth interviewing, as well as showing initiative. It can be sent alongside a CV or as a follow-up after meeting someone at an event. According to a document I found on my university’s website, the structure should be:

• Be addressed to a specific person.

• Be 3-4 paragraphs fitting one side of A4.

• Not repeat CV content, only give a small overview of your abilities and potential.

• Have the following order:

  1. An introduction of you

  2. State the job you’re seeking and explain why.

  3. Outline what makes you suitable for the job.

  4. Conclude on a positive note.

Adam Procter also commented that they should neither be too formal or informal. I’ll be keeping note of everything I learnt about cover letters so that I can write one to potential employers.