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By Posted in Applying 2 Comments

A great resume might be the key to landing your dream job, but it won’t make a difference if nobody reads it. That’s where your cover letter comes in. A great cover letter helps you stand out from the crowd. And it makes that recruiter or hiring manager eager to learn more about you — rather than passing you over.

In short, a great cover letter can be your key to getting noticed, scoring an interview, and ultimately landing your dream job.

So let’s dive in and learn exactly how to craft a strong cover letter, step by step. We’ll offer specific advice, look at cover letter examples and samples, and provide a cover letter template you can copy-paste to get started writing your own.

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By Posted in Applying No Comments
To land a job in game art, you'll need a strong and compelling art portfolio.

If you’re applying for jobs as a game artist, there’s nothing more important than building a strong game art portfolio to showcase your talent and creativity. When you apply for jobs, your portfolio is your calling card — it’s your first and best chance to make a great first impression.

But building a strong game art portfolio isn’t easy. It can be a daunting task, especially if you’re just starting out. That’s why we’ve assembled the best advice from professional artists and art directors in the game industry. Their advice will help you navigate the process, and create a portfolio that sets you apart from your competition.

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By Posted in Resume No Comments

Today, I’m doing a video “teardown” of 3 actual resumes from job-seekers in the video game industry. All of the resumes are pretty good, but they make some super-common mistakes that I see all the time. With just a little more work, these can become the sort of eye-catching resumes that are impossible for recruiters and hiring managers to overlook.

Most of these mistakes are extremely common—in fact, I’d be willing to bet that your own resume contains at least 3 of these mistakes right now! Watch the video to learn what they are, and how you can fix them before you apply for your next job.

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By Posted in Applying, Careers 29 Comments
Which game companies make hit games AND treat employees well?

Video games are a multi-billion dollar industry, and the largest companies are home to thousands of employees. If you’re looking for work as a game developer, you might be planning to start by applying at the companies that make your favorite games.

But when it comes to your job search, making hit games isn’t all you should care about. Are those companies great places to work? Do they treat their employees well? Do they care about their impact on the environment and on the World? Will they still be around in 10 years, or are they on a downward slope to mass layoffs and bankruptcy?
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By Posted in Applying No Comments

Social media icons on paint canisters
Your social media activity paints a colorful picture, but is it appropriate for recruiters and managers?

Last fall, I spoke to a group of students who were about to graduate and apply for jobs in the game industry. We talked about the usual topics – the importance of a strong portfolio, a great resume, and excellent interviewing skills. But then a young woman in the back of the room raised her hand and asked an incredibly insightful question: “When recruiters evaluate my job application, will they also search and investigate me on social media?”

She desperately wanted to know, and for a good reason. When she was in high school, she went through an angry phase and said things all over social media that she later regretted. And now, she was afraid a potential employer might see those terrible old posts, and it would destroy her chances of landing a job.

Unfortunately, she was absolutely right. Read more »

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By Posted in Portfolio Advice, Portfolio Examples No Comments

“I used to worry about making my portfolio perfect. As I’ve discovered, there’s no such thing.” That’s Nathaniel Hubbell, a professional visual effects (VFX) artist. And when it comes to career advice, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Hubbell has been sailing the seas of professional art for over a decade, and readily shares his tips to help you navigate your own career successfully. Read more »

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By Posted in Applying, Interviewing No Comments

A few weeks ago, I spoke with a group of students at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment, a game and film school here in Seattle. They were kind enough to make a video and share it with the world, I thought you might like it.

It was super fun, because I did an open Q&A with the students. They’re graduating soon, so they asked about everything: interviewing, resumes, portfolios, and whether good digital hygiene means you should “scrub” your social media before employers find those pics of that thing you kinda wish you hadn’t done last summer. Here’s the video. Read more »

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By Posted in Applying, Podcast 2 Comments

In this episode of Game Industry Career Guide Podcast, I answer a question from Bryan, who asks “Where can I find reviews for this business site and is this a legit website that I will not be scammed by?”

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why there are so many scammer websites for video game testing jobs
  • 5 simple techniques you can use to identify, and avoid, scammers
  • Use those techniques to see which Google search results are actually scams!

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By Posted in Applying, Podcast, Resume No Comments

In this episode of Game Industry Career Guide Podcast, I answer a question from Travis, who asks “I am a recent computer science graduate. I applied for a tester job at Ubisoft and, following your advice, I submitted everything as a PDF file. But I recently listened to another podcast that said big companies, like Ubisoft, don’t actually read resumes, computers do, and that we should use a plain resume with specific fonts and save it as a Microsoft word or a TXT file so the computer can parse the information. Is this true? Is my application going to be overlooked because I submitted PDF files?”

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why big game companies use machine learning software to filter resumes
  • Whether certain file formats and fonts might cause problems for your application
  • A clever trick you can use to find out what’s allowed by any company’s resume-reading software

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