How to Prepare for a Career and Land a Job at Apple_6

194 The Google Résumé Artists who can write a bit of code are always in hot demand as well. The automation skills can come in handy for mock-ups and other tasks. Designers As the name suggests, designers create the concept, storyline, and rules of a game. The role can be broken down into a variety of sub-disciplines, including world design, game writing, and level design. Once the core game components have been decided, some designers may double as engineers. Designers are not necessarily expected to have an artistic back-ground, but they are expected to be highly creative. Recruiters typi-cally want people with some sort of development background, even if they won’t be a full-time coder. Many schools offer courses or programs in game design, from which companies recruit designers. Other Roles Though development, production, art, and design may handle game creation, a number of other key support roles exist. The following are some of the most popular: Quality assurance. QA can be broken down into three types: functional testing, certification testing, and automa-tion testing. While automation testers usually need a com-puter science degree from a four-year university, the other two testing positions may require only a two-year degree. Testers need to have a high attention to detail, and testers-to-be should find a way to highlight this on their résumé. (Note: This would be an extremely bad time to make a spelling or grammar mistake.) Testers should understand the different permutations of a sequence of steps and should understand which ones to focus on in developing test cases. An under-standing of software can be handy here. QA tends to be faced Getting into Gaming 195 with high turnover, as it’s a relatively easy way into a gaming fi rm but is a nice avenue to other roles. Customer support. Requirements for a customer support agent tend to be less focused on academic or professional qualifications and more focused on one’s “inherent” skills. A college degree may not be necessary at many companies, but candidates should have excellent verbal and written com-munication skills and a high attention to detail. Fluency in multiple languages is also highly desirable. Audra Aulabaugh from Big Fish Games advises candidates to see customer service roles as a way into a company. “We don’t look for people to stay in this position forever. Come in, learn every-thing there is to know about our customer and our product, and then investigate other roles within the organization that are of long-term interest.” A customer support agent can move on to roles like QA, partner relationships, and associ-ate producer. Marketing. Marketing hires are divided across several dis-ciplines requiring very different backgrounds. In-game mar-keters need to understand virality: how do games spread? What makes them popular? Successful candidates often have a quantitative background. Business development market-ers build the partnerships that make games successful, and candidates often need an MBA to be considered for these positions. A background in mobile or online marketing is also useful. Fresh Meat: Advice for College Candidates A coworker of mine at Google had what one person described as the “Geek’s Throwback Jersey”: a Microsoft intern 1986 shirt. He wasn’t especially old—just experienced. Much, much more experienced than I. 196 The Google Résumé Social gaming, thus, has a delightful benefit for a recent college candidate: no one will have a 1986 internship shirt. Or even 2000. The field was essentially unheard of before 2005. The comparative newness of the field means rapid growth and plenty of room for promotions. With that said, here is some additional advice for college stu-dents who are eager to break into this fast-growing fi eld. Don’t Be Afraid of Entering Low Customer support may not be the most glamorous use of your eco-nomics degree, but it’s a great way to break into a fast-growing com-pany. Or an English major might consider entering as a copywriter, with hopes of transitioning later to a marketing role. Financially and professionally, the company can matter more than the position. In fact, recent college graduates can do very well at a social gaming company. “New grads can be great in positions close to the user, since they’re much closer in age to the target market than more experienced employees,” Alessandra (VonChurch) explained. Joining a gaming company at any level will offer insight into the industry and help you establish contacts in the field. Then, when you want to “move up” to a new role, you’ll have the credibility and relationships to do so. Find Your Niche While grads excited about gaming should join a company at any level they can get, they should try to develop a specialty as soon as possible. Jeff (VonChurch) reminds candidates that “they shouldn’t get stuck in a less than ideal position for too long. Use the low entry point to explore positions, find a position you want to transition to, and do it.” Those who develop specialties will fare better in the long run as well. “It’s about self-branding,” Jeff says. “You build a name for your-self, and companies want to hire you for your specialty. It doesn’t mean that you can’t switch later, but people do tend to stay in their niche.” Getting into Gaming 197 Create a Portfolio Web Site While almost everyone could benefit from a portfolio/web site, this is especially important for artists and developers. Your portfolio or web site should list your résumé and projects you’ve done (including screenshots). A good portfolio will get your foot in the door, even without company experience. Your résumé should also provide a link to your portfolio web site, and you should expect companies to check it. Get Out There Finally, because many smaller shops lack full college recruiting oper-ations, it’s especially important for such candidates to start build-ing their name as soon as possible. Start networking. Join relevant Facebook and Meetup.com groups, and attend their sessions. Get an internship or take a part-time job. If you can’t find a job for whatever reason, spend some time on your own, hacking together games. Reaching Out and Getting In “The best way in is if you have a contact,” Jeff (VonChurch) says simply. While this is true of any technology company, it is espe-cially true of smaller gaming companies. Software companies like Microsoft, Google, and Facebook can afford to scatter large masses of recruiters across the country to attend career fairs and meet candi-dates locally; the comparatively small casual gaming companies usu-ally cannot. The three avenues below tend to be the most effective for establishing the personal connections that are critical to landing your job. College and Professional Recruiting Some larger companies may do some college recruiting, especially at the top universities. Even if you don’t attend one of these uni-versities, you may be able to pop over to one for a career fair. Just 198 The Google Résumé because a company doesn’t recruit at your school doesn’t mean it’s unwilling to consider you; it may just mean that the company lacks the resources to recruit everywhere. Alternatively, candidates with a bit of professional experience can consider working with a professional recruiting firm. As many gaming companies are small, this can be a great way to discover opportunities that may have otherwise escaped your notice. Online Networks LinkedIn’s discussion groups are always a great avenue for recruiting, but Facebook should not be overlooked either. After all, many, if not all, of the companies you’re recruiting for are social game compa-nies. They quite literally live and die on Facebook. Becoming active in Facebook discussion groups about games or on a company’s own page is a good way to get noticed. Rather than just asking for a job, consider first proving your worth. Offering insight and feedback will put you a step in front of all the other candidates banging at the door. Similarly, become active in game developers’ web sites and forums. If you are known as a person who helps others, you’ll be seen as smart, skilled, and the kind of teammate everyone wants. Recruiters scour these forums for great candidates. Events Attending events in person can be one of the most effective ways to network. Recruiters will be able to see how you communicate and act, and to put a face to a name. This is (hopefully) a good thing. The Game Developers Conference is a great chance for you to learn about the industry, and perhaps an even better opportunity for you to network. Recruiters flood the conference, as it acts as a huge recruiting event. Come with your “pitch” and business card ready. The registration fee is hefty, but college students can get access at a signifi cantly reduced rate. ... - tailieumienphi.vn