Hi, I'm fresh out of college, looking for work as a game programmer. As far as professional experience goes, I've done a couple of internships, one at a software company and one at a game company. I've also done a lot of coding on my own time (personal projects, university projects). So... any tips on how I can get my foot in the door? I figure there are 2 choices- 1 is to either get a job as a "game programmer", or 2 is to get a job as a programming intern and then if I do a good job, they let me stay on as a programmer. I don't know how likely the 2nd option is, usually internships are for ppl who are still in college! (Although I have heard of someone doing this even though he wasn't in college). Also it might not be a very safe bet- they could just work me for a few months and then toss me away. Now as for applying for "game programmer" jobs, companies are usually looking for people with 2+ years of experience if not more. So should I even bother sending my resume every time I see a job listing that says "game programmer", or should I target only the ones that say "entry level" or "junior programmer"? (although there aren't many of these kind!) Perhaps, should I just spam my resume all over the place? I mean, there might be companies out there who need a little extra manpower and would be willing to take on a junior programmer, but might not necessarily publicly advertise the position since it's not so important. This is how I got my internship previously, I basically sent my resume out to lots of companies and got lucky... Also, ONE last question ;) There are some companies I really would love to work at, but I'm afraid to send my resume to them until my current demo is complete. I mean, I have a game demo I can send to them, it shows some competence but it's not that great so I'd rather wait til my kickass demo is complete. I think that if I apply, they'll turn me down and then I won't get another chance. Do you think I am on the right track, or should I just apply anyways, and if they turn me down, then re-apply in a couple of months once my new demo is done? Maybe it sounds like I'm thinking about this way too much, but I really don't want to blow my chances with the companies I want to work at, especially if I could have some chance of impressing them if I just wait a couple more months for my demo to be done. If anyone has any tips on what approach I should take in terms of targeting companies, I would really appreciate it! Thanks very much, roos

Everything I've ever heard and read (including from Carmack) is that your best ally is a demo. A good, solid, knockout demo. That said, I'd get that in line before you even consider sending out your resume. They're going to want to see what you can DO. Good luck!

People are often under the misconception that they must create a knock out full featured demo to apply at a game company. A demo is a good thing to have, but it doesn't need to be a spectacular game. What is more important about the demo is that the code is clean, it is finished, and works correctly. A demo really shows that the applicant can set a goal and complete it.


As far as who you should target...everyone. Send your resume out to everyone you can. Make sure you have an excellent resume though! That is extremely important, because it will stay on file. If you don't mind working for table scraps, there are a lot of oppurtunities out there to get your foot in the door.


Good luck.

Thank you both very much for your answers :)

@ Instruo: I totally agree, having a good demo is my #1 priority because I think that'll carry a lot of weight with companies. Unfortunately it's not really an option for me to wait until the demo's complete before sending resumes... I want to get hired ASAP though, plus there's a lot of pressure on me to get a job (financial situation, tension with parents, etc). My demo is going to take 2 months to finish, which is quite a long time. So, while I'm working on my demo, I'm going to still continue applying to companies so no opportunities fall through my fingers. My concern is more about which companies to go for.

@ bit64: That's a good point, even if no job is available right now, at least by sending it now, it will be sitting on file so if anything opens up they might consider me.

Thanks again!!

roos

[Edited by - roos on January 11, 2005 1:58:40 AM]

There are advantages and disadvantages to whether you want to get hired by a developer or if you want to get an intern position with a developer. So here they are:

Intern(Advantage) - You said earlier about a developer just tossing an intern to the side, this is not true. Interns are a no-risk situation for a developer becuase any work that you do is a bonus to them. Plus, developers go through stacks and stacks of resumes a day, not knowing that even the people that they hire will be ust what there looking for. With an internship the company will see you at work, and since your not getting paid, the company will look at you even closer seeing as to how much you actually dedicate yourself even if your not getting paid. The last advantage is that you will get to know people in the company, which is very important. You should try to make friends while an intern this could lead to a job quite fast, depending on who ya know, lol.

Intern(Disadvantage) - I dont really even have to point this out, no pay.

Job(Advantage) - The advantages to getting a job at a game company right off the bat is that you actually get paid, unlike a an internship were your work will go in vain unless you get the job. The greatest advantage though is not that your actually getting paid now but that youve gained the trust of the company already, which is very good. Now all you got to do is keep up the good work.

Job(disadvantage) - Obviously when a company hires from a resume its usually someone that has never worked for their company before, therefore they dont know you. Sometimes this might be a good time to change some of the mistakes that you might have made at other jobs, since no one knows how you are to begin with.

Final note - If i wanted to bet of the easiest and best way to get a job at a developer it would be through internship. Although most people will say this is not true, the developer has a huge advantage hiring an intern than they do hiring from resume, and companies like any advantage they can get.

The demo is not the be-all end-all of your package. If your resume isn't strong we won't even bother with your demo at all. It is a pain to configure a machine to run a demo and put the machine back to a clean state. Make sure that there is enough in the resume to make an employer want to load up the demo.

Quote: Original post by bit64
...because it will stay on file.

*snicker*

A couple points:

1) I know of very few companies that actually keep resumes on file. This is more of a polite way of saying "don't call us, we won't call you". They have a constant influx of resumes, and unless there is something really special about the candidate, companies are not going to take it on themselves to hunt you down. In most cases, the candidates will have accepted other positions, and no longer be available. The key point here, if you see a job posting that interests you for a company you sent your resume to 6 months ago, don't assume that they have taken you resume out of some file, and put it in the stack of canidates to be considered. Send an updated resume.

2) Demos are nice, but nobody runs them. If it came down to a toss up between two candidates, some may use a demo as a tie breaker, but even then I doubt most would a) take the time, b) take the risk. What most ask for with the application is code samples. They want to see how you approached a reasonably complex problem, and solved it. How is your code structured and documented. And even here, with the resume review, most will only take quick glance before the decide to bring you in or not. They'll likely look at the code in more depth in preperation for the interview, but even then, many give you a test before the spend their valuable developer time on an interview.

3) The industry is still pretty small. You can probably trace you way from any one person to another with 3 or 4 hops, meaning that the contact network is very small. This really works to your advantage when you know a few people, as much of the hiring is done via this network. While this doesn't help much for an entry level position, it is something to keep in mind, and an approach you can take. If you do a demo, and can generate some interest on a forum such as gamedev, you might get lucky and find someone willing to put your name on the network. If nothing else, this might get you past the person acting as resume filter, and on to the right persons desk.

4) I think the value of a few internship is being a bit over-valued here, at least from the companies stand point. Having used interns (paid) several times, I must say that it's nothing more than an extended interview. I certainly don't want to pay a developer to mentor an intern if I don't know if they are coming back or not. Companies won't invest in your career if they aren't going to get anything out of it. My first question to you in an interview would be why niether of your previous two internships made you job offers?

5) Further more, the concept of getting in the door, and proving yourself is one that often works. If you aren't getting hits as a developer, maybe you need to try as level designer or QA. Both are a bit easier to land, and can get you in a position to a) show you are a hard worker, and b) start becoming part of the game development community. Inside contacts are worth their weight in gold.

Anyway, good luck on your searches.

RobertCostello,

I agree with nearly all of your points, well worded.
However, I know about 12 companies right off the bat that keep resumes on file for years. (Side note: they are all very large companies, smaller companies would probably not do this)

The point of that statement however, wasn't that the OP should send it in and wait for a year assuming that they have his resume, it is that he should write his resume carefully the first time out. Often times if you send in a resume and the company has yours on file from 6 months earlier, they will be curious about what changes are on the resume. Companies are doing a lot nowadays to protect against hiring a candidate with falsified information. I have interviewed people in the past who declared that they knew some technology on their older resume, yet it was not included on their newer resume. Of course when I interview them I am going to ask about that technology and if I find that they know nothing of it, then I would probably dismiss them.


What the Anon Poster said is absolutely true about demos. If your demo is taking months to get out the door, then its probably a waste of your time.

Also, I recently had a candidate bring a demo to me, and it was very impressive. When I asked questions about the implementation of the collision detection the candidate said "Oh well I used the XXX library to do that." When I asked about the AI I got the same response. If you don't know your demo inside and out then its of no use to employers. They don't care if you can use some library effectively, they just want to see that you can code and work towards a goal. A 200 line code sample would suit you even better.

In the end, the company is going to put a lot more emphasis on your interview than anything you can show in a demo/sample code.



Just my two cents (okay three).

[Edited by - bit64 on January 11, 2005 4:42:40 PM]

bit64,

You are right, thanks for the clarification, I missed that the first time I read it. The important thing is they may keep it to checkup on a candidate, but it's very rare for them to go back to a stack of resumes looking for a candidate. So make sure what you send them is good, as a past resume may become part of a future interview process.