Hey there. I'm currently trying to get out of my current job (a sales associate at RadioShack)... I hate it... I don't use any of my skills and basically help elderly ladies fix their converter boxes that they didn't buy from me in the first place. I'd been applying at local game developers (Chicagoland) with an older resume that only recently did I realize was terrible... for the past 6 or so years I've been mostly a hobbyist/independent programmer, so resume's were of little use to me. However, here is my current draft, and I'm trying to find ways to improve upon it: http://thestackframe.com/resume.pdf A few comments of my own on it: My education section is brief as I have taken no formal classes that are relevant to computer science or programming in any way, and my GPA is rather dismal. I chose to remove references to my job at RadioShack, as it is not terribly relevant to my beseeked job, and retail experience has a strong tendency to garner more retail experience. I've worked on numerous projects of my own, more than I am comfortable listing - the majority were test projects, usually experimenting with new ideas in GUIs, networking, physics, and so forth... but they are hard to 'show' as products of projects as they were test projects and proofs of concept. I have worked on one significant project, and that was as a lead developer for the SWGEMU (Star Wars Galaxies Emulator) for several months -- I am reluctant to say which I was, as I was not exactly the most liked of the developers at the time; needless to say, however, I was the one who wrote the primary code. I have a good knowledge of C and C++, have a passing knowledge of PHP, can write logical and stack systems fairly well, have a basic knowledge of AI and Physics, and a moderate knowledge of rendering systems which is expanding daily. I can, as said, write logical systems such as scenegraphs quite well, and am even writing a scripting engine in C++. I have a good enough knowledge of most areas of game development that I can write at least simple games myself, and more advanced games given enough time. I'm not sure how to improve my resume enough to get me to the critical stage that is an interview with a company - I'm having very much difficulty with this -- please help me! Danke [Edited by - Ameise on July 11, 2009 2:31:35 AM]

Quote: Original post by Ameise
Hey there.

I'm currently trying to get out of my current job (a sales associate at RadioShack)... I hate it... I don't use any of my skills and basically help elderly ladies fix their converter boxes that they didn't buy from me in the first place.

I'd been applying at local game developers (Chicagoland) with an older resume that only recently did I realize was terrible... for the past 6 or so years I've been mostly a hobbyist/independent programmer, so resume's were of little use to me.

However, here is my current draft, and I'm trying to find ways to improve upon it:

http://thestackframe.com/resume.pdf

A few comments of my own on it:
My education section is brief as I have taken no formal classes that are relevant to computer science or programming in any way, and my GPA is rather dismal.

I chose to remove references to my job at RadioShack, as it is not terribly relevant to my beseeked job, and retail experience has a strong tendency to garner more retail experience.

I've worked on numerous projects of my own, more than I am comfortable listing - the majority were test projects, usually experimenting with new ideas in GUIs, networking, physics, and so forth... but they are hard to 'show' as products of projects as they were test projects and proofs of concept.

I have worked on one significant project, and that was as a lead developer for the SWGEMU (Star Wars Galaxies Emulator) for several months -- I am reluctant to say which I was, as I was not exactly the most liked of the developers at the time; needless to say, however, I was the one who wrote the primary code.

I have a good knowledge of C and C++, have a passing knowledge of PHP, can write logical and stack systems fairly well, have a basic knowledge of AI and Physics, and a moderate knowledge of rendering systems which is expanding daily. I can, as said, write logical systems such as scenegraphs quite well, and am even writing a scripting engine in C++. I have a good enough knowledge of most areas of game development that I can write at least simple games myself, and more advanced games given enough time.

I'm not sure how to improve my resume enough to get me to the critical stage that is an interview with a company - I'm having very much difficulty with this -- please help me!

Danke

Your resume isn't bad, but it's lacking in detail. Try putting dates for when and for how long you worked on your projects. and if/when/why you left them. Similarly list your job at radioshack and any previous employment you've got. People often look down on 'soft skills' like teamwork and communication, but showing you've worked in a customer-facing position for a few years implies good communication skills, as well as the rudimentary dedication required to keep a job.

If you've written a physics/gravity sim, you might want to explicitly list competency with mathematics and physics as a skill, especially since that physics sim is so far down your projects list.

Also definitely get a demo reel. Take some of your test applications and turn them into something presentable. When applying for a games job they tend to steal the show and be what makes or breaks you. With no university degree in computer science, they'll be what proves you have some competence.

It's looking pretty good. As the other guy mentioned, it's expected to list your recent employment history, even if it's in a different industry. It's helpful for them to know whether you could hold down a job at all.

I would break out the project descriptions into bullet-point lists, since those are easier to scan. (recruiters generally scan through resumes very quickly). Also for projects, I like to list all the tools/languages that I used.

Also it looks like your "Experience" section wants to be a section where you list previous projects. Which is fine, it just might make sense to take the "Torque Game Engine" line and move it somewhere else. It's like an SAT test.. which of these 4 items doesn't belong with the others?

And as one more suggestion, you're supposed to use lots of really powerful verbs on resume. Saying that you "helped" on something is not powerful! Just say that you did that thing.

Anyway, here's what the Experience section might look like:

Star Wars Galaxies Emulator (http://www.swgemu.com/)
- Lead developer on this project
- Implemented core routines in the server emulator
- Reverse engineered the client-server protocol
- Rewrote the original server for fun
- Tools/languages used: X, Y, Z

Kuiper (http://www.kuiper-game.com/)
- Developed this space FPS using the Torque Game Engine
- Replaced some components with custom code, including physics, graphics rendering, and networking
- Tools/languages used: TGE, X, Y

Orbit (http://thestackframe.com/orbit/)
- Wrote a simple Newtonian gravity simulator, meant to test large numbers of bodies
- Supports all types of Newtonian bodies (ps you don't need to write that it lacks collision support)
- Tools/languages used: C++, OpenGL

Should I be going into a second page for this? It's starting to cut close on page length as it is, and I'd read that it is considered a bad move for resume's for game development to be longer than 1 page.

Mine have always been about two pages long. The rule I was told was "never go to three pages" ;).

Quote: Original post by Winegums
Mine have always been about two pages long. The rule I was told was "never go to three pages" ;).

Yes, but that rule applies to CVs, not resumes. To the OP, stick to one page, without any industry experience you shouldn't need to go to two.

Quote: Original post by yaustar

Quote: Original post by Winegums
Mine have always been about two pages long. The rule I was told was "never go to three pages" ;).

Yes, but that rule applies to CVs, not resumes. To the OP, stick to one page, without any industry experience you shouldn't need to go to two.

I never realised until now that there was a difference!

Sorry, OP.

I like resumes to be just one page. I think your font size is a little too big, you can fit more stuff in if you shrink that. On my last resume I used 28pt for the title, 12pt for headlines, and 11pt for bullet points. (In retrospect that may have been a little too small, so take those numbers with a grain of salt). Also, you can reduce all those vertical spaces you have.

If you want to list all of the things you've ever done, and it doesn't fit in one page, then that goes in a CV. Also, if there are specific things that are really relevant for the job you're applying to, and you really want to make sure they see those things, then you can mention those things in a cover letter.

When applying to any professional jobs in the US you are generally expected to have a cover letter and a resume. Your cover letter ( 1 page) is written to explain how you are well suited for the job you are applying for and how much of a benefit you will be to the company. Your resume ( 1 page ) is is more or less a bulleted list detailing your qualifications and experiences.

The OWL (online writing lab) at Purdue (my Alma Mater) has some excellent resources for writing cover letters and resumes -
Cover Letters
Resumes

I'm just trying to figure out how to include a few of my projects, my skills, my work experience, AND my education on one page...