Hello, I am a student in software engineering and I'm trying to get an internship as game programmer in different companies. I made some attempts before and never got called back. For this summer I'd really like to get one so I am wondering if I should change something. So here's roughly how it was written (text approximated) ************************************* Curriculum Vitae name address tel email Objective : create cool video games Qualifications : excellent in C++, including STL, metaprogramming; good in .NET and C#; personal experience programming 3D and 2D video games. Qualities: fast learner, good writer, etc. Languages: french and english Education: Now : software engineering before: pure science Recent achievements - made a 3D game for school (giving some details) - made a Pac-Man clone (with web link) Relevant knowledge Languages: C, C++, C#, python, etc. Software: Visual Studio, Eclipse, etc. Professional experience Two internships as programmer (not for video games), giving some details about what I did there. Hobbies ************************************* Thanks for any tips. I am currently working on an independent project with another guy but it's way too early to show anything, I don't know if that's worth mentioning?

It's very difficult to give pointers on why your CV may not be getting you the internships you want without actually seeing it. For all we know, your CV looks pretty much (and reads pretty much) as you've described (even though I know you said the text was approximated).

Have a look at this other post, specifically how the resume has been presented for people to critique and the suggestions by frob, and then maybe update your post a little.

Thank you. Following a careful read of that thread, I've completely reworked my resume. I fear it is a bit too minimalistic, but in any case, here it is for you to critique:

My Name
My.Name@MySchool.something
xxx xxx-xxxx
Some adress in some country


Objective
Program fun, innovating and technically efficient video games.

Game Programming Experience:
Jan 2010 – now
Early Work-In-Progress. Self-started strategy game, in team with a hobbyist game designer I met on gamedev.net.

Autumn 2009
Billiards game in OpenGL, C++ and Java, including a custom table creator. School project, worked with a team of 6 students on every aspect of the design and implementation

2008
Various arcade remakes using XNA, including a Pac-Man: http://drasik.blogspot.com/


Professional Experience:
Summer 2009
Company X, Software Engineering Intern.
Some place in Quebec
Implemented a networked scripting system in Python and C++, running on Windows, Linux and VxWorks.
Identified and documented key issues in porting a build system from Linux to Windows.
Written Eclipse templates and documentation for the coding style.

Summer 2008
Company Y, Software Engineering Intern.
Some place, Quebec
Identified, reported and corrected numerous bugs in a large (35000+ loc) C++ application.
Established a procedure for regression testing as well as implemented several regression tests.
Written a user guide for the application.

Education:
Jan 2008 – now Some university Montréal
Software Engineering

Outstanding results:
• Object-oriented programming – A
• Computer graphics – A
• Data Structures and Algorithms – B+

****************************


Of course the layout is messed up here on the forum but I think that won't be an issue in the document.
Oh yeah, this resume is specifically for applying for internship game programming positions such as EA internships https://jobs.ea.com/students/usa/topic.aspx?id=2_2

Hellooo Asik!

Great work so far! I can see the difference between the two drafts already, it looks to be coming along nicely. I'm not an industry vet like other posters here, but there are a few things I can recommend!

1. Objectives are a relic from the 90s. And just like shoulder pads, you shouldn't use 'em! A skills summary or personal summary would probably go over smoother. See the second note on this page.

2. Game programming experience section is great - it shows straight off the bat what you know and how you've applied it. Unfortunately, only your Autumn 2009 experience is the only one that goes in to any detail. Quantify your experiences - I specifically wanna hear more about your XNA projects, they seem interesting! Additionally, maybe the website could be located somewhere more prominently, after your personal details, maybe?

3. You've already had a couple of years at university - is there anything there you're particularly proud of? One point frob made in my thread is that it's difficult to ascertain the weight of specific courses, so outstanding subjects may not be as applicable (though I'm sure EA will want to know this later on).

I replaced my oustanding subjects with a couple of projects - here's one:

o MGMT202: Marketing Management – Year-long project with 3 other students working together closely toward a full marketing plan for a new product in the beverage market. Comprised of three major assessments, each with a five minute presentation to tutorial class of 30.


Just remember, I'm not a programmer and as such you must take my advice with a pinch of salt. I wish you the best of luck in your internship hunt, you seem to be making the most of your education. :)

Thanks for the suggestions. I need to apply today for some of the positions, so I'll try to integrate your ideas. Mainly I'll give some additional details about the games I've completed. Not sure about replacing the Objectives lines with a summary: the whole resume is very short and to-the-point, making it a good "executive summary" in itself, and I feel like 8 words to describe what I want to do really have their place on my resume.

As for the outstanding university results, I figured good grades in Object-Oriented Programming, Computer Graphics and Algorithms is something game companies are looking for. As my grades are pretty inconsistent I felt it was a good idea to draw their attention towards essential good results. I don't otherwise have much to show for as far as univ achievements go; I rather spend my time home programming my own games. :P

I really hope I get one of these positions. There's one at Bioware I think I would literally melt in place if I got.

Great post! I also like to share my idea on mock resume objectives

BE SPECIFIC!!!!

Don't give general things you did, be specific, what YOU did and how you did it. When they are looking for someone they want to know exactly what you can do. Now don't fudge the work, many places will test you specifically on what you claimed you could do. If they find out that you kind of fudged it, then you are done for.

Internships are about them finding good people without having to pay for it. They are willing to training you in certain areas but they want someone that is capable and able to learn.

Things to focus on; How you learned something new. How you added to your knowledge and achieved something. How you were able to pick up the way that "THEY" did things.

theTroll