I dont understand, you say you're looking for a game programming job, but your webpage says you're a designer and the "portfolio" page has stuff that is not programming related. Are you trying to be a designer or a programmer? If that page just a general page for yourself or do you want it to be about your programming/developer aspirations?

I can tell you that if I saw a link to this page and I'm looking to hire a programmer, I'd look in the portfolio section and then immediately leave. There's just nothing of interest there for a possible employer.

One other thing, if you're going to have a section about games you've worked on or are currently working on, try to have interesting things for each one like screenshots, videos, concept drawings, etc.

Yea I am probably going to remove the portfolio section. Also I am going to change the game section to be a little nicer and have a brief synopsis of the games and give each game its own page once clicked on. This Includes adding pictures/videos. Also I am changing the home page to a page that shows a few off these and some info of what I did in them (included a pic or two) that also lead to their respective pages. I am getting a lot of people mentioning the mixed message of programmer and designer. The tricky thing is I want to be a designer, but I realize that is something I need to work up to so I figure I should focus on game programming. I'm trying to figure out a good way to show off my code. The problem is one of my more involved works was done in Unity's java script and from the stands of what I know now is not the best written/structured code.

Something I was considering was for these games is talking about: What I did, what I learned, and what I would do differently in the future. Any thoughts on that?

Thank you for the feedback though I appreciate it.

Resume reading glasses on. Working through it and typing as I go.

Contact info is fine.

Qualifications. Based on what you wrote above with a computer science degree I thought you wanted to be a programmer. Those don't say programmer. They start with "Design", so I assume you are applying as a designer. I'll keep reading. NONE of those lines are positive at helping you get the job, no matter what job you want. I don't want to hire someone who has a passing knowledge of a programming language, I want someone who knows their stuff. I don't want someone with customer relations experience. CUT THE WHOLE SECTION. If you want to add a line for your objective, write something like "Objective: Seeking junior game programmer role." Put the programming languages and program names inline with your work history and project listings.

Education is the first real content.

Your graduation is Spring 2016, so you're a fresh entry level worker. Computer Science BS degree, deans list. I see no projects, no courses you had particular fun with, or anything that sets you apart as interested in games. You are a generic student. ADD IN some things you did, the tools you used, the nature of the projects you completed that are related to the job.

AAS in Game and Simulation development 3 years earlier. Good to see a games interest, but again no projects or courses or anything to set you apart. Again a generic student. ADD IN some things you did, same as above.

AA in Design and Animation 3 years earlier. WTF moment. It's an associates degree so you probably mostly covered general education. Why did you study animation? No details so again a generic student. I would probably leave this off. If you were in a country where a CV was supposed to list every life event you'd leave it, but you aren't. PROBABLY CUT unless you are trying to get a job as something working on art tools.

Next up, relevant experience section.

A PC game. No link, no web site, happened during your AAS degree. I assume it was a class project, and you didn't "manage" anything, that's your teacher's job. Either that or it was a crappy student project you don't want anyone to see because you included no link. No list of tools and technologies you used. The only think you did was "design". So you wrote some English words and expected other people to implement it. That's not a programmer.

Another PC game. I think a game? It doesn't look like a game, but is titled as Treasure Hunter. More recent than the first one, the 2015 project should be above the 2013 project. No link, no web site, happened during school. "Designed and implemented" is an improvement over just "designed" for a programmer. An ECS system is standard fare, it basically means you learned the basics of composition and inheritance in programming. You implemented an A* algorithm; it is fairly standard project to either implement Dijkstra's single pair shortest path or the A* algorithm which is a special case of that same algorithm, so again nothing special. No language listed, no tools, no link.

Internships. Good. Three full months as a modeler in 2014. Two full months as an animator in 2013. Are you applying for a career as an animator or a programmer? Pick one. The final degree suggests you are going in programming, not art. Good that you've shown an interest in games, confusing that you've got your degree in Computer Science but are interning in art.

Work History. Good, you can hold a job.

Just over six years as a customer service representative at Blockbuster. Probably a local store since the big chain went bankrupt. You can hold a job. You held the job while going to college. Important skill, and shows you know how to work. Good.

Just over one year at Best Buy ... overlapping with Blockbuster job, and corresponding with when you got your animation degree. I'm guessing you had a hard time finding a job with your animation degree, then went back to something you really wanted. But now I'm confused again because of your later animation internships when you were on a programming track. Somewhat good, but another WTF moment.

...

All done reading. You don't exist in a vacuum. I probably have other applications that are much stronger for game programmers, and the art lead probably has stronger applicants for a modeler or animator.

Moving on to areas to improve:

I'd cut the Qualifications section completely, giving you about six extra lines to work with. With your mix of disciplines you absolutely need an objective statement. Maybe something like "Seeking entry level programmer position, with preference toward art tools" which could help reduce confusion about your background.

I would add a list of stuff you did that applies to games to your education section. I would rewrite your "Nowhere" and "Treasure Hunter" to make it look like you actually built a game (assuming you actually built a game) and provide links to your web site where you have code samples or videos or something. Give me a reason to actually look at your web site, and draw me there by pointing it out several times.

I'm honestly confused about your direction, with the arts associates degree and the internships doing modeling and animations. Being an artist is a fine career choice. Being a programmer is a fine career choice and the BS in CS suggests that's your direction. But Aritst-Programmer isn't really a job. There are some technical artist jobs, and there are some art tool jobs, so you might want to look into those. Both of those are fairly rare compared to a general modeler, general animator, or general programmer so it may be rather difficult if that is your primary direction. I don't know a good way to clean it up, but include them because it shows you have some experience within the industry.

After that, I would spend the rest of your space adding details of what you did. List tools, technologies, languages, and products. When you worked on your Treasure Hunter game or Nowhere game did you actually use C++? C#? Java? Unity? Unreal? List everything you used. In your CS courses did you use Java? C#? Scheme? LUA? List them. Did you complete any special projects related to games? List them, and include keywords that apply to games.

Overall it isn't too bad. It shows you've got interest in games, that you can hold a job while you went through school, and that you've got a degree. Those are the biggest barriers you'll face HR as an entry level worker.

Ok first I want to say thank you for taking the time to look at my resume and I appreciate the critique.

Next I will try to address/comment/clarify/acknowledge/follow up question your observations and suggestions individually.

Qualifications. Based on what you wrote above with a computer science degree I thought you wanted to be a programmer. Those don't say programmer. They start with "Design", so I assume you are applying as a designer. I'll keep reading. NONE of those lines are positive at helping you get the job, no matter what job you want. I don't want to hire someone who has a passing knowledge of a programming language, I want someone who knows their stuff. I don't want someone with customer relations experience. CUT THE WHOLE SECTION. If you want to add a line for your objective, write something like "Objective: Seeking junior game programmer role." Put the programming languages and program names inline with your work history and project listings.

I agree this section definitely needed either a rework or remove, but I wasn't sure what to replace it with. I guess an objective statement can work there, but is just saying "Seeking junior game programming role" enough?. Shouldn't it also address the position I am applying for though as well?

Your graduation is Spring 2016, so you're a fresh entry level worker. Computer Science BS degree, deans list. I see no projects, no courses you had particular fun with, or anything that sets you apart as interested in games. You are a generic student. ADD IN some things you did, the tools you used, the nature of the projects you completed that are related to the job.

AAS in Game and Simulation development 3 years earlier. Good to see a games interest, but again no projects or courses or anything to set you apart. Again a generic student. ADD IN some things you did, same as above.

AA in Design and Animation 3 years earlier. WTF moment. It's an associates degree so you probably mostly covered general education. Why did you study animation? No details so again a generic student. I would probably leave this off. If you were in a country where a CV was supposed to list every life event you'd leave it, but you aren't. PROBABLY CUT unless you are trying to get a job as something working on art tools.

I had courses listed at one point, but was told by a few people actually that projects were more important so I added those in instead. The projects listed are school projects and I was worried that they might not be interpreted as such because of how it is layed out. How would you recommend doing this? Nowhere is in fact from my Game and Sim Degree and Treasure Hunter is from my BS degree so should I put them under their respective degrees?

To address why I studied 3D animation was because I originally did not thing I could do programming because I thought my math skills would hold me back. While taking that degree I ended up taking some programming courses and found myself way more interested in it than 3D modeling and animation, but at that point I was mostly done with the degree so I decided to finish it. I also the main Professor I had spearheaded the Game and Simulation degree I took after. The way I see it I have a more well rounded knowledge of what goes into game design as I have knowledge of what goes into 3D/2D design and animation.

A PC game. No link, no
web site, happened during your AAS degree. I assume it was a class project, and you didn't "manage" anything, that's your teacher's job. Either that or it was a crappy student project you don't want anyone to see because you included no link. No list of tools and technologies you used. The only think you did was "design". So you wrote some English words and expected other people to implement it. That's not a programmer.

Another PC game. I think a game? It doesn't look like a game, but is titled as Treasure Hunter. More recent than the first one, the 2015 project should be above the 2013 project. No link, no web site, happened during school. "Designed and implemented" is an improvement over just "designed" for a programmer. An ECS system is standard fare, it basically means you learned the basics of composition and inheritance in programming. You implemented an A* algorithm; it is fairly standard project to either implement Dijkstra's single pair shortest path or the A* algorithm which is a special case of that same algorithm, so again nothing special. No language listed, no tools, no link.

As I mentioned in the last part these are school projects. The reason there is not a lot more info is purely because of space restrictions. I had more info originally, but it made the resume spill onto a second page. This project was our capstone so the teachers took a very hands off approach for the most part and it was dedicated class to it. I did mange the tasks we planned to do I personally set up a project file in Microsoft Project for our game and maintained and updated tasks as we did them. I wouldn't say I was barking orders, but I was in charge of trying to keep people up to date with what we were working on and how we were progressing. I didn't put links because I didn't have room and also though it was bad form to put clickable links on a resume and links in general other than a website, which I will add I do have and is on the resume at the top. The new website that I am almost done with in terms of fleshing it out has a lot more info and pictures and will eventually have code samples as well.

What makes Treasure Hunter not "look" like a game? And I am asking that sincerely and out of curiosity, not defensively. When you say Designed and implemented is an improvement are you meaning to say that I should use that phrasing in the previous game's description as well.

Internships. Good. Three full months as a modeler in 2014. Two full months as an animator in 2013. Are you applying for a career as an animator or a programmer? Pick one. The final degree suggests you are going in programming, not art. Good that you've shown an interest in games, confusing that you've got your degree in Computer Science but are interning in art.

Work History. Good, you can hold a job.

Just over six years as a customer service representative at Blockbuster. Probably a local store since the big chain went bankrupt. You can hold a job. You held the job while going to college. Important skill, and shows you know how to work. Good.

Just over one year at Best Buy ... overlapping with Blockbuster job, and corresponding with when you got your animation degree. I'm guessing you had a hard time finding a job with your animation degree, then went back to something you really wanted. But now I'm confused again because of your later animation internships when you were on a programming track. Somewhat good, but another WTF moment.

The internships were just opportunities that happen to pop up at the time. I figure It would be industry experience albeit not in the area I wanted to go, but experience none the less. I definitely get how it can send mixed messages though, but a school advisor (yea I know) recommended I put them on there.

There was an opportunity while I was taking my game and sim degree that would have involved actual programming and I was active with it for a while, but I guess the company the school partnered with decided to take another direction because eventually we stopped hearing from them.

Moving on to areas to improve:
I'd cut the Qualifications section completely, giving you about six extra lines to work with. With your mix of disciplines you absolutely need an objective statement. Maybe something like "Seeking entry level programmer position, with preference toward art tools" which could help reduce confusion about your background.

I would add a list of stuff you did that applies to games to your education section. I would rewrite your "Nowhere" and "Treasure Hunter" to make it look like you actually built a game (assuming you actually built a game) and provide links to your web site where you have code samples or videos or something. Give me a reason to actually look at your web site, and draw me there by pointing it out several times.

I'm honestly confused about your direction, with the arts associates degree and the internships doing modeling and animations. Being an artist is a fine career choice. Being a programmer is a fine career choice and the BS in CS suggests that's your direction. But Aritst-Programmer isn't really a job. There are some technical artist jobs, and there are some art tool jobs, so you might want to look into those. Both of those are fairly rare compared to a general modeler, general animator, or general programmer so it may be rather difficult if that is your primary direction. I don't know a good way to clean it up, but include them because it shows you have some experience within the industry.

After that, I would spend the rest of your space adding details of what you did. List tools, technologies, languages, and products. When you worked on your Treasure Hunter game or Nowhere game did you actually use C++? C#? Java? Unity? Unreal? List everything you used. In your CS courses did you use Java? C#? Scheme? LUA? List them. Did you complete any special projects related to games? List them, and include keywords that apply to games.

Overall it isn't too bad. It shows you've got interest in games, that you can hold a job while you went through school, and that you've got a degree. Those are the biggest barriers you'll face HR as an entry level worker.

Definitely noted on the qualifications part, I am just worried that when applying to positions I won't have an area to customize for that position specific. I am just worried about it feeling to generic. I am not really looking to do technical art or art tools though so I am not sure what else to put there for the objective statement.

For the projects should I move them to their respective degrees (which degree I was doing when I made them)? Also as far as adding links, my website url is unfortunately long, also should it be a clickable link or just a text url? Sounds like overall you want me to flesh out the projects/education more right?

Again thank you for the feedback I greatly appreciate it.

I guess an objective statement can work there, but is just saying "Seeking junior game programming role" enough?. Shouldn't it also address the position I am applying for though as well?

That is the role.

You are not going to get an entry level job as a designer. Game designer is a senior role, it is a person who is figuring out the core of a multi-million dollar project. You don't give multi-million dollar projects to entry level workers.

Based on your internships and education you need to decide if you are working as an entry level programmer or an entry level modeler, possibly an entry level animator. The role of "junior programmer/modeler" doesn't exist. Sometimes in a small studio one of the art folks will put together some scripted things, sometimes a programmer will put together an art thing, but fundamentally the role is either programmer OR modeler OR animator.

Definitely noted on the qualifications part, I am just worried that when applying to positions I won't have an area to customize for that position specific. I am just worried about it feeling to generic. I am not really looking to do technical art or art tools though so I am not sure what else to put there for the objective statement.

You can (and should) customize it for the position. If they're looking for a stronger background on a certain thing you can and should showcase your background in that area.

Employers aren't looking for much at the entry level. If have some employment history that shows you regularly show up to work, and a degree that shows you've been introduced to the topics, and maybe some items on your resume that show you have interest, that is about all they expect. Experience comes with many years of on-the-job training.

I guess an objective statement can work there, but is just saying "Seeking junior game programming role" enough?. Shouldn't it also address the position I am applying for though as well?

That is the role.

You are not going to get an entry level job as a designer. Game designer is a senior role, it is a person who is figuring out the core of a multi-million dollar project. You don't give multi-million dollar projects to entry level workers.

There were intern game designers at one company I used to work for. There's a lot of little stuff to design that the senior people don't want to have to do.

There are level designers, character designers, UI designers, and assorted other designer-related positions. But "game designer" (the position most people think of as idea guy but really isn't) as a rule is a senior level job.

I guess an objective statement can work there, but is just saying "Seeking junior game programming role" enough?. Shouldn't it also address the position I am applying for though as well?

That is the role.

You are not going to get an entry level job as a designer. Game designer is a senior role, it is a person who is figuring out the core of a multi-million dollar project. You don't give multi-million dollar projects to entry level workers.

Based on your internships and education you need to decide if you are working as an entry level programmer or an entry level modeler, possibly an entry level animator. The role of "junior programmer/modeler" doesn't exist. Sometimes in a small studio one of the art folks will put together some scripted things, sometimes a programmer will put together an art thing, but fundamentally the role is either programmer OR modeler OR animator.

I know I am not going to get an entry level job as a game designer at least not in the sense that I'd like it to be like you mentioned in a later post. I am a programmer, its what I got my Bachlors in, its what I've been doing on the side by myself. That said my own projects make it so I am also technically the designer which makes it harder to differentiate the two.

Definitely noted on the qualifications part, I am just worried that when applying to positions I won't have an area to customize for that position specific. I am just worried about it feeling to generic. I am not really looking to do technical art or art tools though so I am not sure what else to put there for the objective statement.

You can (and should) customize it for the position. If they're looking for a stronger background on a certain thing you can and should showcase your background in that area.

Employers aren't looking for much at the entry level. If have some employment history that shows you regularly show up to work, and a degree that shows you've been introduced to the topics, and maybe some items on your resume that show you have interest, that is about all they expect. Experience comes with many years of on-the-job training.

How and where do I showcase the things they are looking for? Do I mention it in the objective statement, i.e. "Recent computer science graduate with experience/skills/knowledge of[insert things they are looking for] seeking entry/junior level programming position with [insert game company here]." ? Speaking of entry level positions I don't see a lot of them which is expected, but is it a waste of time to look at posted positions that don't state entry/junior level and/or mention needing X years of experience and X shipped games?

I updated my resume slightly. It still needs work, but I added the objective statement and moved the projects to be under the respective degrees they were done during. The spacing is a little tight as I am still running very low on room despite removing the most of the top part. I attached it to this post.

I guess an objective statement can work there, but is just saying "Seeking junior game programming role" enough?. Shouldn't it also address the position I am applying for though as well?

That is the role.

You are not going to get an entry level job as a designer. Game designer is a senior role, it is a person who is figuring out the core of a multi-million dollar project. You don't give multi-million dollar projects to entry level workers.

There were intern game designers at one company I used to work for. There's a lot of little stuff to design that the senior people don't want to have to do.

I've seen them occasionally, but its very rare and they are usually pretty vague on that the job really entails.


Lastly I update my site, like a lot http://www.christopherangelico.com any feedback would be appreciated. I tried to take the advice from here and apply it while I was making it.