5 tips for getting a job in games

Trying to break into the games industry? Getting an entry-level job can be a painful process — here are my tips.

Last time I wrote about creating your portfolio as a junior game designer. Five years on I still find myself sharing the post on a regular basis, usually as a response to the same question coming up on social media: how do I get my first job?

I stand by (most of) what I wrote about portfolios but of course it’s only one piece of the puzzle. So today I am sharing more general advice for people starting out in their careers.

1. Go meet people

Get to industry events wherever, whenever you can. Not because it will necessarily lead to you meeting your first employer (it might!), but because it will expose you to what’s going on in the industry and help you understand the different companies, games and communities that exist. That’s not to say you have to blow your life savings to get to GDC — there are more budget-friendly ways to meet people:

• Local events are still a good way to meet devs
• Conferences and expos usually have smaller side-events happening around them, like networking parties or indie showcases, often with separate (cheaper) tickets
• Look for sponsorship and volunteer programmes at big events
• Online talks and communities are a lot more prevalent since the pandemic, and usually cheaper
• Search for mentoring programmes you can join and, if relevant, diversity initiatives
• As always, game jams!

If nothing else, just reach out to people directly. Whether through Twitter or another platform, people are often happy to chat over a coffee or a Zoom call — at worst, they’ll be too busy to get back to you, at best you will make a connection and get valuable insights into the industry.

2. Do portfolio good (still)

This is a drum I will never stop banging. No matter your discipline, your personal website is your first chance to make a good impression with an employer. The TL;DR is keep it simple, highlight your problem solving skills (e.g. with case studies or post-mortems), and get feedback on it any chance you get. Keep asking, keep improving!

3. Try to make stuff

It really is the best way to show your skills, whether it’s game jams, small prototypes or short projects. Even just writing about your discipline or analysing other games/topics is a good time investment and helps demonstrate your critical thinking.

4. Be open minded

Some people come into the industry with their dream company or franchise already in mind, some have a vaguer idea of where they want to work. Either way, game jobs are very competitive and it will help if you’re willing to look outside of well known sectors to find your first role and build up experience. App startups, educational games, gamified products, AR experiences, UX design, other areas of tech — working in any of these fields will still help you build valuable professional experience and transferable skills, and they may have more junior opportunities than a AAA developer.

5. Be methodical, stay sane

Job hunting is gruelling and it’s important to be organised to stay on top of your mental health. You can figure out what works for you, but here’s my method:

• Have a spreadsheet to dump links and key info about jobs you find.
• Have a list of links or use a tab manager to store the job sites/searches you use. Set up email alerts on job sites and use Tweetdeck to check on relevant tags/accounts on Twitter.
• Spend 1–2 hours a week to go through and check these for new jobs (do NOT be tempted to spend longer — it’s a waste of time). Best to have a weekly schedule e.g. Monday morning for searching and prioritising.
• Be strategic — use the sheet to mark the best jobs based on a combo of desirability + realistic-ness.
• Set a nice, manageable goal each week — e.g. 2–5 good quality applications.
• Use the spreadsheet to track status of any applications/comms and make sure to follow up if needed.
• Use Google Docs to write your CV/cover letters — I save a new copy for every application, with the role/company in the filename. It makes it easy to cherry-pick content from previous similar applications and then tailor each one.

Most importantly, take a break when you need to. If you’ve been keeping an eye on the latest job listings, you really won’t miss anything important by skipping a week or two.

If you’re currently job hunting, what have you found helps with the process? What else would you like to know? Fellow industry veterans — what tips can you share?

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto: https://www.pexels.com/photo/graduate-with-papers-and-laptop-excited-about-getting-job-4560150/