The Game Industry: A Networking Beast
- Reajonnae Freeman
- Feb 14, 2018
- 2 min read
Full Sail University is well known for its Game Design and Development programs, and many students are interested in starting a career in the gaming industry- evident by the incredibly long line outside for the panel. So if you weren’t able to attend or share that same interest in game careers, here’s what you missed:
The panel consisted of Thomas Abrams, Head of Recruiting; Christian Sanchez a Full Sail graduate of Game Design and current Producer at ArenaNet; Braedan Sosha, Lead Programmer; and the ArenaNet Environment Artist.
The panel started off with each member of the panel speaking about their journey and how they got into this industry. Full Sail Alumni, Christian Sanchez, was lucky enough to get an internship at ArenaNet and did well enough to become a full-time employee and have a specialized job created just for him. Although others on the panel had previous jobs working at other smaller studios each were motivated at a young age by seeing games on the Nintendo or seeing movies like Lord of the Rings with animated characters like Gollum.
The panelists also talked about what they look for in applicants. Common topics that came up during that time were side projects and recommendations.
"Having a good resume counts for a lot but having tangible things to show and displaying your passion for your field counts for a lot more."
Recommendations were also a hot topic. Every Full Sail student knows the motto “Network, Network, Network!” and that applies even to the workforce. The panelists stated that many employees get hired because of their connections with someone on the inside. So, it’s very important to make those connections and get those internships as it’s easier to hire someone that recruiters have heard of or have a face to put the name to. Another important thing brought up about resumes was that the most important thing is conciseness, someone looking at your resume should immediately know what field you’re interested in and what job you would like to have. Even if it exceeds one page, if it’s pertinent information it’s better to have it than to not have it.
The last main topic that the panelists covered was to know what you’re getting into. Research the company you want to work for and all the details about the job that you’d like. Know what the typical workday is like, how many hours the person with the job title you want works in a week and the culture of the group you’ll be working with. “Know what you want and be firm” says Braedan Sosha, Lead Programmer.
Many of these things apply to other areas of the media and entertainment industries; so do your research, be firm about what you want, and remember to be flexible when you’re new to the industry.
Keep up to date with all the latest events and panels with the Hall of Fame 9 app for iPhone and Android and follow our social media for all the latest updates.
Comments