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[yesfish]

I would *love* to work a computer-related job, but I always get turned down.  Apparently not having experience is anathema to the hiring process.

So they only want guys with experience, how do they expect new people to enter the industry then? One day everyone with experience will have retired and they'll have no one left.

Craigslist and other websites are useless for getting jobs. No exceptions.

Exception 1: I found the game industry job I have right now from a craigslist ad. It is not a very sexy job (backend tools programming) but it's a job, pays the going rate, and is in the industry.

Exception 2: I scored several interviews after submitting CVs on careerbuilder.com and several other sites. One of them was a game company.

Okay so there are exceptions XP.


I left a college (UK college) with a diploma in all round computing (office, programming, hardware, business, etc.) I spent the following year applying to over 200 jobs (The benefits center was keeping count) through sites online, ads in papers, whatever the benefits center gave me and anything that came up. Applied for computer work, office work and everything else I felt capable of.

Total interviews: 0

Eventually the center sent me on a job-seeking course. My last post is basically repeating what they told me. After a week on the course I got a job at a supermarket (and I'd applied to supermarkets before the 'normal' way but got turned down).

So! Either there's a conspiracy against me where the entire county refuses to imploy me even though I'm plenty qualified!

Or, occams razor- The job course guys were right. : p

[Aquin]

Yeah, I hear ya.  I took a job-training course a few years ago and did exactly as they instructed.  I did manage to get a couple of interviews, but it always fell through.

After that, I decided to open my own business.  The economy decided to kick me in the ass.  So now I'm without a job AND I'm in a worse situation than before.

Fun stuff. 

[Montoli]

I would *love* to work a computer-related job, but I always get turned down.  Apparently not having experience is anathema to the hiring process.

So they only want guys with experience, how do they expect new people to enter the industry then? One day everyone with experience will have retired and they'll have no one left.

You have discovered the fundamental paradox of "the industry!"  Congratulations!

The problem is that game development is like hollywood, or probably any other entertainment industry:  It is high profile, and lots of people are exposed to the end result.  (i. e. games/movies/etc)  As a result, LOTS of people say "I bet I could do that, and it would be fun!" and apply (largely under the mistaken belief that since they like to play games/watch movies, making them will be easy, but that's a topic for another rant), so prospective employers enjoy the luxury of being able to wait for a candidate that they feel REALLY like.

The good news is that if you can get a job in the industry, you usually have "got your break" and can parlay that into other jobs with much less trouble.  The first one is the hardest!

Some tricks that have worked for me or people I know:

• Network!  Like for real.  Get to know people who program games for a living.  Find out where they hang out!  Stalk them!  Or at least try to become friends with them?  If you can get to know some people in the general line of work you want to be in, this will help you in a couple of ways.  First off, it will help give you a more realistic impression of exactly what the job entails.  (Since they'll gripe about it a lot. )  Second, they're likely to know of openings in their field that you may not.  And if you are applying to a company where someone already knows you, you are miles ahead of random shmucks applying off the street.  If you need help finding people near you who work in games, try hitting forums, conventions (GDC is a great one if you can afford to go) and your local IGDA chapter.
• Make your own experience  So the jerks won't hire you without experience?  Build your own!  Participate in an open source project.  Make a game of your own on the side.  Do SOMETHING that demonstrates to them that you are serious about this, and what you are capable of.  Even if you just write your own interpretation of Pong, that is still probably better than most other people who apply.  And I can tell you from being on the hiring end from time to time, someone with a game or pet project under their belt is MUCH more appealing than random job-seeking resume #341.
• Get related experience Want to be a game programmer/artist/whatever, but can't get in?  Find some other place that will hire you to be a programmer/artist/whatever, and then keep an eye out on the game job market.  It is much easier to get a job game programming if you have experience demonstrating that you know how to program.
  
• Get a foot in the door Closely related to the above - try to get some kind of job at a company that makes games, even if it isn't what you want.  Heck, even QA tester is better than nothing.  It won't pay well, and the hours will suck and the job will suck, but you'll start getting a chance to meet people who make games, (see networking, above) and will have a better shot at moving into something closer to what you want than if you were coming in from the outside.  (Companies would almost always rather fill a position with someone they know they can work with, than with some random person off the street who they only know from an interview or two.)
  

I realize these will sound cliched.  You have probably even heard many of them before!  If so, it is because they are, I think, good advice.

Best of luck!

-Montoli

[Fun Infused Games]

I have a day job... 40 hours a week doing programming. Not exactly game development, but it still helps me learn skills relevant to doing game programming. I'll keep doing this until it comes a point where indie games make me more money than my day job.

[weasello]

Depending on how much you love your lifestyle and how much you want money, don't forget about the whole concept of lowering your expenses.

By cooking my own food, using a u-brew, finding cheap rent, and cancelling most of my bills (no TV!), and selling the car/taking the bus, I went from requiring $2.5K/mo to just over $600/mo.

Respectfully, of course - you could already be doing all of this. I'm just shocked at how many people say "You cook your own food?"

[Aquin]

Heh.  I live in a small place out in the boonies.  As you can imagine, the rent is near non-existent.  Plus I have phone+internet+electricity bills and that's it. 

I pay maybe... $300 a month?  Since any part-time work I do makes me well in the thousands, I don't actually need to work much to keep myself alive. 

Of course on the downside, I basically live on a farm in the middle of nowhere.  There aren't any gamers out here, much less indie gamers.

Come to think of it, me posting on this forum is the most social interaction I have.  Indeed, I lead a hermit's life.

[weasello]

Well then! You have that based covered better than I (I *needed* to live near a pub)

To partially echo most everyone else:

- I have found work as often as I have found dismal failure on Craigslist. Very 50/50, but not 100% failure as some have indicated.
- I have had nothing but success going door-to-door (measured on a trip basis).

I'm sure there's a million websites that go through details on how to present yourself well, but be sure you do. You aren't an automaton trying to make a buck - you are a unique person who REALLY WANTS TO WORK THERE. Don't apply at the bakery before you learn what all the products are called, for example!

Or you could crank out a few 48-hour-games and try selling them.

I hate the system and how it works, but all of my best jobs were gained from people I know. Join a club, hang out, make some friends, and you'll start seeing opportunities everywhere!