Seattle job search help

MNC Dover

Hello PA forum!

I'm a longtime poster (class of 2007 and a two-time Omeganaut!) and have recently made a lot of changes in my life, the biggest being going to and finishing college. I graduated in August and moved to Seattle in October. I'm loving the city and PNW, but have had a hard time securing a job. I get that this isn't the best time of year to find work, but I'm still trying to explore every option I can in finding a job. This is the longest I've been unemployed in my life and it's driving me mad.

Here's a quick rundown of my skills and experience (spoilered for length):

-Graduated High School in 1994. Attended college for one semester before withdrawing. I was 18 and stupid.
-Worked at various jobs from 1994-2004. Worked at Chuck E. Cheese, EB Games, and Lenscrafters. Started at the bottom and worked my way up into store management positions by the end.
-Took a job as a Project Manager with a home theater installation company from 2005-2010. Worked on million dollars homes with clients, architects, electricians, builders, and field techs.
-With the home market crash of 2008, my company was feeling the hurt. I decided to follow my passion for video games and enrolled in college at the start of 2010.
-I graduated in 2012 with a degree in Game Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
-During my time in college, I worked on several group projects typically in the role of Lead Designer or Producer.
-
-I found that my lack of artistic talent and programming was a short fall, but my ability to coordinate and lead was invaluable. I focused more on these skills.
-My last few months at school saw me work on a team that got to the finals of the Disney Imagineering Contest. In addition, I was the Lead Producer on a collaboration project with Microsoft on an original IP next-gen title.

In Summary

Strengths:
-Lots of real world experience
-Great manager of tasks and people
-Excellent professional and social communication
-An understanding of game design and mechanics
-Good networking skills

Weaknesses:
-No industry experience (huge problem so far)
-Not good with coding (C++, UDK, etc)
-Older than most college grads (weakness?)
-Not sure who/where to look for entry level jobs

As of January, I'll be 37 years old which is quite late to start your life over again. I have no choice though. I'm in Seattle now for the long haul and have to find something. I'm not opposed to starting at the bottom of the barrel in QA, trying my hand at community management, or working as a Project Manager either. I just want to be in the gaming industry, whether I'm creating games or managing teams, it doesn't matter to me.

I'm reaching out now to anyone here for advice, no matter the kind. I can take hard criticism and understand my shortcomings. Maybe I just need to be more patient? Perhaps there are other places I should be looking that I don't know of. Feel free to ask any questions if it helps narrow down my problem areas.

Super thanks to anyone who helps out.

PS: A link to my website (which has my resume) can be found in my signature below.

Weaver

Since you're looking for tech work, I'd suggest throwing your resume up on monster since a lot of contracting agencies around here still lift candidates from there. Also http://seattle.craigslist.org/sof/ gets tons of listings.

Straygatsby

As a fellow oldster/first try college miscreant/career reboot specialist, I deeply sympathize with you. I recently moved up here as well. My daily regimen for my job search was dice, craigslist, monster, indeed, and the local papers. I also sucked it up, put on my tie, and went in to the great satan Robert Half to put my info and dignity on file for contracting gigs. I was also willing to commute (but then, it seems like everyone does here, at least to some extent). Upside, there's a lot of opportunity up here. Downside, there's a lot of opportunists up here. Focus, spend every day looking (and the rest of the day getting better, whether it be at coding or practicing your art).

My biggest concern with how you describe yourself is that your art is iffy as well as your coding. Going into a game design gig search like that just sounds like the pizza delivery guy who doesn't drive very well and hates being on time. That might just be the tone of your post. I can totally understand feeling a little down, but now is a great time to brush up on your skills and really find out what makes you a good candidate for what you want to do. You might even want to consider tangential work: help desk or operations at a gaming shop or large tech company, somewhere you can pick up more knowledge and make connections within the industry without necessarily being on the front line.

Good luck!

Usagi

I don't have any specific advice for you on finding work in gaming (@neville might be able to provide suggestions) but the no experience thing is pretty much a dealbreaker, regardless of industry. I'm going to echo what Weaver & Straygatsby suggested: find something, anything, whether it's via CL or a contracting/temp agency because some work even in the wrong industry is better than no work.

MNC Dover

@weaver: Monster? OMG, how did I forget about the biggest job seeking website on the planet? Ugh! Thanks for the reminder. I've been looking on Craigslist too. Seems like everyone is hiring for Senior Level positions though.

@Straygatsby: I haven't heard of Dice or Indeed, I'll look into them. And what's this satanic Robert Half you speak of?

My art is certainly no iffy, it's non-existent. I am a horrible artist, which shouldn't be an issue as a game designer. I want to focus on mechanics not drawings and concept art. I was led to believe that a lot of game designers have no artistic talent, but perhaps my knowledge and description of the job is wrong. I hope not, because otherwise I'll never be a game designer and that would be a waste.

@Usagi: @neville? Never heard of him, but will totally shoot him a PM. The lack of industry experience is the huge Catch-22 of business. How do you get experience if no one hires people without it? I get it, but it still doesn't make it less silly. I actually had an interview with a gaming company in the area and they loved me, but needed someone who could step in right away. Talks of Internships were discussed, but not until early next year.

The reality of my situation is that I'll probably not find any opportunities until Jan-Mar. I hate waiting that long, but it might be my only choice. I know I'll do fine once I'm in somewhere, it's just getting my foot in the door like any other company.

Thanks for the advice (and encouragement) everyone, please keep it coming!

UrQuanLord88

Try JobFox
Volt Staffing Services
I managed to get someone from Volt to look at my resume and discuss jobs that I might be suitable for

Speak to people about your job search strategies/goals. It helped me a ton, keeping me focused on what jobs to look for and fine tuning my resume. People you can/should talk to are people in the industry you want to be in and people hiring for that industry.

Seattle has a ton of tech and video game companies. While you might be right saying that you won't be finding opportunities until Jan-Mar, the process is always long. Don't wait, call and make plans now. Job search is your job now and it should be routine until you change jobs (i.e. get hired)

Another thing you might want to consider is to take some class in a local college just to get access to their career services.

MNC Dover

My friend whom I'm staying with works for Bungie and has been helping out a lot. Plenty of great advice and connections from him, just nothing that's panned out so far. I did see some opportunities on the sites Stray listed and applied for them.

I keep saying that in a few years, I'm going to look back at this time and laugh. Sadly, it's just not a few years from now yet.

Straygatsby

Robert Half is a monstrous staffing agency that has a big presence here (and a big tech wing, in addition to others). They are, by most accounts, pretty awful to work with, but leads is leads!

Kochikens

Linkedin has great resources for gaming industry recruiters & job listings. Join a ton of groups, link with everyone you've ever worked with. It's all about who you know.

UrQuanLord88

MNC Dover wrote: »

My friend whom I'm staying with works for Bungie and has been helping out a lot. Plenty of great advice and connections from him, just nothing that's panned out so far. I did see some opportunities on the sites Stray listed and applied for them.

Thats great. Keep at it, follow up. Prepare an Elevator pitch, describing yourself, your skills and how it is relevant to your ideal job and refine it. It'll be great for job interviews too!

neville

Hello, @MNC Dover

@Usagi mentioned me because I am in the game industry... well, tangentially at the moment.
But I worked for Big Fish Games, Gas Powered Games, and Blizzard.
I'm currently in regular tech by choice (pay & location), but working on games on the side.

While it is great you have a degree, the long and short of it is that it is very difficult to get into the industry simply because many people want to do the same thing.


Your best resources:
1. gamedevmap.com - Use it, love it.

2. Game Developer's Conference - Great, great talks. Even if you can't afford the conference itself, a TON of networking happens at the parties afterwards. And if you doubt that, I've personally had two friends get jobs through people they met at parties. You need to be able to back up your talk with skills, but networking is how it happens.

3. Your network - Everyone in the industry networks. You don't hear "Let's wait for some resumes" so much as "Oh I know a guy for this position we want, let me see if he is interested." This can be hard for people who aren't used to networking, but you'll get used to it. Just keep good relationships with your friends, colleagues from school, professors, ESPECIALLY people you meet at talks/conventions, etc.


Regarding jobs, QA is a great way in. It can take time to get promoted though, so if you don't care about QA but are doing it to transition, be sure you don't speak ill of it. Some people like/love QA, so hearing that you're using it as a means to an end can annoy them. It is fine to aspire for something else, just don't treat QA like it isn't as good as development/art/etc; good QA is vital to great games.
Not to mention as a developer/artist/pm/etc, if your QA likes you, you're golden. If you treat them like dirt, they can make things difficult for you.

If you have more questions, you can ask here and/or PM me.

neville

@rankenphile and @ten may have additional thoughts

MNC Dover

neville wrote: »

Hello, @MNC Dover

@Usagi mentioned me because I am in the game industry... well, tangentially at the moment.
But I worked for Big Fish Games, Gas Powered Games, and Blizzard.
I'm currently in regular tech by choice (pay & location), but working on games on the side.

While it is great you have a degree, the long and short of it is that it is very difficult to get into the industry simply because many people want to do the same thing.


Your best resources:
1. gamedevmap.com - Use it, love it.

2. Game Developer's Conference - Great, great talks. Even if you can't afford the conference itself, a TON of networking happens at the parties afterwards. And if you doubt that, I've personally had two friends get jobs through people they met at parties. You need to be able to back up your talk with skills, but networking is how it happens.

3. Your network - Everyone in the industry networks. You don't hear "Let's wait for some resumes" so much as "Oh I know a guy for this position we want, let me see if he is interested." This can be hard for people who aren't used to networking, but you'll get used to it. Just keep good relationships with your friends, colleagues from school, professors, ESPECIALLY people you meet at talks/conventions, etc.


Regarding jobs, QA is a great way in. It can take time to get promoted though, so if you don't care about QA but are doing it to transition, be sure you don't speak ill of it. Some people like/love QA, so hearing that you're using it as a means to an end can annoy them. It is fine to aspire for something else, just don't treat QA like it isn't as good as development/art/etc; good QA is vital to great games.
Not to mention as a developer/artist/pm/etc, if your QA likes you, you're golden. If you treat them like dirt, they can make things difficult for you.

If you have more questions, you can ask here and/or PM me.

Hey @Neville! Thanks for the response man.

I've been using gamedevmap already to narrow down my company lists. A great resource, but the only problem I've seen is some companies either don't exist or haven't updated in a while. Either way, it's nice to use.

The GDC sounds like a great event to attend, but I know without some serious financial help, I can't afford it. Well, I do have some funds, just not a ton. The site does seem to offer various packages though, any suggestions on what I should pay for to get the best results of meeting up with others?

I networking and I'm damn good at it too. I keep all my lines of communication open with co-workers, colleagues, and students. In fact, I'd love a LinkedIn request if you don't mind. I'll PM you my info.

@rankenphile and @ten will be the next people I poke for some info. Hey guys, you listening out there?

neville

@MNC Dover No problem. Always happy to help out people in the industry.

I'd say Main Conference is the best. The tutorials/summits are good, but expensive and, really, if you're not in the industry yet, probably not something to worry about. The expo pass is only $95 or so and it's a good place to drop off lots of resumes, but that's what a -lot- of people do, so it may not be super lucrative.

As mentioned, the best thing no matter what part of the actual convention you go to, is to go to the parties.
There are /LOTS/ of them. And there will inevitably be some you cannot get into. I'd say not to fret about that.
While some are more fun, mostly it won't matter if you're looking to network and/or look for a job.

I'm going to the parties this year only. Although it will be cheaper for me in general since I live in the Bay Area.


Also another resource for you is to work on some side projects. While that's time consuming, it never helps to have more experience on your resume.

Kochikens

gamasutra is also a great website for job listings

neville

Kochikens wrote: »

gamasutra is also a great website for job listings

agree.
LinkedIn is good once you're established.

I get about 2-4 emails per week from recruiters looking for new talent.
Currently I ignore it, but if I ever decide to look, it would be pretty easy

But we programmers are pretty spoiled in general in that regard.

MNC Dover

I regularly check gamasutra but haven't had much success. Again, most positions posted seem to be for Senior of Lead level positions. I'm betting that most companies that need entry level people are hiring from within or hiring friends of friends. Finding those key entry level positions is the tough part.

I'm going to keep at it obviously, but man is being unemployed frustrating!

Muggins

There's a few companies in Seattle that manages like 3rd party QA. Volt springs to mind as one of them, I'd look into that.

MNC Dover

Veretas wrote: »

There's a few companies in Seattle that manages like 3rd party QA. Volt springs to mind as one of them, I'd look into that.

I heard of them from UrQuan's post and did a search with no success. It seems like I've chosen the wrong field. Should have done programming or studied second languages.

MNC Dover

I realized a lot of time has passed since I created this thread and thought I'd give a quick update.

I was able to get a job at Fred Meyer in the electronics department. Certainly not the gaming industry like I wanted, but (barely) paying the bills. I've had some interviews with companies, but been shot down. Trying to keep a positive outlook though.

Started working on some programming and got introduced to Code Academy. Cool site that really breaks things down. I've got a knack for it and hopefully I can transition it into learning gaming coding.