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Job Shadow Advice
Bongo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So it's my senior year of Highschool and I'd like to partake in this Job Shadow business. The thing is, my schoo's pretty much cut the entire job shadow "program" to the point where instead of actively helping you secure a job shadow, they tell you to find a company and set it up yourself, so I'm pretty much on my own. The thing is, I really don't know how to go about this, what sort of email to write, how to set it up, etc. I was wondering if anyone out there might be able to give me some tips/advice/help/whatever? I'd like to either JS Valve or Bungie, since those are the prominent local game studios and I plan on entering the industry after college (as an enviromental artist, and hopefully become a level designer down the road, it's not a pipedream most people have, I really do actually plan on entering the industry and am actively working towards it), so it seems like a natuaral progression to me. I know for a fact that a kid a few years ago from my school JS'd Valve and ended up as an intern, so I'm pretty sure they wouldn't outright deny haveing me spend a bit of time there, though Bungie I'm less sure of, since they're in a development cycle of a pretty highprofile game.
So, uh, any help/past experiences?
So, uh, any help/past experiences?
Bongo on
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If you can do a bit more digging and find a name for HR, then that would be even better. Unless you have personal ties to Gabe Newall, HR is likely to be the most successful route to getting an 'in'.
Beyond that, just compose a polite email explaining your situation, what stage you are at in your education, what you plan on doing when you leave school and your ultimate ambitions and then ask if it would be possible to shadow someone in the department relative to your ambitions for a week/fortnight. I'd imagine that companies like Valve get school students wanting to come do work experience there all the time, so don't be too disappointed if they refuse although I wouldn't be surprised if they make a point of taking on one or two work experience people a year. You can certainly maximise your chances of getting picked by making it clear that you have serious and realistic ambitions and have reasons for working there beyond thinking "C0u|\|ter$trike is teh awesome".
Oh, you might also want to ask around and see if you can find out how the other kid got the position. Maybe there's a teacher who knows who to speak to at Valve or something.