2.  How many of you want a job when you
graduate? ( A real job related to your major )
 How many of you want to work in the games
industry when you graduate?

3.  Matt Vorce
(aka Vorce, Vorcebaby
or Gandalf )
 Senior in Computer
Science
 Starting full-time
employment at Pixo
Entertainment after I
graduate

4.  Making a resume
 Searching for jobs
 Preparing for an interview
 What to expect at an interview

5.  There is no best way to write a resume
 There are many things not to do on a resume

6.  Start by creating a bare bones resume…
 Work experience
 Outside of work experience
 Education information
 Relevant skills you have gained
 Contact information…

7.  Dates of employment
 Job Titles
 Bullet points
 Expected graduation date
 GPA (Ideally you have over
a 3.0)
 Talk about what you
learned not just what you
did
 Make resume one page one
sided

8.  To include or not to include GPA…
 Ideally your GPA is a 3.0 or better
 If not be prepared to give reasons why
 If under 3.0 consider providing a major GPA if
higher

9.  List every job you have ever had if it is not
relevant
 Focus solely on the job responsibilities
 Be vague or make generic statements
 Put down skills you wouldn’t be comfortable
answering questions about

10.  Highlight what you did and learned at each of
your experiences
 Statements should be short bullet yet be
meaningful and grab the readers attention
 Use verbs

11.  Get it looked over by several different people
 Utilize outside resources such as The Center
to get your resume critiqued

13.  Go to on campus career fairs
 Utilize online resources such as
MySpartanCareer.com
 Use social networking (Make sure you have a
linkedIn)
 Who you know is often better than what you
know

14.  Always provide a cover letter when applying
even if it is not specifically asked for
 Helps you stand out and show you really care
about the job you are applying for not just
spam sending resumes

15.  3 – 4 paragraphs in length
 First Paragraph
 Introduction to yourself, what you are applying for
and why
 Second / Third Paragraph
 1 – 2 paragraphs about why you are a good fit for the
position
 Last Paragraph
 Express that you would appreciate an opportunity to
speak further with them and reiterate how you an be
contacted

16.  Very important especially for artists and
designers
 Don’t clutter it with shitty Tetris remakes
 Showcase your best and ideally complete
work

17.  Having relevant work experience is extremely
important
 How do you get a job when you have no
previous experience?

18.  Lots of paid internships available
 Don’t be afraid to look outside of big names
(Microsoft, Google etc)
 Less exciting sounding internships are a lot
easier to get and can still pay well / provide
good working experience
 For programmers even non game related
programming internships are valuable

19.  Good internships do exist but you need to
work hard to get them
 Don’t be afraid to spend a summer at an
unpaid internship it will do much more for
you than a summer working at McDonalds

20.  Varies from company to company
 Typically an initial screening interview
 Over the phone
 On campus interview
 Over Skype
 Usually less technical but not guaranteed
 On site interview

21.  Interviewing is a skill
 Some people are
naturally better at it then
others
 Like anything else
practice makes perfect

22.  Google “Top 40 interview questions” and
read through them
 Make sure you have stories you can easily
talk about that demonstrate situations when
you did something
 That class project when you did something great
 That job assignment when you impressed your
boss

23.  Look up the company online and know stuff
about them
 Glassdoor.com is a great resource for this
 Sometimes contains sample interview questions /
information about the interviewing process
 Contains information about what its like to work
there

24.  Go to practice interviews on campus
(strongly advised)
 You don’t want to sound rehearsed when
being interviewed but it will help you to
practice

25.  Found a list of popular interview questions
 Wrote out how I would answer such a
question if I received it
 Helped me a lot in brainstorming stories /
situations from my past that I could talk
about at an interview

26.  Preparing for the technical portion of an
interview can be very hard
 For programmers you can find lots of
resources online for sample technical
questions.
 “Cracking The Coding Interview” is a good
book with sample questions / information
about preparing for these interviews

27.  Introduction stage
 Behavioral Questions (STAR)
 Technical Questions
 Opportunity for interviewee to ask questions
 Conclusion

28.  You will get asked the question:
“So tell me about yourself?”
 Don’t tell them your life story
 Interviewer may talk about the company or
position
 Don’t be surprised if asked:
“Why do you want to work for us?”
 First impression is key

29.  Interviewer will ask you a question…
 “Tell me about a time when…”
 Situation
 Describe a challenge / scenario for the interviewer
 Task
 What did you have to achieve?
 Action
 What action did you take to meet the challenge?
 Were there any alternatives?
 Result
 What was the outcome of your actions?

30.  Vary widely from company to company
 Vary depending on what job you are going for

31.  Often involves programming on the
whiteboard
 Interviewers are more interested in how you
approach a problem and problem solve and
less about the answer
 The key is not to panic and talk through
everything you are thinking in detail
 They usually aren't as bad as they sound…

32.  Interviewers are interested in how you would
design something (big surprise)
 Might ask questions like:
 What is your favorite game and why?
▪ Why is it your favorite game from a designers
perspective?
 What is your favorite map and why?
▪ What design aspects make a good level?
 They are also interested in your workflow

33.  Always come prepared with questions for the
interviewer
 If the interviewer asks “So do you have any
questions” and you respond “No” you will
look dumb

34.  Don’t ask stupid questions
 Never mention money or self
centered questions (time off,
overtime etc)
 Obvious questions that could
be answered from their
website

35.  Always ask for the interviewers business card
 If they don’t have one make sure you get their
name and email
 Always send a thank you to everyone you
interviewed with
 Google “interview thank you letter” for
information on how to structure it

36.  Seek an internship early and often
 Gain as much technical skill as possible
 Make good connections whenever possible