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[striferser]

This guy sounds like he woukd be a jerk to work for. I just met you and I have a position of power. Let me disrespect you while you gravel for a job from me. Mental note to not buy any of his games.

Woah, dude is legit good. Most company will throw that kind of cv to trash bin right away, especially if you're job description include you neeed to be detailed and careful...

The first time I was ever interviewed for a job in my current field, a number of years ago, I was asked what my biggest weakness was and I said something to the effect of 'I dislike having my time wasted by questions like that.'

I got a call two days later with a job offer, I never asked but I bet HR was probably wanting those same questions asked.

Sometime it happen, most of the time though, it's not going to end well.

though to be honest, i think most if not all HR bored with that question, and your experience or other thing probably make him think that you worth the shot

 

[bro1]

Oh dear god, you walked right into this one!


Back on topic, the entire hiring process is basically one long exercise in finding reasons NOT to hire you. The person who can avoid giving these reasons will get the job.

A great question to ask the person interviewing you is "is there anything that I can address that is keeping you from hiring me?" This gives the interviewer to ask pointed questions that you can respond to and an opportunity to follow up later via email.

 

[MC Safety]

A great question to ask the person interviewing you is "is there anything that I can address that is keeping you from hiring me?" This gives the interviewer to ask pointed questions that you can respond to and an opportunity to follow up later via email.

That is an awesome question, but it might be too much as it really puts the interviewer on the spot.

 

[TaroYamada]

Sometime it happen, most of the time though, it's not going to end well.

though to be honest, i think most if not all HR bored with that question, and your experience or other thing probably make him think that you worth the shot

I certainly wouldn't advise it if you need a job, I was in a good place financially and didn't need the work at the time but I wasn't surprised when they called me either. It just doesn't seem like a question I've heard of very often in engineering interviews.

I really do hate small talk crap like that though, interview me on my technical competency and get a feel for me socially to see if I'd be a good fit, that's what I expect in a job interview. Stuff like "What would you say is your greatest weakness?" I just find insulting.

 

[cpp_is_king]

That is an awesome question, but it might be too much as it really puts the interviewer on the spot.

If it's a small company it's ok. If it's a company where you're interviewed by more than one person, or if it's just a larger company in general, I find it an inappropriate question, because their hiring process is probably dictated by policy, and in the case of a panel interview or multiple interviews over the course of a day, one person can't just make a decision on the spot, they have to go back and talk to everyone who interviewed you.

 

[Osiris]

A great question to ask the person interviewing you is "is there anything that I can address that is keeping you from hiring me?" This gives the interviewer to ask pointed questions that you can respond to and an opportunity to follow up later via email.

99 times out of 100 the answer to that question is going to be...

"Drop your salary expectations"

 

[Culebra 64]

I have a ton of these bad interview stories at this point, love them too. Closest to a gaming related one I can recall atm was I was interviewing some people for a position with Circuit City.

His resume said "strong leadership qualities" listed, despite having no leadership experience listed.

Before I even asked, he asked me if I ever heard of World Of Warcraft. I told him I had. He then regaled me with epic tales of leading his Guild, and how WoW translates to real world application.

I informed him I preferred FFXI and wrapped up the interview.

No, we didn't hire him.

 

[Jarate]

I have a ton of these bad interview stories at this point, love them too. Closest to a gaming related one I can recall atm was I was interviewing some people for a position with Circuit City.

His resume said "strong leadership qualities" listed, despite having no leadership experience listed.

Before I even asked, he asked me if I ever heard of World Of Warcraft. I told him I had. He then regaled me with epic tales of leading his Guild, and how WoW translates to real world application.

I informed him I preferred FFXI and wrapped up the interview.

No, we didn't hire him.

gib more stories

 

[RocBase]

This thread has been SUPER informative. I even forgot this was meant to be about bad game job CVs.

 

[BakedYams]

These are great.

Greatest Strength: Keeping it real

When keeping it real goes wrong.

 

[Xisiqomelir]

If Valve wasn't flat, I'm pretty sure we'd see Jarate picked up as a VP off that resume.

 

[BigWeather]

We interviewed someone a couple of years ago that went poorly. After the applicant told us a bit about her experience and such my manager asked her "Do you mind if we ask you to talk through a couple of problems?" She just replied "Yes, I don't want to do that." Well, then...

(It is important for us to feel comfortable that our applicants could think on their feet and not panic when presented with a problem to solve.)

 

[tmarques]

I promise, it only gets better from here. http://pastebin.com/eYxpgrVj

(To be fair, English wasn't the guys first language, but still...)

And I watched movies in those styles, like, Lord of the Rings, Van
Helsing, Sleepy Hollow, Pirates of the Caribbean, Kingdom of Heaven,
King Kong, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Zorro, Mask, Spider Man . And I
read books like Hercules and .

"Give me a job, I watched the same blockbusters everyone else has!" And I love that he lists exactly ONE book that he (supposedly) read, couldn't think of any others at the time and decided to get back to it later, only to end up forgetting about it.

 

[Skenzin]

the thing is he's applying for a QA position.

"Quality Assurance (QA) is a way of preventing mistakes or defects in manufactured products..."

Sending a resume with so many mistakes means you're gonna miss a lot of stuff when working, essentially being a bad QA employee.

I agree, the guy was not qualified for the position. What makes the interviewer a jerk was not because he didnt give him a job. He brought him in to basically ridicule him over his mistakes. If the guy had found all his mistakes do really think he would have offered him a job? He most likely did it to use an example or watercooler talk. That's what makes him a jerk.

 

[Jarate]

If Valve wasn't flat, I'm pretty sure we'd see Jarate picked up as a VP off that resume.

im still surprised they haven't offered me a job yet, must be reading over my resume

 

[sixteen-bit]

whoa, epic fail there

 

[RocBase]

While we're at it, is putting personal interests ok or even needed in CVs? Would it be weird mentioning particular fascinations??

 

[Skenzin]

99 times out of 100 the answer to that question is going to be...

"Drop your salary expectations"

Nice. Actually in my experience the best employees dont normally interview well. Because they do not constantly job jump. They may have only been on a few interviews in their life, their knowledge, resume, education, work exp, speak for themselves. The actual social mindgames of an interview are normally played by clinical narcissists on euther side of the desk.

 

[Romars202129]

Sam Watts, Makemedia
I was advertising for games testers and QA specialists to work at a global MMO publisher/developer and received a number of applications.

One guy had an impressive CV, lots of experience in games QA for various companies, different genres across many years but was currently out of work (so had plenty of time to make sure his CV was top notch etc).

The trouble was that I spotted 25 mistakes in his CV, even as far as he worked in the AQ department at one company. But he had really relevant experience and I still wanted to interview him at least, so when he came in, I made sure he completed the “attention to detail” test as part of the process.

Rather than give him some text with mistakes in, I gave him his own CV, 20 minutes to find the mistakes and a pen. Unfortunately he only found 14 of them and didn’t make it through to the next round.

Oh yes, there was also the NVQ candidate who had a picture of her in her bra and knickers bent over the knee of an old man dressed as Father Christmas spanking her ass, as a Facebook profile picture (coz all good recruitment policies involve checking social media!). Yes, I did invite her in for an interview.

I don't know who this guys fooling, but he's the jackass in both of the scenarios he brought up.
I can't imagine being called into an interview, then given a pen and challenged to fix all the mistakes on my resume to get the job. If I wrote the resume, isn't it possible I didn't know I had made the mistakes? Dude just wanted to humiliate the guy.
And yeah, the girl's was weird, but he fucking invited her didn't he? Looks like she found the creep she was trying to solicite to me.

 

[Cymbal Head]

I don't work in the gaming industry, but I've been on a few hiring committees at my place of work. I once Googled an applicant's name and previous place of work because I had a hunch that something was up on his resume, and I found out that he had resigned from a previous job because he got caught downloading kiddie porn on his work computer.

Which disqualified him because there's a school nearby.

Nice. Actually in my experience the best employees dont normally interview well. Because they do not constantly job jump. They may have only been on a few interviews in their life, their knowledge, resume, education, work exp, speak for themselves. The actual social mindgames of an interview are normally played by clinical narcissists on euther side of the desk.

I don't know. The abilities to speak clearly and succinctly, follow social conventions, and respond thoughtfully and spontaneously are often qualities that are sought after. Depending on the job of course.

On another note: Valnen, I wish you the best of luck in job searching for the rest of your life. Culture fit = personal bias? Really?

 

[PSYGN]

Someone please tell me why no one is calling me up? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1RLJe4O4k

 

[Skenzin]

I think the fact that the applicant was given a shot even after submitting 25 typos on one of the most professional, presentable documents someone is ever tasked to write, while applying for a writing position, no less, is worth noting.

I think it's "grovel," by the way.

1. It was never a real shot. It was a badass story to inflate an ego. The guy would have never have gotten the job, nor should he have.

2. Thanks my phones autocorrect thinks im in road repair.. Not being sarcastic. Autocorrect has really killed my skills when it's not working. Did i mention ive lost nearly all my handwriting muscles.

 

[PSYGN]

1. It was never a real shot. It was a badass story to inflate an ego. The guy would have never have gotten the job, nor should he have.

2. Thanks my phones autocorrect thinks im in road repair.. Not being sarcastic. Autocorrect has really killed my skills when it's not working. Did i mention ive lost nearly all my handwriting muscles.

Seems you've lost your eye muscles too

 

[Chie Satonaka]

This CANNOT be real.

I refuse to believe this is real.

I don't even care if I'm late. There's no possible way someone actually did this.

 

[Romars202129]

Seems you've lost your eye muscles too

And your face appears to be that of a giant babies.

 

[Skenzin]

I don't work in the gaming industry, but I've been on a few hiring committees at my place of work. I once Googled an applicant's name and previous place of work because I had a hunch that something was up on his resume, and I found out that he had resigned from a previous job because he got caught downloading kiddie porn on his work computer.

Which disqualified him because there's a school nearby.



I don't know. The abilities to speak clearly and succinctly, follow social conventions, and respond thoughtfully and spontaneously are often qualities that are sought after. Depending on the job of course.

On another note: Valnen, I wish you the best of luck in job searching for the rest of your life. Culture fit = personal bias? Really?

Working as an IT consultant I could tell you stories. Its sad but ive seen first hand seen how scandals start from the beginning. Thats another story though. Keep in mind though thats the only crime simply being accused of makes you guilty.

I agree good communication skills are important. That said, Self confidence,of skill, is a very slippery slope in IT. Ive seen way too many 'experts' that were full of shit, and lots of really intelligent people that were extremely proficient in an area but always felt they could know more, and would undervalue themselves in self assessment of knowledge. Ive seen that scenario time and time again. The field naturally attracts broken people.

 

[Cymbal Head]

...Keep in mind though thats the only crime simply being accused of makes you guilty....

Well he resigned because there was a pending criminal charge, and he's on the national sex offender registry. The other parts of your post I can't speak to, because I'm not in IT.

 

[Valnen]

On another note: Valnen, I wish you the best of luck in job searching for the rest of your life. Culture fit = personal bias? Really?

That's exactly what it is. Using the "culture" excuse sounds like an excuse for bosses to pretend they're still in high school to me, an excuse to be exclusionary even when someone's qualifications are fine.

 

[The Technomancer]

If an email name is the deciding factor for interviewing/not interviewing... you probably don't wanna work there.

Also, I would be very interested in a programmer who did a my little pony resume. People here are free to call it unprofessional if they wish, but honestly? If I want a game programmer I want someone who can prove they're creative. And boy does that resume ever stand out. Also amazeballs sounds like a person who's funny enough to interview too. Some of the other ones are a bit more sketchy, but people I can get down with go against the grain of stuffy garbage like resumes.

it stands out, but I'm not sure how "creative" I'd call it. Its entirely dedicated to one particular fictional media property. A Lord of the Rings resume would be just as ridiculous

 

[Amir0x]

this is pretend, right? Nobody actually made this, right, and sent it to an actual job?

 

[The Technomancer]

That's exactly what it is. Using the "culture" excuse sounds like an excuse for bosses to pretend they're still in high school to me, an excuse to be exclusionary even when someone's qualifications are fine.

Qualifications are not all that matters in a job. Fitting into the environment socially and professionally is incredibly important.

 

[Culebra 64]

gib more stories

Your wish, my command!

For this one I worked for a cell phone indirect agent and we were looking to hire a new salesperson. The process was such that the applicant would respond to a posting on Careerbuilder which asked a few general questions, then the person's info would be sent to me. When they came in, the person would have to sit down and fill in the full application, which was about 30 minutes in total.

So one day a guy comes in, dressed appropriately even though everything he wore was slightly askew. Seemed nervous, and not regular nervous. Super nervous. Gave pleasantries, I asked him to fill out the app, gave him a seat, left him to do his thing.

As he's doing the app in his corner, you can hear him muttering to himself somewhat angrily, which was getting him odd looks. About 10 minutes in he asks me abruptly from his seat if he could use the bathroom. I tell him of course, and show him where it is.

Well, to fast forward a bit...this app took him about an hour and a half to finish, with him going to the bathroom every 10 minutes. It became something of an amusement to us in the store, and we started making up outlandish reasons why he kept running to the bathroom. (Maybe he's Superman and there's a lot of crime, maybe he's trying to find his way to the Mushroom Kingdom, etc etc)

After he finally finished, I sit down and look the app over while sitting with him. Absolutely glistening with sweat, shaking leg, he's just all over the place. I asked him two questions, I think, before he froze. Like, literally. I forget the question, but it was simple lightweight stuff...and he gave me this long 'uhhhhh', and then sat and said nothing for over a minute.

In silence, we sat, him quiet and sweating, me wondering how long before he says anything and me not wanting to break the spell by moving along. Eventually he just apologizes like 3 times straight and decides to excuse himself.


On the app there's the question 'Have you ever been convicted of a felony, and if so, what was the nature of it". He answered yes, for repeated drug related issues.

 

[PshycoNinja]

I don't really find this thread all that amusing. As someone who has put quite a bit of effort in just trying to get an interview at some of these studios, it's demeaning to know that I am getting skipped over by people in the OP just to feed the interviewers curiosity.

It's hard to stand out in this industry or be noticed. I put in apps everyday while working on my own CV and portfolio site to try and impress HR only to get looked over. Even getting a QA job is difficult even when I have a BS in Computer Science.

Sorry if I seem a little fussy but as someone who has worked hard for years just to try and get a foot in the door anywhere.... it's... disheartening.

/rant

 

[isual]

is it true that jobs in QA in the gaming biz have no way to move up ?

 

[Alchemy]

is it true that jobs in QA in the gaming biz have no way to move up ?

It depends on the studio. From what I've seen, the companies that promote QA up are on the rare side. QA usually get let go between projects when not needed.

 

[Teriyaki]

is it true that jobs in QA in the gaming biz have no way to move up ?

Depends on what you mean by QA job. Assuming you're referring to a contract or hourly tester, it is really difficult since you not only face immense competition and opportunity scarcity, but the path is lengthy due to skill/experience gap. I do know people who began their careers as an hourly QA employee and are now salaried high ranking folks in the gaming industry, but know many, many more who never made it past the first contract.

 

[Teriyaki]

To those who are brave enough to not use your real name as your email address on a resume, you better damn well make sure it isn't the same as the screename you use on GAF, Gamefaqs, WoW, forums, message boards, etc. Too much hilarity can ensue on a single Google search.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

That's exactly what it is. Using the "culture" excuse sounds like an excuse for bosses to pretend they're still in high school to me, an excuse to be exclusionary even when someone's qualifications are fine.

People who insist on going against the grain on even the smallest and effortless formalities that are asked of them don't come across as good "team player" material.

I'm really not sure why you don't see that.

 

[TheSpoiler]

I put "Februry" instead of February on my resume once. It stayed like that for two months. I kept sending it out to gaming publications and getting turned down.

Once I saw that mistake, I started mentally kicking myself. Now I re-read my resume twice a day.

Well, would you look at the time! Excuse me, I need to obsessively read over it again until my eyes bleed.

 

[oneils]

Yes. He is wrong. People feeling like they are incapable of enjoying a position should look elsewhere. Find something that gives you at least a slight bit of enjoyment. It makes you a happier person. Which translates to a better attitude at work and at home.

Fake it, til you make it. If you need a job, you need a job and of course you tell the interviewer what they want to hear.

That is why a lot of these "standard" questions are out of fashion now. They don't actually revel much about the candidate.

 

[Magna_Mixalis]

is it true that jobs in QA in the gaming biz have no way to move up ?

If you're internal QA, yes and no. You won't be promoted as such, but you have access to a lot of internal job posting and if people are familiar with you and your work, it makes jumping to other departments easier.

 

[MikeHaggar]

Oh, excellent, I can actually contribute to this.

This is an application a friend of an ex-coworker from another studio received quite a long time ago that made the rounds around my old office a while back. But it's so long I can't paste the entire thing here, so here is the opening paragraph:



I promise, it only gets better from here. http://pastebin.com/eYxpgrVj

(To be fair, English wasn't the guys first language, but still...)

oh, man. i LOST it at the prince of persia rock music part haha

 

[PshycoNinja]

I was screening resumes for a while, and it is shocking what people will send.

Email address? Get a professional email address. Zelda4Lover@hotmail.com that you registered when you were 12 is instantly going to get you closer to the trash.

Don't make a fancy resume! Make it easy to read and chronological. I remember seeing one resume that was actually white on black, so when you printed it I murdered our printer AND we couldn't write on the resume to take notes. Another one I remember had each job they did turned at 45 degrees, so to read the resume you had to rotate it.

Spell check! For fuck sakes spell check your resume!! Can't count how many errors I see and not slip ups. Open Word & Google Docs, red lines all over the place. I remember one resume years ago that worked at Nintendo at one point, but spelled it Nintenndeo.

Only send your resume as a doc or pdf. NEVER SEND AS IMAGE FILE!!

If you get a phone screen or face to face interview, PLAY THE FREAKING GAME THAT THE DEVELOPER MADE!! This happens more often then you would think. When I was working on a F2P game, we would ask people if they played it and a number of people would say "I've been saving money to get that one." IT IS A FREE TO PLAY GAME!! Redbox, Gamefly, borrow, steal, watch live streams of others playing it. Learn about the game and company you are going to talk with.

Nicknames. Don't some strange nickname on your resume. John "Massive Attack" Doe. It just looks bad.

Don't apply for every job on the website!!! Apply for what you are qualified for. Seeing an artist apply for a programming position or a tester apply for a director position does not give off the right first impression.

Things you should do:
Clean Resume.
Include link to portfolio website.
DON'T USE QUICKTIME for your videos on your portfolio. Make an MP4, FLV, embed a youtube video, or vimeo.
Include Linkedin link. We will find it anyway, it makes it easier for those looking over.

Since you seem to be someone from an HR background can you (others in HR can also help) look over my portfolio site and give me feedback on it. Been looking for work for a while now and I never get called back for jobs. So if you can help I would greatly appreciate the feedback.

Link to Portfolio Site

 

[Big-E]

Fake it, til you make it. If you need a job, you need a job and of course you tell the interviewer what they want to hear.

That is why a lot of these "standard" questions are out of fashion now. They don't actually revel much about the candidate.

Yep. Nothing I hate more than sanctimonious questions like that. Needing a job to feed a family is not good enough for some. Such a shitty question and says a lot about the interviewer if they really believe that crap. We should all just work for free because the job is so rewarding too right?

 

[striferser]

is it true that jobs in QA in the gaming biz have no way to move up ?

Depend
If it QA for internal studio, there's a chance to be promoted or chance to applied to different position when you meet the qualification.
I know QA who promoted to studio manager or producer.

 

[Cyrano]

it stands out, but I'm not sure how "creative" I'd call it. Its entirely dedicated to one particular fictional media property. A Lord of the Rings resume would be just as ridiculous

It has literally amazed just about everyone here. For good or ill, I would call that creative. At the very least, it's far more unique than any resume I've ever come across. I don't think that's a bad thing.

 

[striferser]

It has literally amazed just about everyone here. For good or ill, I would call that creative. At the very least, it's far more unique than any resume I've ever come across. I don't think that's a bad thing.

It is creative, but...
1. HR print the resume to be used on interview. Printing full color not exactly cheap
2. It is stand out, but, chance of him being interviewed by big company? Almost nil, he might get a shot on small company or Hasbro maybe.
3. Too much detail or picture divert your attention to thing that you supposed to read, like you know, his experience or the fact that he got GPA.

 

[MC Safety]

is it true that jobs in QA in the gaming biz have no way to move up ?

No. There is some mobility. But you have to understand there are a lot of testers, and very few open jobs. Beyond that, those open jobs are often filled by outside candidates who have practical design/art/production/what-have-you experience.

I've seen testers be promoted. It doesn't happen often, though.

 

[DTKT]

Depend
If it QA for internal studio, there's plenty of chance to be promoted or chance to applied to different position when you meet the qualification

Those skillsets are not something you can acquire through QA work. You either need the relevant education or a very strong sense of self-learning. What I mean to say is that your QA work has often very little to do with actual game development.

That said, it's a great "network" tool and gives you plenty of opportunity to show that your work goes beyond "I enter bugs in JIRA".

 

[RiccochetJ]

is it true that jobs in QA in the gaming biz have no way to move up ?

There is always an opportunity to move up. Opportunity is the key word. Unless the gaming industry works differently than the rest of us, it's the same thing.

We identify and promote.