Interviewing and Getting a Job 101

Why you should give a sh*t about this presentation…

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?

About me

Matt Vorce (aka Vorce, Vorcebaby or Gandalf )

Senior in Computer Science

Starting full-time employment at Pixo Entertainment after I graduate

Overview

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

Making a resume

There is no best way to write a resume

There are many things not to do on a resume

Where to start?

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

Do’s

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

GPA

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

Don'ts

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

After you have a initial draft

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

Perfecting your resume

Get it looked over by several different people

Utilize outside resources such as The Center to get your resume critiqued

Example

Finding a job

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

Cover Letters

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

Cover Letter Format

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

Portfolio

Very important especially for artists and designers

Don’t clutter it with shitty Tetris remakes

Showcase your best and ideally complete work

Internships

Having relevant work experience is extremely important

How do you get a job when you have no previous experience?

Good news for engineers

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

For everyone else…

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

Interviewing process

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

Preparing for an Interview

Interviewing is a skill Some people are

naturally better at it then others

Like anything else practice makes perfect

Ways to prepare

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

Ways to prepare

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

Ways to prepare

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

What I did to help prepare

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

Preparing for the technical portion

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

Typical interview format

Introduction stage Behavioral Questions (STAR) Technical Questions Opportunity for interviewee to ask

questions Conclusion

Introduction stage

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

Behavioral Questions (STAR)

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?

Technical Questions

Vary widely from company to company

Vary depending on what job you are going for

Programmers

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…

Designers

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

Asking questions at an interview

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

Asking questions at an interview

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

End of the interview

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

Conclusion

Seek an internship early and often Gain as much technical skill as

possible Make good connections whenever

possible