July 10, 2010

Networking tips for the video-game job market

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To gamers, it seems like a natural progression: After mastering every nuance of their beloved video games like Halo or World of Warcraft in their teens, game aficionados learn some C++ programming skills in college and land jobs in Seattle's fast-growing game-design sector. According to a joint report by EnterpriseSeattle and the Washington Interactive Network, the video game industry in Seattle has grown by 33 percent in the last two years, with more than half saying they were currently hiring.

Given this data, the path to gainful gaming employment seems logical, fun and easy. The reality, of course, is that many of these qualified 20-something gamers are finding themselves waiting in line behind the thousands of eager, similarly minded job seekers who are already well-networked with hiring managers.

"This is not a business for the faint of heart," says attorney Tom Buscaglia, who specializes in the gaming sector and is president of the Dev-Biz consulting firm. "You don't get these jobs from recruiters, you get them from your friends. You have to go to the Eastside developer gatherings and get to know other people. I see people going from company to company because they have worked with someone in their past."

While the competition is tough, there are some helpful networking groups that can help introduce would-be game developers to influential contacts within the industry. The Seattle chapter of the International Game Developers Association holds several meetings each year and has a member forum that covers local job trends. A Meetup group known as Seattle/Eastside Game Dev also meets in the Bellevue area to discuss game development techniques.

Later on this month, there will also be a three-day event called Casual Connect, held July 20-22 at Benaroya Hall, that will bring together representatives from the country's top casual games developers and publishers, including Seattle-based companies such as Big Fish Games and Wild Tangent.

Jenny Broome, global senior HR generalist for casual-game developer and publisher PopCap Games, says that those looking for jobs in the gaming industry would be wise to emphasize a diversified array of business talents. As the industry focuses increasingly on social-network-based games, many companies, she says, are placing a greater emphasis on business development.

"We are revamping how we find people," Broome says. "We're using our fan page more on Facebook and trying to reaching out to other social networks. There's always a need for qualified engineers, entry-level testers, programmers and artists, but we also need more quantitative analysts and back-end interface specialists to help us find out who our main customers are."

Broome says that hiring has recently increased at PopCap and that there are about a dozen positions open in the Seattle area alone. Currently, the company is looking for well-rounded individuals who not only love the video-game environment but who also are flexible and can demonstrate a committed work ethic.

"People that have the skills have an edge, but technical skills only go so far," she adds. "We need people who know how to be team players."

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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