By Marc Mencher
As a recruiter in the game industry, I have seen virtually every type of resume ever written. And even with the plethora of career-related advice available to job seekers today, I still see an inordinate number of resumes that need some serious help. In Writing the Perfect Resume, I will help you put together your most effective resume.
Some initial thoughts . . .
When putting together your resume, it's important to keep a few thoughts in mind. First, most people in the United States have a 5th grade level of reading comprehension. Not surprisingly, they don't typically enjoy any type of reading, much less reading a boring resume. Furthermore -- and I know this may sound strange if you are applying to a game company -- you cannot assume that the person who will initially read your resume at a game company knows anything about the game industry. Because this industry has grown so quickly over the last few years, hiring managers and HR departments have been forced to turn to less knowledgeable help just to get through the ever growing influx of resumes. You should definitely not assume that the person who will be reading your resume knows, for example, how well the titles you created sold, or the technical significance of the products, or the platforms on which the games were released. Rather, you must create a resume that is simple to read and you must use words that are easy to understand. In short, too much game jargon can kill your resume!
If you have a funky title like "Development Director" but know that your function would be interpreted by most in the industry as simply "Producer, " then you need to just suck up that vanity and pride and simply use the common industry title. Yes, our egos love those impressive sounding titles, but to serve your best employment interest, you need to use the title that the industry as a whole will understand. Your resume is a tool to get a company interested in talking to you. Don't get yourself rejected as a candidate because the company was looking to hire a Producer but you confused the reader by calling yourself a Development Director.
Next, keep in mind that people generally do not read resumes. Instead, they quickly scan and then determine if it is really worth going back to pay more attention to the details. Because your resume is probably on a manager's desk along with 30 others, presentation is key. Layout the resume so that with one simple glance, the person eyeing your resume catches: 1) what it is you do; and 2) what you have accomplished. Your resume should present your skills in a way to capture the attention of the reader.
Forget the one page resume rule. While this was the advice given in the 70s to the traditional business community, it does not apply to technology companies or creative people. Space out your resume. Make it comfortable to look at and read. Put yourself in the reader's shoes or eye glasses, as it were. Aren't you more likely to scan a 3 page resume that is nicely laid out and comfortable to look at, versus a one page resume that is written like a novel in tiny font. Crammed documents make the reader feel tense. And you don't want the reader's first experience with you to be a tense one, right? Be clear. Be snappy. And be succinct in your resume presentation. You're looking for the reader to feel comfortable and relaxed when scanning your resume -- think carefully about layout.
The rule of thumb with a resume is to design it for easy "scan-ability." Here are a few suggestions on how to accomplish this . . .
Use a clean font like Arial or Times New Roman.
Use regular 12 point type except when trying to draw attention at which time you can use larger type, bold, or italics. But use with discretion! Also, use MSWord whenever possible -- like it or not it has become the industry standard. When submitting a resume electronically, you may utilize different color fonts, etc. Again be careful when you use it, and less is always best.
No fancy shmancy
Gimmicky resumes or resumes printed on colored paper are certainly more fun from a creative standpoint, but HR usually makes a copy for the hiring managers and the original goes into HR's files. That is, most often the actual version of the resume that the hiring manager will see is a photo copy. Fancy resumes on colored paper will not photocopy well -- nor will the cleverly formatted resume which is sideways or made like a booklet. I once received a resume from a marketing person that looked like a direct mail piece. Although clever, it was annoying to try to get it on one or two pages in the photocopy machine. In short, stick to a clean shade of white paper and communicate who and what you are in a simple and easy to read way. If you are sending your resume electronically, most likely the electronic version of the resume will be distributed. Make sure the top portion of your document easily and succinctly summarizes who and what you are.
Be bold with discretion
Be very careful about what you highlight and bulletize within your resume. You are selling you, not the companies for whom you worked. Bold YOUR title not the company name. Also, bold and italicize any and all game titles you have worked on. Next, bold special skill sets and nothing else. Keep in mind that the reader's eye jumps to bolded text. If someone is just scanning your resume, think carefully about what sells you and what you want the scan read to say about you. Use bold and italics sparingly
Your selling points
Summarize your top 2 to 5 selling points right under your name. For example, if you are a Producer what do you think are the most important selling points to a potential hiring manager? Answer: type of games you have created, dollar size of budgets managed, whether you managed internal or external teams, and the number of titles you brought to market.
If you are a Software Engineer, what do you think sells you? Answer: programming languages, platforms programmed on, anything you have specialized in (graphics, game AI, client/server, engine design), and types of games or products.
In short, within the first few lines of your resume the reader can do a brief glance and quickly get get YOUR NAME, YOUR FUNCTION, and YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
Generally speaking, I do not recommend including an Objective Statement. Most are self serving and I find them a waste of space. Sell what you can do for a company, not what a company can do for you.
WRITER BIO ABOUT OUR US CORRSPONDANT:
Marc Mencher is a software engineer by training and worked for game companies like Spectrum Holobyte and 3DO, before joining GameRecruiter. Marc's articles have been featured in GameWEEK, GIG, and other industry publications. You can contact Marc directly at marc@GameRecruiter.com
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