作者：Simon Unger

游戏业的岗位竞争越来越激烈了（上百个求职者竞争一个工作岗位），然而许多求职者不断地犯相同的错误，减少了他们求职成功的可能性。

我将探讨几个我遇到的普遍错误，并为求职者提供一些改进建议。

关于求职信、简历和面试的指导文章并不少，但真正从头到尾谈游戏类工作（特别是游戏动画）的文章极少。

大多关于求职信和简历的建议都是针对一般的工作职位的，而人个作品集往往被定位为电影或电视相关的工作，这就让动画师处于不利位置了。

我将从雇用方的角度，按顺序（求职信、简历、作品信、面试）地分析游戏动画师应如何求职。

求职信

坦白说，直到最近，我都没有写过求职信。公司很少要求要提交求职信，即使有，也几乎不看。但近来似乎有流行的趋势。作为求职表现的一部分，还是值得注意的。

纵观全文，我几次提到这一点，因为它是我觉得最麻烦的事之一，也是我遇到的至少80%的求职者会犯错误的地方。这一点就是命名惯例！我们做软件为生，应该关注细节，考虑结构。特别是在命名惯例上！

不要将你的求职信命名为“cover letter.docx”或“COMANY NAME – cover.pdf”。在装满求职者文档的文件中，是按字母顺序排列的，这么命名只会让你的求职信湮没在一片混乱中。我必须打开，重看一次才知道这封求职信是谁的（可能还要重新命名，所以我以后不会这么做了）。不要让你的雇主额外浪费精力。

以下是三条原则你应该遵守：

1、求职信名称应该包含你的名字（最好是放在最前面，这样归类时会将你的所有文件放在一起）。

2、文件名称/类型应该拼写出来（简历、求职信、推荐信等）。

3、不要留空格！用下划线、破折号或短线隔开文字。如果我能过邮件向你的简历发链接，链接会被你的空格打断。

可以参考下面两个例子：

DaveSmith_CoverLetter.pdf

John-Doe_Cover-Letter.docx

当然也有例外。第一，如果公司有特别要求怎么命名文件，那就按公司的要求做。第二，如果你的求职信是以电子邮件或网络相关的形式提交的，要保证你的全名出现在标题位置（可能跟在职位后面），使招聘人员更容易找到。

那么，求职信中应该写什么呢？我很抱歉地说，这里不提供正确的答案，因为这是很主观的问题。通常来说，应该简短，要奉承公司或项目，态度要自信（但不要自负），要突出你能为公司或项目做的贡献。

确保你的联系方式写在求职信上，容易找到。如果可能，保持简历和其他文件的设计样式一致（联系方式写在相同的位置，相同的字体和布局等）。如果招聘信息上描述了具体的技能的和要求（通常有），那就挑出关键的几点，说明你达到这些条件的程度。

这里，我要看到你的个性和你想在这家公司工作的动机。我从来没听说有人会因为他们在求职信里说了什么而被拒绝的，所以我不想在这一方面说太多。只要保证求职信真正反映了你的情况。要检查拼写，让几个人校对，命名要正确，长度不要超过一页纸。

简历

首先，正确命名简历！遵循以上提到的三条原则，只要把“”cover letter”改成“resume”就可以了。

最近有研究表明，招聘人员只要看一份简历6秒，就可以决定把这份简历留在办公桌上还是丢进垃圾桶里。我一般会花更多一点的时间，但我也可以假设求职者已经将简历发给HR过滤器，值得更详尽地考虑。我认为对于招聘工作很活跃的公司来说，6秒不算太短。这意味着你必须明智地使用这6秒。

我喜欢事实和数值。研究表明，6秒中的80%用于寻找以下6种信息：

1、名字

2、目前职位/公司

3、曾经职位/公司

4、曾经职位的起始时间和终止时间

5、目前职位的起始时间和终止时间

6、学历

所以要让这些信息容易找到和阅读。

除了以上6点，我想知道的主要信息是：你认为在你之前的工作中取得的最大成就是什么？你可以给这个团队/项目/公司增加什么价值？

为了让你的容易读，无论如何要把长度控制在一页纸以内。6秒不够读两页以上的文字，且90%的招聘人员可能永远的不会读第一页以后的内容（他们甚至只打印第一页！）。控制长度，写让招聘人员感兴趣的东西，让他们想进一步了解你。

我从Alex Darby那儿得到一条好建议，就是让几个人跳读你的求职信和简历，然后跟你说主要内容。这样你就知道你的简历和求职信给人留下了什么样的印象，优点在哪里，缺点在哪里。

此外，不要使用图片或在设计上留下太多想象。你不要把宝贵的眼球时间留给这些东西。也就是说，把简历做得让人看起来觉得舒服就够了。我拒绝了许多简历就是因为太混乱了，太难提取信息。

个人作品集

再说一次，正确命名！不要在找工作时在这些最重要的东西上马虎大意，这通常是公司唯一会考虑的东西。

另外，确保你在作品集的下方留下了姓名和联系方式（电子邮箱就够了）。要显眼、容易找到。

毫无疑问，内容是王道。质量永远比数量重要。我尝试将所有放在我桌上的作品集一一看遍，但有时候数量确实太大了。我不想看你做点点滴滴，我只想看最让你感满意的东西。

我宁可你让我想看更多，而不是感觉已经看得太多。这是一个复杂的平衡问题，所以我的建议是，尽量经常、尽量多次地让别人对你的作品提意见和建议（你做的每一段动画都应该这么处理）。

几年以前，我从最喜欢的80年代电影中剪辑出我认为最出色的蒙太奇、奇异的和幽默的片段编排在一起。我认为没有公司可以抵挡它的魅力。我将它展示给一些人看，我尊重他们的反馈（他们都很讨厌它），我重新将它编辑成更符合大众审美的东西，这样世界总算太平了。

如果能给你提供反馈的人力资源有限，那就联系业界的资源动画师吧。在LinkedIn网上应该可以找到不少，我肯定很多人会很高兴（甚至感到被奉承）地在你的作品上留下批评。额外的好处是，在非常网络集中的行业中建立了新联系。

现在，那些东西被提过太多次了，我想说的是我认为动画师不太常听到的东西。这个东西就是我在观看人个作品集时在寻找的。

首先，我得说，在你的作品中使用动作捕捉技术是可以的。但是！我想看看你怎么利用动作捕捉打动我。捕捉一段基本的走路动作，然后做一点调整，让它看起像跛子走路，或者看起来更有力、更女性化、有情绪在里面……可能性是无穷无尽的。可能捕捉一段大动作的镜头，然后用更大的姿势加以夸张。请让我看看前后对比。

不可否认的事实是，动作捕捉是我们制作游戏内容的主要工具之一。你应该表现你对它如何运用自如。我需要擅长使用动作捕捉的人。

不要使用了动作捕捉，却声称自己是手调动画。我和许多动画师已经使用动作捕捉多年，在99%的时间内可以分辨出二者的区别。

我在面试时曾遇到这样的求职者，声称某个场景是手调动画，在动作部分又充满了明显的动作捕捉的痕迹，并且其精细程度显然是其他作品不能相比的。如果你也这么做，你只会让自己看起来很傻。如果你告诉我你如何使用这个工具制作这个镜头，并且当面做给我看，我会对你印象更深刻。

添加音乐是另一个主观的问题。在音乐的选择上，我在面试中确实遇到了一些不错的例子。音乐可以向我透露你的个性，而了解求职者的个性正是面试的目的。

现在和我共事的一名动画师技术非常好，他的作品集的音乐非常棒，以至于我不得不在面试中问他到底为什么将冈斯特音乐放在动画中。那是一次有趣的面试，他成了我最喜欢的同事之一。

有些人建议不要在作品中添加任何声音，因为那会使动画的人分心。我的看法是，可以试试。只是要保证当发生对白时，配音跟得上。不要担心，我不会因为你放了Lady Gaga就拒绝你。

注意一下装扮：我，跟其他人一样，真心厌烦了在每部作品中看相同的几个角色。我也理解选择多么有限，要装扮出一个自己的角色多么费时间。我跟你们一样苦恼。我问过所有跟我共事过的角色画师，他们是否有我可以拿来做动画的角色，结果总是一无所获。

你应该将时间花在磨练技术上。完全掌握动画需要花几辈子的时间；我不指望你成角色设计大师。所以我不会因为你用了标准的学生装（所有人都会优先考虑自己的偏好）就将你划掉，但在作品集中看到新的东西总是让人精神振奋的，即使角色本身有点粗糙。

就像我的老动画总监爱说的：“出色的动画师能在任何东西上做出好动画。”

除了流畅的角色活动，我还希望看到求职者对筹划、合成和定时开具有良好的理解（从编辑的角度），至少基本理解如何使用摄像机。这些都是游戏中的关键技术，随着我们进一步发展媒体，相关性甚至会更大。剧情和交流是游戏玩法和电影艺术的两大支柱，而这些技术是搭建两大支柱的工具。

至于电影，你的专门工作就是动画。你要听从非常明确的指示执行某人的想法。摄影、灯光和编辑通常是其他人的工作。在游戏中，动画师的职责往往不止一种，也不太明确。动画师通常要负责启动到执行游戏中的某个完整环节。

引擎和工具的工作方式是设定好后，动画师很快就成为“动作设计师”，而不只是内容创造者。向公司显示你是一个全面的艺术家，会大大提高你的竞争力。

最终，优秀的动画师还是优秀的动画师。但是！动画、渲染、灯光和编辑都做得好的作品总是赢过采用默认渲染、灰色的、静态的作品，即使它的动画做得不错。

当我看整个求职文件包（求职信、简历和作品集）时，我会花时间考虑自我介绍部分和完成度。我希望动画师有能力，在描述自己时全身心投入。你如何展示自己暗示了你在项目中的工作表现。

你对自我介绍的关心程度反映了你在执行任务时的态度。虽然这可能不是不百分百正确的论断，但这就是你在求职时给我留下的印象。如果你的介绍马虎又混乱，我只能认为你也是这么做事的。当你向公司提交求职申请时，请考虑到这一点。

面试

请明白，面试这个步骤本身就是不完美的。大部分主持面试的人是没有训练过怎么主持面试的，通过面试衡量一个人是否胜任工作，实在是一种糟糕的方法。但是，它仍然是整个求职过程的一部分（有时你必须面见团队成员），所以你最好能有所准备。

在面试中，你一般会遇到两类面试官，他们都想得到两个问题的答案。这两个问题是：在所有求职者中，你是不是最有资格做这份工作的人？你是不是最适合公司和团队文化的人？二者的平衡和在二者中得分最高的人将得到工作。

个人认为，我会将60%的比重押在能力上，另外40%押在性格上。当然，每家公司看重的东西会有所不同。比如，Valve公司可能更看重性格，而EA公司可能更倾向于能力。

但确实还留有余地。团队会包容一些存在个性问题但确实才华出众的人；而好合作、听指挥的人则不介意他能力上有所欠缺（我发现这个现象比以前更多了，所以不要以为你的幽默个性可以掩盖你不会动画的事实）。

这两类面试官是怎么样的呢？

第一类面试官咄咄逼人，无论是有意识地还是无意识地，总是想让你在面试中表现失败。他们用各种事先写好的可笑问题刁难你，恨不得将你生吞活剥，好找出你的弱点。我的建议是，尽可能保持积极乐观。

在从事游戏以前，我做过几年客户服务的工作。以我的经验，火来了应该水挡，而不是以火攻火。这个行业重视准备和积极的态度。

我不是说将所有可能的问题当成玩笑，而是你必须诚实回答。保持乐观，从他们指出的缺点中找到积极的弥补方法。

谢天谢地，绝大多数人遇到的是第一类面试官。这些人不太准备面试，不会提前准备问题，也不会让你回答“你认为五年以后的你是怎么样的”或“你最大的缺点是什么”这样的问题。他们只是想估计你是否适合这个团队。

如果你的作品集没有体现你从事这份工作的潜能，那么你就不用考虑这一点了，所以这是唯一缺失的信息——你可能要花更多时间来了解这些人，只有他们的主要关注点是你能应付的，你这么做才是有意义的。

再者，你最能提前准备。怎么准备？正如我之前提到的，我对信息上瘾。我喜欢得到尽可能多的信息。当我参加公司面试时，我总是花至少一个晚上（通常是多个晚上）找出所有与这家公司、雇员、产品和文化及价值观相关的信息。

如果你不熟悉这家公司出品的游戏，也没有时间玩他们的游戏（我是有家庭的人，我完全理解），YouTube就是你的好朋友。你可以在上面看到几乎所有游戏的完整玩法，在相对短的时间内了解这家公司的产品。

从这家公司的网站开始。查看他们的“关于我们”页面、媒体页面和员工页面（如果有的话）。寻找在线面试。甚至看他们游戏发行或E3的新闻稿，这些可以让你了解这家公司的员工是怎么样的人，他们的价值观是什么。

如果可以，找出将面试你的人，搜索他们的信息。我不是说你应该“人肉”出他们的孩子姓名和妻子的社保号码，只要一些背景信息就够用了。

我曾经在面试时，发现跟我谈话的正好是跟我有相同背景的人，或者互相认识的人。但不要以为你也会遇到这种情况。

说到这里，我不得不提醒你另一点。这应该是个常识，注意你放在网上的东西。公司在决定找你面谈以前可能会搜索你。谷歌一下你自己，客观地看待搜索结果。你想雇佣这样的你吗？在我看来，你在网上不必当圣人。我认为有想法有个性也是必要的，所以用你自己的最好的判断标准检验你的“恶趣味”的底线。

说到个性，我知道几个了不起的动画师，他们的个性是慢热型的，对于初次见面的人总是表现得很冷漠。他们曾经被几份工作拒绝了，这些公司错过了优秀的员工。

不是说你在面试时不能表现真实的自我，而是要意识到你的个性给陌生人留下的印象。你可以说“嘿，我是个好相处的人，但我经常让不太了解我的人以为我很冷漠。我对这个职位很有兴趣，我希望你们不会对我产生错误的看法。”

当我面试别人时，我总是寻找对我来说很重要的东西。比如，制作出你的作品集中的动画，你得到了多少指导（你自己完成的部分是多少，得到别人帮助的部分是多少）。

你怎么得到批评和反馈（我甚至可能在面试时提出反馈，看看你的反应）？当我们共事一周的60多个小时后，我们能相处得来吗？如果你的性格好，有点才华，态度积极，我会更乐意与你合作。

最后，不要两手空空地去面试。带上求职信和简历的复印件（以防招聘人没有看到或忘了打印出来）。另外，带上存有你的作品集副本的小存储器。就像我之前说的，不要让你的雇主投入额外精力处理这些琐事。

增加成功率的可选物品是：美术作品、故事板（我喜欢自己会写故事板的动画师）、工作流程、你自己或其他人引用你的作品镜头的参考视频，或者任你曾经创作的东西。所有人都喜欢跟态度积极的人共事。所以记得在面试时保持积极的态度。

总结

准备好、组织好、表现自我。祝大家好运！（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

How to get a job as an animator in games

by Simon Unger

The competition for jobs in the gaming industry is getting increasingly fierce (many companies receiving hundreds of applicants for a single position), yet many applicants consistently make the same mistakes which hurt their chances of landing the gig.

I’m going to cover some of the more common mistakes I come across, as well as provide some insight into what I (and most others) look for when reviewing an applicant.

There’s no shortage of cover letter, resume, and interview “help” articles and services out there, but anything that really covers it from start to finish with information that is specific to games (and more specifically, game animation) is scarce.

Much of the advice offered for cover letters and CVs is geared towards a corporate position, and the demo reel direction is often targeted at a job in film or TV, which could put animators at a disadvantage.

I’ll run through this in chronological order from a hiring perspective: cover letter, resume, demo reel, interview. So, let’s get started!
Cover letter

…must be willing to work overtime for little to no money.

I’ll be honest, up until recently I didn’t write cover letters. They were never requested and rarely read. They seem to be coming back into fashion lately, though, and as part of a well presented application, deserve some attention.

I’m going to say this a few times throughout this article, as it’s one of my biggest pet peeves and a mistake I see in at least 80 percent of the applications that come across my desk. NAMING CONVENTIONS! We make software for a living and as such, are detail oriented and slaves to organization. Especially naming conventions!

Don’t name your cover letter “cover letter.docx” or “COMANY NAME – cover.pdf”. In the folder full of potential applicants sorted alphabetically, those will get lost in the shuffle. I have to open and re-read it to find out who it belongs to (and probably rename it as well, so I don’t have to do this again in the future). Don’t make people do extra work to hire you.

Here are the three rules you should follow:

Your name is part of it (preferably first, as this will group all of your documents together when sorted)

The document’s name/type is called out (resume, cover letter, references, etc.)

NO SPACES! Use underscores, dashes, or capitals to separate words visually. If I send a link to your resume via email, the link will be broken by your space.｜

A couple of examples of what that should look like:

DaveSmith_CoverLetter.pdf

John-Doe_Cover-Letter.docx

There are a couple of exceptions. First, if a company has specifically requested on their site that you name it a certain way, do that instead. Second, if your cover letter is submitted in the form of an email or web-based form. In those cases, make sure to get your full name in the subject field (and possibly the position you’re after too) to make it easier to find on their end.

So, what should be in the cover letter? I’m sorry to say there is no right answer here as it’s a subjective topic. Generally speaking, it should be short, flattering (to the company or project), confident (without being cocky), and highlight what you bring to the company/project.

Make sure your contact info is on there and easy to read/find. If possible, maintain some kind of design continuity with your resume and other submissions (contact info in the same place, same font and layout, etc.). If the job posting described some specific skills and requirements (they usually do), pick a couple of key ones and illustrate how you meet those criteria.

What I’m looking for here is a sense of your personality and your motivation for wanting to work at the company in this role. I have never heard of someone getting turned down for a job based on what they said in their cover letter, so I wouldn’t sweat this one too much. Just make sure it represents you authentically, has been spell checked and proof read by at least a couple of people, is named correctly, and isn’t more than a page in length.
Resume

Applying for a Digital Makeup Artist position? Andy Serkis, performance capture for Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

First off, name that resume properly! Follow the three naming rules above and just change the words “cover letter” to “resume” and you’re all set.

A recent study suggests that recruiters spend an average of six seconds reviewing a resume before putting it on the “keep” pile or the “trash” pile. I tend to spend a bit more time than this, but I can also assume that the applicant has made it past the HR filter and is worth considering in more detail. I imagine that six seconds isn’t too far off for some of the more actively hiring companies. Regardless, this means you need to use your time wisely.

I love facts and data, and the study suggests that 80 percent of that six seconds is spent looking at these six things:

Name

Current Title/Company

Previous Title/Company

Previous Position Start and End Dates

Current Position Start and End Dates

Education

So make those things easy to find and read!

Besides the six above, the main thing I want to know is: What do you think were the biggest accomplishments in your previous job(s)? And what did you do to add value to the team/project/company?

In the spirit of keeping your resume easy to digest, do whatever you can to keep it to one page. Six seconds is not enough time to read two or more pages, and 90 percent of employers will probably never read those extra pages anyways (they might even leave them on the printer!). Keep it short, keep me interested, and leave me wanting to find out more.

A great tip I received from fellow #AltDevBlogADay author Alex Darby is to have a few people skim through your cover letter and resume quickly, and summarize it back to you. This will give you a good idea of the type of impression you are making and what your strong and weak presentation points are.

Beyond that, try to avoid using photos or getting too fancy with the design. You will use up your valuable eyeball time on that stuff (up to 19 percent, apparently!). That said, make it appealing to look at and comfortable to read. I have put down many resumes because they were complete messes and too difficult to get any information from. Here is a great collection of minimal designs that read well and look nice. DeviantArt has tons so check there too!

Demo reel

NOT Andy Serkis’ performance capture.

Once again, name that bad boy properly! Don’t slouch on what is the most important asset when looking for work and often the only thing being passed around the studio for consideration.

ALSO, make sure you have your name and contact info (email is good enough) at both ends of your reel. Make it easy to find and see.

It goes without saying that content is king here. Always choose quality over quantity. I try to make it a point to watch all the reels that cross my desk in their entirety, but sometimes they are just too much. I don’t need to see every little thing you have ever animated; only the things you are most proud of.

I’d rather you leave me wanting to see more, than the feeling of seeing too much. This is a tricky balance so my best advice would be to seek out feedback on it as often and as many times as possible (something you should be doing with every piece of animation anyways).

Years ago, I had edited together what I thought was a totally sweet montage of awesome animation and quirky and humorous clips from my favorite ’80s movies. I thought that no company could resist its charm and I would be beating away offers with a stick. After showing it to some people whose feedback I respected (they all hated it), I re-edited it to something more agreeable and the world was a safer place.

If you have a limited arsenal of people to get feedback from, reach out to leads and senior animators in the industry. You should be able to turn up a few dozen in no time on LinkedIn and I’m sure many would be happy (flattered, even) to throw a little critique your way. Bonus points for making a new contact in a very network-centric industry!

Now, that stuff has all been said before many times. What I want to cover is some stuff I don’t hear being told to animators enough. The kind of stuff I am looking for when watching a demo reel.

First, and I’m just going to come right out and say it, it’s okay to have mocap on your demo reel. BUT, I want to see what you did TO that mocap if you want to impress me. Take a basic walk loop and adjust it a few different ways to make it have a limp, look more masculine, more feminine, have some emotion…the possibilities are endless. Maybe grab a big action shot and make it more exaggerated with stronger posing. Show me the before and after.

There is no avoiding the fact that we use mocap as one of our main tools to create game content, show me you are comfortable using it and bending it to your will. I need people who are comfortable with and good at using mocap. This is a great example of a demo reel using mocap, explaining what is and isn’t capture.

Now, that said, do NOT try to use mocap and claim it as keyframed animation. I, and many others, have been using mocap for a long time and can tell the difference 99 percent of the time.

I have had people actually claim in an interview that certain scenes were keyframed when the movement was clearly full of mocap artifacts and impossibly detailed movement compared to the rest of their work. You just end up looking silly and I would be far more impressed if you told me about how you used this tool to achieve your shot and the challenges you faced doing so.

Adding music is another subjective topic. Personally, I have had some really great conversations in interviews about someone’s choice in music. It tells me a lot about your personality and, ultimately, that’s what the interview is really for anyways.

One of my current animators had fantastic animation and effects on his reel, but I just HAD to have him in for an interview so I could ask him what the hell he was thinking putting explicitly hard-core gangster rap on it. It was a funny interview, and he has turned out to be one of my favorite people I have ever worked with.

Some people suggest having nothing on there, thinking that it detracts from the animation. I say go for it. Just make sure the soundtrack dips sufficiently when the dialogue is happening. Don’t worry; I won’t turn you away because you put Lady Gaga on there.

A note on rigs: I, like everyone else, have become really tired of seeing the same few characters in every demo reel (I’m looking at you two, Bishop and Norman). I also understand how limited the selection is out there and how much time it takes to make and rig your own character. Hell, I’m in the same boat as you guys. I have asked every character artist I have ever worked with if they had a character I could animate with and have always come up empty handed.

You should be spending your time getting better at your craft. It takes several lifetimes to master animation; I don’t expect you to be a master character artist and rigger on top. So, I’m not going to write you off because you’re using a standard school rig (and anyone out there who does needs to get their priorities straight), but it is always refreshing to see something new in a reel, even if the character is a little rough.

Like my old animation director was fond of saying, “A good animator should be able to do good animation on anything.

Besides solid character movement, what I am also looking for is a good understanding of staging, composition, timing (from an editing standpoint), and at least a basic understanding of how to use a camera. These are all key skills in games and will become even more relevant as we continue to push the medium. Storytelling and communication are the main pillars of gameplay and cinematics and these are some of the tools to achieve them.

For film, you are highly specialized as an animator. You’re there to follow very specific direction to execute someone else’s vision. Camerawork, lighting, and editing are usually someone else’s job. In games, animators tend to wear several hats and work a little less specifically directed. Often an animator is responsible for an entire section of the game, from inception to implementation.

The way the engines and tool sets are being engineered, animators are fast becoming “movement designers” and not simply content creators. Showing you are a well-rounded artist will help you immensely.

At the end of the day, great animation is great animation. BUT, a well-polished, lit, and properly edited demo reel with good animation will always win over a default-rendered, grey, static demo reel with good animation.

Here’s the thing, when I look at the whole package (cover letter, resume, demo reel), I take time out to consider the presentation and level of finish of the whole thing. I expect animators to be empowered and to take ownership over their respective areas. How you have represented yourself is indicative of how you will deliver an assignment on the project.

The level of care you have taken to present yourself is equal to or greater than the level of care you will take when executing a task. This may or may not be 100 percent fact, but it is what you are communicating to me in your application. If it’s sloppy and unorganized, I can only assume you conduct your work the same way as well. Consider this when submitting your application to a company.

For inspiration, check out this channel on Vimeo.

The interview

Image from the movie “Taken”. It’s about a father trying to find his son who is trying to save mankind from extermination…or something.

Understand going into the interview that the process itself is fundamentally flawed. Most of the people conducting the interviews have not been trained to do so, and it’s a poor way to gauge your ability to do the job. Still, It’s part of the process (you have to meet the team sometime), so you might as well be as prepared as possible going in.

There are two main types of people you’re going to run into in these interviews, and both are trying to figure out the answer to two basic questions: Out of all the people applying, are you the best qualified to do the job?Aand are you the best fit with the current company and team culture. It’s a balance of the two factors and the person with the highest score in each column gets the job.

Personally, I would rate the importance 60 percent ability and 40 percent personality. Every company places different values on this though, and that’s where preparation comes in. A company like Valve probably places much higher value on personality over immediately applicable skills than a company like EA, for instance.

It does have some wiggle room. A team will usually make allowances for some personality issues with a person who is exceptionally skilled, and someone who is really easy to work with and takes direction well can be lacking a little in the skills department (I have found it’s more often the former, so don’t assume your witty personality will get them to overlook the fact that you can’t animate).

Who are these two types?

First, there’s the hyper-aggressive interviewer who, subconsciously or not, is trying to get you to fail at the interview. They try to overpower you with ridiculously overwritten questions and problems, trying to trip you up and find your weak points. My best advice on dealing with this type is to remain as positive as possible.

I spent several years doing customer service work before games, and you learn quickly that you have to fight fire with water, not more fire. Preparation and a proactive attitude are of high value in this industry and ultimately what this person is after anyways.

I’m not saying to turn every possible question into rainbows and kittens; you need to remain truthful and honest in your answers. Just remain upbeat and try to find the positive takeaway from each blemish they bring up. The only lessons we learn are through mistakes, right?

The other kind of interviewer is also, thankfully, the majority of people you will encounter. These are people who are clearly not trained in it, don’t have a lot of pre-written questions or standard “where do you see yourself in five years” or “what’s your biggest flaw” type questions. What they’re after is to gauge how you will fit with the rest of the team.

You won’t get to this point if your reel didn’t demonstrate your potential to do the job anyways, so that’s the only missing piece of information. You are likely going to spend more time with these people than your friends and family, so it only makes sense that their primary concern is if you will all get along.

Again, the best thing you can do is be as ready as possible for whatever you encounter. How do we prepare? As I mentioned earlier, I am an info junkie. I like to go in with as much information as possible. When I have an interview with a company, I will spend at least one evening (often many evenings) finding out everything I can about the company, their employees, their products, and their culture and values.

If you aren’t familiar with the games the company makes and don’t have time to play them (I have a family, I totally understand this), YouTube is your friend. You can watch a full play through of almost any game out there and become well-versed in all of a company’s products in relatively little time.

Start with the company’s website. Check out their “About” page, media pages, and the staff page if they have one. Look for interviews available online. Even press they did for game releases or E3 can give you a useful look at the type of people who work there and what their values are.

If you can, find out who you will be interviewing with and get a little info on them as well. I’m not saying you should e-stalk someone to the point of knowing their kid’s name and wife’s social security number (And please, if you do happen to find out some personal stuff, don’t bring it up. It’s just creepy), but a little background information can be really useful.

I have, on several occasions, filled dead spots in interviews by striking up conversations about common backgrounds, mutual acquaintances, and so on. Don’t think for a second that they aren’t doing it to you.

That leads me to a small side note. It should be common sense, but be careful about what you put out into the internet. A company will research you before deciding to talk to you. Google yourself and look at the findings objectively. Would you want to hire yourself? In my opinion, you don’t have to be a saint online. Having an opinion and a personality are requirements in my book, so use your own best judgement on what crosses the “bad taste” line.

Speaking of personality, I know several incredible animators who are slow to get excited and to someone just meeting them, come across as uninterested. They have been passed over for jobs, and companies have missed out on potentially amazing co-workers.

It’s not that you shouldn’t be yourself in the interview, but be aware of how your personality might come across to complete strangers. Even saying something like “Listen, I’m a super mellow guy, and I usually come across as disinterested to people who don’t know me well. I am very interested in this position and I wanted to make sure you didn’t get the wrong message.”

When I interview someone, I’m really looking for a few key things that are important to me as a lead. How much direction did you receive to create the work on your reel (how much of that work is your own and how much required some heavy hand holding)?

How do you take criticism and feedback (I might even give you some in the interview to see how you respond)? And are we going to get along when we’re working 60+ hours a week together? If you’ve got a good personality, a bit of talent, and a proactive attitude, I would be more than happy to work with you.

Lastly, don’t come to the interview empty-handed. Bring a few extra copies of your cover letter and resume (in case someone hasn’t seen them yet or forgot to print them out). Also, bring a thumb drive with a copy of your reel on it. As I said at the start, don’t make people do extra work to hire you.

Bonus extras to bring: artwork, storyboards (I LOVE animators who can storyboard well), work in progress, reference videos of yourself or others you used for the shots on your reel (again, I love this stuff), or anything else you’ve done. Everyone loves to work with and be around people who are passionate about something. Bring that to the interview.

Summary

Be prepared, be organized, be polished, and be yourself. I hope we get a chance to work together someday. Good luck!(source:gamasutra)