3 Ways to Determine If Living In Your Mom's Basement is Sad or Temporary...

Working for a major corporation, it's rare that I actually hire someone mainly on their potential as opposed to hard core experience in the industry.  I get a requisition and it's made clear what kind of experience is needed: LOTS. 

However, sometimes, we can be surprised by little Joe College Graduate with little experience in what we're doing. 

As a part of the games industry, I am CONSTANTLY being approached by people wanting to "break in."  What few of them seem to understand is that making games is a lot different than playing games.  Because you thought Halo was super sweet and you were able to beat it on Legendary within 5 hours means you're a nerd, not a game designer. 

Anyway...I digress.  Sometimes, I speak to a person who doesn't have a stellar resume, but does have a drive and a passion that screams, "I really want this and I can do it!"

So, how do you tell this person from the kid that lives with his mom?

#1) Motivation: Why do they want to work in this industry?  Is it simply because they think it's easy?  It is a fall-back?  Or, is it because they have a passion for the product?  The high potential hire is the person that says to me, "I really liked what you guys did in this story.  I think it could have been taken even further by doing this."

#2) Experience and Education: What have they done so far?  Where did they go to school?  Why did they attend the school of their choice?  Did they have an internship?  Even Paris Hilton did an internship.  Did they just coast by to get their degree in the fastest/cheapest way possible?

Can't afford school? What books have they read?  What have they learned in the last year?  What's next?  If there is no answer to these questions, I'm moving on.

#3) Personal growth: The high potential hire will take it upon him or herself to make improvements to their own capabilities.  Even if they've never made a game in their entire life, I expect to see some kind of portfolio or code sample of their work.  And...I expect this to be tailored to the position I am recruiting on.  If the candidate is an artist and I'm recruiting on a Sci-Fi game, I don't want to see some renderings of Disney Characters...unless it's Mickey Mouse wearing body armor and carrying an assault rifle (hey...I may be on to something here). 

These people are out there.  I can think of about 3 recently that have gotten in and become Rockstars.  Of course, there are about 3,000 more behind them that have a long way to go.

Don't believe me?  Ask this guy.  He's a doctor. 

Interested in breaking into the games industry?  Here's some advice from someone who's really smart.  You should listen to him.  A lot of it applies to any industry you want to break into as a candidate.

Editor's Note - Jason Pankow is a Senior Recruiter for Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE and Xbox Software groups.  Jason supports the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, bringing in technical as well as creative talent to Redmond.  Look him up on Xbox Live, where he'll ring you up for a triple-double as Steve Nash on NBA 2K8 or kick it old-school via a 7-digit score on Galaga...   

Comments

[marenhogan]

Welcome to the fold man. Nice post. Working in a so-called "glam" industry can make your job a lot easier. . .or a lot harder. So, I was wondering how I break into that business? :)

[Jessica Lee]

welcome to FOT, jason! but truth be told, i have interviewed and hired some lovelies who still lived with their ma and pa. big city living is expensive! one fellow in particular who works at my firm now, i appreciate his living arrangements greatly because his mom packs his lunch and drives him to work every day. he's reliable, well fed, and a damn good developer. it isn't always so bad...

[Jessica Lee]

and btw, i'm sure KD chose the picture, but could we have not found a picture of boys playing video games where they had their shirts on?

[KD]

Jason -

Rocking Post. On the whole basement thing, I tweaked the title from an overall interest standpoint, so don't hate on JP for that. I really liked the part on just because you can PLAY the games doesn't mean you're creative enough for the job... plus the micky mouse in Halo gear is classic. What candidate will google Pankow in a month and find this way to his recruiting heart?

Still, JP's letting them run a little bit to show their thought process. Reminds me of Charlie Sheen sitting outside of Gecko's office in Wall Street, just wanting 30 seconds with the man. Except it's JP, and rather than watching a stock chart he's playing Halo as part of the interview process.

Shout out to JLee - that's what boys do. I have a 8 and a 5 year old, and that's the scene... You can't stop it, you can only hope to contain it...

Maren - does Microsoft have an ops center in Omaha?

[Tim Tolan]

Great post Jason. It sounds like you have a great (and really cool) gig going at MS! Welcome to FOT!!!

[JasonP]

Hi all...thanks for the props. This is way exciting.

JLee - you should be glad that KD used the picture he did. Much better than the one I almost included: http://www.sonydefenseforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/halonerdsmall.jpg

Maren - Really, all it takes is a few drinks at the right time. That's how I got in.

Tim - Totally ROCKS! I'll probably die here (not soon, I hope).

[Jennifer McClure]

Welcome to the gang Jason and thanks for making a great point in a very current and interesting way! Do you also recruit for the nerd position too? As a formerly addicted gamer who has been "sober" and in recovery for several years, I might be willing to fall off the wagon for a cool job like that!

[KD]

JLee - I'm waiting for the apology in my picture taste after the shameless sensationalism ran out in the link above by JP

Jen - this I have to hear... Favorite game please... I'll go first - old school is Galaga, new school is Madden... I've got a 20 spot that it's Donkey Kong....

Ari Gold

[Jennifer McClure]

KD - I'm tempted to take your $20 and say Donkey Kong - but one of the steps in the 12 Step Recovery Program for Gamers involves being honest about our "problem".

Favorite old school game - also Galaga. Lots of quarters spent on maintaining the high score at the arcade on that one. More recently - Zelda - but after developing "Nintendo thumb" and going days without sleep, I realized I had a problem, sold the Nintendo and got clean. Now, I'm not allowed in the basement where my son's arsenal resides, but I came across a Wii last week and came thisclose to buying it because I interpreted Paul Hebert's recent post on FOT to mean that Wii is good for you!