Unit 18 Career Development
Unit 18 Career Development
For this assignment I will be writing about the job roles and the relationships between them, terms and conditions, employment opportunities and preparation for seeking employment in the computer industry.
Understand job roles and the relationships between them in the computer games industry
Business Roles
At the top of the company hierarchy is the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) who is in charge of the business and legal side of the company and are in charge of keeping the company running smoothly. The CEO is also responsible for managing the company staff and projects and coming up with new ideas and strategies to keep the company profitable and to stay competitive. The CEO negotiates with the publishers to determine the development schedule and budget and to report their progress of their game project(s) to show that they are on schedule. In smaller studios this person may also have other roles in the studio such as project manager or game designer.
Working underneath the CEO are the managers who organise the different departments necessary for the creation and production of the video game projects. There are many departments necessary for producing a video game to completion in a big company.
The main departments for video game design in a large company are the art department, technical and engineering departments, sound department, animation department, game design department (which works in tandem with all of the other departments), marketing department, business department and quality assurance (QA) department. In smaller studios, many of these departments are merged together with many employees working multiple roles at once. The larger the studio, the more specialised the jobs become.
The design department are the driving force behind the game’s vision and direction. These are the people who design and decide the game mechanics, the visual direction, the sound direction and the style and tone of the game. The design department works closely with all of the other departments to make sure everyone understands the product they are making and so the different departments don’t conflict with each other. This department keeps everyone focused on the end goal.
The art department develops the visual aspect of a commercial video game. These include things like concept art, 3d models, texture art, sprites, menus, environments, characters, ui, particle effects and animation. Everything the player sees on-screen has to be developed and approved by the art department. The art department is responsible for bringing the concept of the video game to life.
The sound department is responsible for all of the audio heard in the game such as the sound effects, foley effects, the voice acting and music.
The technical department is responsible for providing the technical backbone required to make a game function. This includes working with game engines, physics, shaders, AI, game mechanics, input devices, API (Application Programming Interface) and online infrastructure.
The marketing department is responsible for advertising the game to its audience and with public relations. These are the people who handle the social media, press, magazines, trailers, screenshots and everything the public sees of the game before the release date. They are also responsible for managing community events and forums and for handling unexpected backlash and leaks.
The business department handles the company finances, budgeting, investments and outsourcing as well as hiring and firing employees. The business department is also responsible for human resources. They also handle any legal responsibilities such as copyright infringement and protection, non-disclosure agreements and other legalities.
The quality assurance (QA) department is responsible for play testing the game and reporting bugs to send feedback to the developers to help polish the final product so that it is commercially fit for the customer. QA testers look for bugs, glitches and exploits in the game mechanics that could break the game and send reports to the departments to fix the issues until the game is at an acceptable state ready for release.
Two examples of specific jobs found in the games industry relevant to our skill set are programmers and 3D artists. 3D artists work in the art department and are responsible for combining creative skills with knowledge of relevant software to create 3d models of characters, objects and environments. As a studio gets bigger in size, 3d artists often get given more specific and specialised tasks relevant to their skill set. For example, in a AAA game studio, one 3d artist may be tasked to specifically create 3d models only of animals whereas another may only be in charge of the topology of the main character’s facial structure etc. Smaller studios have less employees and 3d artists so they have to take on a broader array of responsibilities.
Depending on a person’s skill set, the average salary for a 3d artist is about £26,000 per year. Future prospective employers are looking for artists who can create fully textured 3d assets and environments and are capable of working with fellow artists to maintain the highest-quality assets for the project. A specific job posting by SimBin games require the job applicant to be skilled in the use of 3d software like Autodesk Maya, Photoshop, and Unreal Engine 4. They should have an understanding of PBR (Physically Based Rendering) workflow and should have an eye for detail, shapes, proportions, composition, textures, colours and lighting. The job applicant should have experience of games development pipeline/environment and should be able to plan and estimate times for their own tasks. The job posting also lists other skills and interests that are more specific to the particular project and company. The full job posting can be found in section 1 references.
A games company typically has many programmers that are responsible for coding all of the mechanics and mechanisms that make the game function. There are many different tasks that need to be completed by programmers, so programmers are often given more specific and specialised roles. One programming speciality is the gameplay/AI programmer. The gameplay/AI programmer is responsible for coding the gameplay and character mechanics as per the instructions of the Lead programmer. The gameplay/AI programmer has to create believable characters using both AI and animation techniques in order to build a believable world that players can get immersed in. They develop systems, such as navigation, population and weapons and then tune and polish them to high working standard.
The average salary for a computer game programmer is about £31,000 per year. The gameplay/AI programmer often works across multiple studios and projects and work closely with the animators and designers. One specific job posting by Rockstar Games require the gameplay/AI programmer applicant to have a solid understanding of C++ and/or C#. They must have strong math skills, knowledge of vectors, matrices and linear algebra and should have excellent problem solving skills. They must be good at communicating with the rest of the team. The full job posting can be in section 1 references.
Section 1 References
https://www.slightlymadstudios.com/team/
https://www.hierarchystructure.com/video-game-company-hierarchy/
https://cloud.smartdraw.com/editor.aspx?templateId=b3e14f58-118f-4653-bc9d-815dfb14fb83&noro=1&nsu=1#depoId=12731832&credID=-25079964
https://www.simbin.com/jobs/artist/
http://jobs.jobvite.com/careers/rockstar-games/job/oJNj9fwI?__jvst=Job+Board&__jvsd=Indeed
Understand the terms and conditions of employment in the computer games industry
Contracts
This section of the assignment will cover the different types of contracts between employers and employees. A person’s employment contract can vary on a number of different factors such as the number of hours the employee has to work. The seven most common types of contract in the UK are Full-time employment, Part-time employment , Fixed term contracts, Zero Hours, Temporary contract, Agency Contracts and finally Freelance/contractor contracts.
A “Full-time contract” is the most common form of employment contract and is used by most traditional 9-5 working hour type jobs. This type of job contract offers the employee a permanent position at the company with a fixed salary/ hourly wage and work hours set out and agreed upon within the contract. These are often the most stable type of job contract offering holiday entitlements, pension benefits, parental leave allowances and details on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). There is no set minimum number of hours that the employee must work on a full-time contract. However, most employers recognise full-time work as 35+ hours per week.
A “Part-time contract” is fairly similar to a Full-Time contract with most of the same legal benefits and job security but often work fewer hours than those in Full-time contracts. The number of hours they’re scheduled to work per week must be clearly visible within the contract. The main difference between a Part-time contract and a Full Time contract is that the employee can negotiate flexible work hours with their employers to work hours that fit their lives which can help those with limited time available and have other commitments. The employee has the option to work overtime if and when desired.
A “Fixed-term contract” is a contract that is very similar to a part time contract and has the same legal benefits and job security as full time contracts although factors such as holiday entitlement will depend on contract length. The difference between a part time contract and a fixed term contract is that the employee is working until a specified time frame agreed upon in advance of starting the job. Some fixed-term contracts may not specify an exact timeframe, but will instead end when a specific task has been completed or fulfilled. Depending on the role, and an individual’s performance, fixed-term contracts can sometimes lead to longer term positions.
A “Zero-Hours contract” is also known as casual contracts and specify that an employee works only when required by their employer. The employer is under no obligation to provide a set amount of hours to work nor does the employee have to accept any work offered to them. Employers must pay zero hour workers at least the National Minimum Wage to work. They are also entitled to the same annual leave as permanent workers. Individuals on a zero hour contract may also seek employment elsewhere. A zero hours contract would not be valid if the contract prevented them from looking for and accepting work elsewhere from another employer.
“Temporary contracts” are similar to fixed-term contracts and are offered when a contract is not expected to become permanent. The only real difference between a temporary contract and full time contract/ part time contract is that the employee will be given an end date in the contract. However the employer can extend the contract depending on their needs and the employee’s track record. Even though the employee may have a contract until a set date, the employer may terminate the contract early if they believe the employee’s service has become “redundant” and they no longer need their service. Extra benefits include increased flexibility, the ability to manage work around study or other interests, and building experience within a specific sector.
Contracts agreed and managed by a recruitment consultancy or employment agency are called “Agency Contracts”. These contracts usually temporary and after 12 weeks of continuous employment in the same role, agency workers are then entitled to the same rights as permanent employees of the company. The contract length is dependant on the demand by the employer and their availability. It is the agency’s responsibility to protect the rights of their employees, however, National Insurance contributions and Statutory Sick Pay will be paid by the employer to the agency.
Freelance contracts vary from position to position. Individuals working this way are considered self-employed, meaning it’s their responsibility to look after tax and National Insurance contributions. Freelance contracts end upon the delivery of the product and the start and end date of the contract and the salary varies from client to client depending on the commission. Freelance and contract workers may also not be entitled to the same rights as more permanent members of staff but get to manage their own schedule and negotiate their own terms.
Salaries
In business, industries use a system called a pay scale (salary structure) to determine how much an employee is to be paid as a wage or salary, based on factors such as the employee’s level, rank or status within the employer’s organisation, the length of time the employee has been employed, and the difficulty of the specific task being performed.
In addition to a competitive salary, employees at some top game development companies can also expect health insurance, an annual bonus, stock options and possibly revenue-sharing on game titles.
The International Game Developers Association’s salary information posted on its website reports that a designer with one-two years of experience can expect a salary of around $53,000 (around £40,000) at the low end, with the average salary reporting at about $59,500. A lead designer with at least six years of experience can expect a salary of $85,000.
In 2014, Gamasutra conducted a survey that looked into the annual salaries of employees working in the games industry. Gamasutra received over 4000 unique responses worldwide but not all who participated in the survey provided sufficient compensation information to be provided. Also cases where compensation was given as less than $10,000 USD or above $200,000 USD were excluded from the data to reduce outliers from distorting the true central tendency of the computed average salaries in each category.
Programmers continue to be among the highest paid in the game industry. The average US salary of programmers and engineers in 2013 was around $93,000 USD (Rounded down), compared to $92,000 USD (Rounded down) in 2012. This figure is bested by business, legal and audio (However the latter has a much lower sample than programming and has a higher chance of data distortion from high paying outliers). European programmers averaged $47,000 USD in comparison to US programmers. Programmers with less than 3 years of experience earn around $72,000. With 3-6 years of experience, employees can earn on average around $80,000. Lead Programmers with the same amount of experience earn around $95,000. With over 6 years of experience, programmers earn around $104,000, lead programmers earn $116,000 and technical directors earn $136,000 annually. The programming and engineering discipline is most heavily skewed towards men, who make up 95% of total programming participants of the survey. The average salary for men is $94,000 and for women is $79,000.
The visual artists are the people who make video games appealing to our eyes. On average, game artists in the US earn around $74,000 in 2013 which is actually down from the 2012 where artists earnt around $75,000. Artists earn around $50,000 with less than 3 years of experience. Artists earn around $56,000 with 3-6 years of experience, lead artists/ tech artists earn around $71,000 with 3-6 years of experience. Artists earn around $82,000 with more than 6 years of experience, Lead artists with the same amount of experience earn around $88,000 and Art directors earn $110,000. Europe-based visual artists averaged $41,000 in comparison. Visual artists are heavily skewed towards men, who make up 91% of participants. Visual artists who are women also earn over $20,000 less than men. The average salary for men is $76,000. In comparison, the average salary for women is $56,000.
Game designers hold the most romanticized career path in the entire video game industry and yet the pay only outranks one other discipline: Quality Assurance. The average salary for a US games designer is $74,000 in 2013, which is down from $75,000 in 2012.
In comparison, the website Payscale.com listed different figures for each discipline; £22,000 to £58,000 for a Software Developer, £18,000 to £30,000 for a Video Game Artist, £20,000 to £50,000 for a Video Game Designer, £22,000 to £40,000 for a Video Game Programmer, and £20,000 to £46,000 for a Video Game Producer.
Section 2 References
https://www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/types-of-employment-contracts/
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4587
https://whymedia.com/contract-terms-and-conditions/
https://www.gamasutra.com/salarysurvey2014.pdf
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_scale
https://www.jobmonkey.com/videogamejobs/video_game_design_compensation/
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-07-23-the-gamesindustry-biz-careers-survey-2018-lower-pay-but-less-crunch
https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=3d_Artist/Salary
https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Computer_Programmer/Salary/fcbcefc8/C++
https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Software_Developer%2C_Games/Salary
https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Video_Game_Artist/Salary
https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Video_Game_Designer/Salary
https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Video_Game_Programmer/Salary
https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Video_Game_Producer/Salary
Understand employment opportunities and recruitment in the computer games industry
It’s important to know and understand the methods and opportunities that can be employed for gaining employment in the video game industry. It’s also important to know about the industry bodies that make up the video game industry so that you can understand how the industry works.
Recruitment Methods
Hiring managers want to hire skilled applicants to work in their companies to make the products produced by them the best they can make them. There are many different methods companies can employ to recruit people.
An industry specific recruiter can bring to the hiring process a wealth of knowledge about the industry. These specialist recruiters can often find the right person for the job because they know where to look for the talent and who is available to take up the position because they interact with people in these areas on a daily basis.
Companies often use a number of social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and the like to advertise open job positions and seek the right people for the job. They can also use sites like these to directly contact people and ask them directly if they are interested in working in a specific job position in their company because they are impressed with the work they have made in the past such as high quality user made content for video games such as mod development, fan games or fan animations. People can also be hired on forums for games developers and companies after posting and discussing about the work they have done on their own projects.
Companies also use big industry events like the Games Developers Conference, Eurogamer expo, Gamescom and similar events to scout out talented individuals. These events are used to showcase games and are a good place to network with people and gain contacts.
The old fashioned method of gaining employment in the video game industry was to work your way up through the career ladder by taking an entry-level position such as a game tester. You can also get an internship at a video game studio if they are offering such a thing.
One problem with entering the video game industry is getting the necessary experience they require from you. One way to get experience is to build your own indie games to completion and sell them on publishing sites like Steam, Origin, GOG (Formerly Good Old Games), Uplay and Windows Store.
Industry Events
Games conventions are events that bring together large gatherings of people to participate in and celebrate various types of gaming such role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, video games, or other types of games. These conventions are typically two or three days long. Some of the biggest games conventions are E3, Pax (South, East, West, Australia), Tokyo Game Show, Eurogamer Expo (EGX). The bigger events are aimed more towards the media than the public.
These conventions also function as a trade show and conference where the major companies reveal their biggest games and hardware for the first time to be judged by the general public. However this is beginning to change as major companies and publishers are looking at more direct ways to interact with their audience and show off their products with more control over the events. For example Nintendo Direct or Sony’s PlayStation Experience Convention and State of play.
There are many video game competitions around the world called Esports. Most commonly, Esports take the form of organised, multiplayer video game competitions particularly between professional players, individually or as a team. Some of the most popular Esport titles include MOBA games such as League of Legend, Dota 2, and Smite, FPS titles such as Counter Strike:Global Offensive, Overwatch and Call of Duty, fighting games such as Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros, and other miscellaneous games such as Rocket League and Starcraft 2. Some of the biggest Esports events are Electronic Sports League, League of Legends Worlds, Intel Extreme Masters, Call of Duty World League and Dota 2 the Internal.
Industry Bodies
It’s important to know about and understand the industry bodies that make up the regulatory and employee infrastructure of the games industry.
A professional body is an association which is usually non-profit and aims to expand an existing organisation, the people within the organisation and their interests. Some examples of professional bodies within the video games industry are International Game Developers Association (IGDA), which support and empower game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers, and Game Audio Network Guild (GANG) which provides a voice to articulate, discuss and confront issues affecting the interactive audio industry, celebrates accomplishments and encourages the creation of excellent audio by educating interactive entertainment developers. These organisations are important networking tools for people working in the industry.
A trade association is where businesses work together to find solutions to problems and industry-related issues. Trade associations are non-profit organizations whose primary purpose is to provide different learning tools for businesses in a particular industry.
United Kingdom Interactive Entertainment (UKIE), formerly known as Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) is a trade association for the video game industry in the United Kingdom (UK) founded in 1989. It’s purpose is to is to represent the UK's video games industry, provides strategies and advice for developers and publishers, collects and publishes retail date for UK video game sales, and lobbies and meets with members of the government to help establish policy related to video games. One of the more notable activities was to help petition the UK government to use the PEGI rating system rather than the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
The trade association of the video game industry in the USA is The Entertainment Software Association (ESA). Most of the top publishers in the gaming world (or their American subsidiaries) are members of the ESA, including Capcom, Electronic Arts, Konami, Microsoft, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Square Enix, Take-Two Interactive, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. ESA are responsible for organising the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) which is a show where games companies can show off and market their upcoming products.
The Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) is an age rating board used in the majority of europe for the video game industry established to help parents make informed decisions when buying video games. The age rating system was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) and launched in 2003 and replaced a number of national age rating systems. The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) is used in the USA instead.
Section 3 References
https://www.theesa.com/about-esa
https://www.audiogang.org/about/
https://www.igda.org/page/about
https://ukie.org.uk/about
https://pegi.info/page/pegi-organisation
https://www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-get-a-job-in-the-games-industry
Be able to prepare for seeking employment in the computer games industry
Research for Employment
To prepare for seeking employment in the computer games industry, first you’ll have to research employment. The biggest resource to use for researching employment is the internet. There are websites such as Gamasutra, Game Job Hunter, GameJobs, Game Recruiter and Gamedevmaps.
As well as the internet, employment opportunities can also be found through adverts, magazines, newspapers and trade journals. Trade journals in particular focus on one particular industry and provide in-depth information on trends, new products and other topics of interest to people working in that industry. Other employment opportunities can be discovered through networking with employees of companies through social media websites such as twitter, and through the personal websites of companies big and small. As a potential employee, it’s a good idea to target specific organisations or companies because they provide something that other organisations can’t. Employment targeting is selecting target companies or organizations where you would like to work in because they provide something that would be personally beneficial to your life. Reasons for choosing one company over another is if they provide a better working environment offered by other organisations and companies, they have better pay and/or perks, better career prospects, they have a better image than other organisations in the industry and they can help maintain a healthy work life balance by being near to one's place of residence.
Before approaching potential employers about a job opportunity, it’s best to practice writing professional emails. Write a meaningful subject line that quickly and concisely tells the recipient what the email is about e.g. Game Programmer Job - [Your Name]. Keep the subject line formal. Keep the email focused. Make the purpose of the email clear, be direct and concise and keep the email organised. It’s important to proofread the email to make sure that it’s clear, readable and formal. Try to avoid attachments unless it’s necessary. It’s best to copy-paste the most important part of the document into the body of your message rather than force the recipient to download an attachment and open it in a separate program. Make sure to identify yourself clearly and clearly include your contact information so that the employer can phone you back to talk to you.
To prepare for writing a letter, first write a list of your skills and the requirements of the job so that you fully understand what the job offer is asking for. Also write down points from your resume that fit these requirements. This will make writing the letter in an organised way easier. Start your letter by writing your contact information in the top right corner of the letter in this order:
Name (e.g John Smith)
Address line 1 (e.g street name and number, 98 Anywhere Street)
Address line 2 (e.g city name, London)
Postcode (e.g. AB12 3CD)
Phone Number
Email Address
(Optional) Personal website
Then on the left side of the letter underneath your contact information, include the company’s information:
Name (e.g. Mr Burgins)
Company (e.g. Acme Cat Cafe, Inc.)
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
Postcode
By including the contact information of the company to which you are applying to, it shows that you have taken the time to write a specific letter or application to this company, and have done your research on the hiring manager for the position which shows dedication. You can find the name of the hiring manager on the company’s website, LikedIn or Twitter. If you can’t find their name, address to the hiring manager. Write an engaging first paragraph. The first paragraph should state the purpose of the letter. Explain where you found the position to which you are applying. After this explain why hiring you will be beneficial to the employer and write about what skills you can offer. List achievements and experience and find some examples to write about. If you can provide stats and numbers, do so. Briefly summarise your strengths, qualifications and experience and refer to your CV. Include the most relevant aspects of your career. While recent accomplishments are a good place to start, you may find that there is something more relevant further in the past. Write a bit about yourself so that the employer can get a feel for your character but keep it short. Briefly summarise your letter with a conclusion about why you would be the ideal candidate for the job in a sentence or two and invite the hiring manager to contact you. Lastly sign off with something like “Yours sincerely”.
To conduct yourself in a professional manner during phone calls with the employer and during telephone interviews, competency-based telephone interview questions, try to use the STAR technique, where you lay out the situation you were facing, the task you had to do, the action you took and what the result was. These particular interviews are used to confirm that the details on the CV were correct, that gaps in the CV can be accounted for, that the experience matches the language used by the individual, the confidence matches the level of experience, and the candidate can demonstrate their work in a variety of ways. It’s a good idea to also research commonly asked questions so that you already have answers prepared for the recruiter. When answering Use interviews to ask questions about what the day to day entails, how big your potential team will be, and what opportunities for career progression are, to the employer as it shows your aptitude to the job in question. Be calm, confident and enthusiastic. It’s a good idea to prepare your CV and have it on hand. It’s important to remember to include your contact information such as your phone number and your email address. A common mistake that people make when conducting a phone interview is that they often believe it is less formal than a face to face interview. It’s not. Another common mistake people make during phone interviews is that they start to waffle.
Personal Development
It can be difficult to stay motivated when it comes to pursuing your ambition. Creating a Personal Development Plan could provide you with the structure and guidance you need to be proactive, and actually take the steps needed to reach your goal in your chosen career path.
A Personal Development Plan is a written account of self-reflection and improvement. You then use it as a detailed action plan to fulfil academic, personal, or career based goals. Use it to establish your aims, recognise your strengths and weaknesses, and identify the need for self improvement. Once these strengths and weaknesses have been identified, objectives are put in place on the areas that need to be improved on.
Your Personal Development Plan should accurately outline your personal goals, why they’re important to you and how you plan to achieve them. Personal Development Plans are specific to each individual and will generally detail your ideal future based upon short/long term goals. Areas of improvement are specific to you and could be centred on work, education or self-improvement. It should also outline potential obstacles you may face when pursuing your chosen path and how to overcome them.
You can identify strengths and weaknesses through feedback from peers on your work to find out what you need to improve on for your next piece or through self evaluation of your work. You can also submit unfinished or finished works to online forums to get feedback from people who have experience in the industry. However be careful not to get stuck in a loop of never finishing projects because you keep wanting to improve it with new things you have learned and new feedback. Finish the project even if you aren’t happy with it so that you have something in your portfolio to show to others.
CV
CV stands for Curriculum Vitae and is a personal marketing document used to sell yourself to prospective employers. It should tell them about yourself, your professional history and your skills, abilities and achievements. A CV is a requirement for applying for jobs.
The structure of your CV can be flexible, changing depending on your unique skill set and experiences and tailored so that only the relevant information is presented to your potential employer. However there are particular sections that your employer expects to see on your CV regardless.
Positioned at the top of the page should contain your name, professional title and contact details. Titling your CV with the words “Curriculum Vitae” or “CV” is a waste of valuable space. Treat your name as the title instead.
E.g. Forename Surname
Professional Title
Location: Town, County
Phone: 01234 567890
Email: name@example.com
When it comes to your contact details, your email address and phone number are essential. At one point it was customary to include your full address on your CV. Today, you only need to list your town and county. You may also want to include your LinkedIn profile or Skype but only if they’re up to date.
The CV should contain a personal profile, also known as a personal statement, is one of the most important aspects of the CV. It’s a short paragraph that sits just underneath your name and contact details giving prospective employers an overview of who you are and what you’re all about. You should tailor your profile to every job you apply for, highlighting specific qualities that match your role. It should include who you are, what you can offer to the company and what your career goals are. Keep it short and sweet.
The CV should include your employment history and experience. Your employment history gives you a chance to outline previous jobs, internships and work experience. List your experience in reverse chronological order. Your most recent jobs are the most relevant. Pick and choose the jobs most relevant to what you’re applying for. Here’s an example of how to format each position of employment on the CV:
Month Year - Month Year Company Name, location
Role Title
Outline
Key Responsibilities
Key Achievements/projects
Underneath that list your education and qualification. These should also be listed in reverse chronological order. Include the name of the institution and the dates you were there, followed by the qualifications and grades achieved. If you have recently left education, you may write degrees, A-levels or GCSEs (or equivalents) like so:
Institute name - Dates attended (from - to)
Qualification/ Subject - Grade
If you have a degree you could also list a few of the relevant modules, assignments or projects underneath. For professionals further along in their career, or have many certificates in their repertoire, qualifications can be laid out like this:
Qualification, grade - Institution - Year.
Additional sections that can be included in a CV are Languages, Awards, Publications, IT skills, professional development, Accreditations, Voluntary work, Achievements, hobbies and interests, profile. But only include the sections that are relevant to you and the job you are applying for.
If you are writing a functional CV or wish to show off some abilities to your employer, insert a key skills section underneath your personal profile. Aim to detail four or five abilities at most. The bottom of the CV generally contains references, though adding referees to the end of the CV is no longer standardised.
How the CV is formatted and presented to the employer is as equally important as the content. The standard length of a CV in the UK is about two pages long. Each section must be introduced by a big, bold heading to ensure and easy read. Choose a clear font like Calibri or Arial. The body of the CV is generally around 10-12 point font and the headings are between 14-18 points. Keep the page margins around 2.5cm. Keep the formatting consistent and proofread it so that there aren’t any typos. Save your file as a PDF to ensure recruiters can open it on any device. Don’t include your age and date of birth, a photograph of yourself or your marital status.
Portfolio
An art portfolio is an edited collection of their best work intended to showcase an artist’s style and capabilities and is a valuable asset to show employers their versatility by showing different samples of current work.
It’s difficult to describe someone’s level of talent without watching them perform and a portfolio can provide prospective employers a sample which they can use to gauge their abilities and personality and judge whether they believe they’re the right person to hire for this job. A portfolio is a showcase of the skills you can provide for this company and helps sell yourself to potential clients and employers. With the right integration between your portfolio, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you can drastically improve the visibility of your portfolio.
An effective portfolio isn’t going to document everything you’ve done in your life. If potential employers are given too much information to work with, they can easily get lost or focus on the wrong things. Select only the best work or projects that show your greatest, most marketable talents. Make it interesting, varied and up to date. Present past projects and works in a manner that’s straight forward. Keep it organised and concise.
Artworks can be presented as playable digital games demos, playable non-digital games, collaborative projects with evidence of your own contributions, printed artwork, design documents, reports, concepts, slideshow presentations, live demonstrations, video showreels and blogs.
Personal Presentation
A job interview gives you a chance to shine and determines whether you will move onto the next round of consideration or knock you out of contention. The first impression you make on a potential employer can make a big difference in the outcome of your job interview. The first judgement an interviewer makes is based upon your appearance. That’s why it is important to dress appropriately for a job interview. What’s appropriate varies from employer to employer, so pick an outfit that’s fit for where you want to get hired.
During a job interview, your ability to interact with the interviewer and articulate your thoughts are just as important factors in getting a job as the qualifications listed on your resume. Take some time to brush up on your interview skills to ensure they are as ready as your resume. Interviews can be very stressful even for those who have done it many times before. There are techniques that can be used to minimise stress before and during an interview and strategies that can be utilised to reduce anxiety that may accompany your job search. The interview will be much easier when you are calmer.
From the time you greet the receptionist up until you leave the building, you’re being evaluated as a potential new hire, so make a good first impression. When you are in a job interview, it’s up to you to sell your qualifications and credentials to the hiring manager. You’ll need to show the hiring manager that you are a good fit for the company and the job position.
Job interview can be challenging if you are an introvert. Social situations can be taxing for introverts so schedule your time wisely and avoid interviewing at several companies in one day. If you are currently employed, consider calling out sick from your job so that you can focus all your attention on the job interview. Before the interview, spend some time researching the company by looking at their website and social media. It’s also acceptable to ask the person scheduling the interview how long conversations usually take and for the names and titles of people you will meet with. Use this information to find their profiles on LinkedIn. This will give you a sense of what to expect which will make you feel less stressed.
For introverts being put on the spot can be deeply uncomfortable. However many questions can be easy to anticipate and you can prepare in advance for commonly asked questions in an interview. Have some stalling techniques at hand for when unexpected questions are asked of you by the interviewer. This will give you some time to formulate a proper response. Between introductions and formal interview questions, there is sometimes small talk. Come prepared with a line or two. Be upbeat, positive and engaged during these conversations.
Many qualities introverts tend to possess are absolutely essential for a successful company. Introverts are typically detail-oriented, creative, thoughtful and work well independently and collaboratively. List your best attributes before the interview that you think could be helpful.
At the end of the interview, take the time to say thank you as it is good etiquette and also reinforces your interest in the position and shows the interviewer that you have excellent follow-up skills. Use your thank-you letter, as well, to address any concerns that came up during the interview.
Section 4 References
https://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/email/#subject
https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Letter-of-Application-for-a-Job
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-job-interview-tips-2061331
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/job-interview-tips-for-introverts-2061355
https://www.cv-library.co.uk/career-advice/cv/how-to-write-a-cv-tip
Co-authored by Peter Llewhellyn and Sammy Glastonbury
