Comments on: Effective Networking (Early Advice)

By: Edwin Gonzalez

Edwin Gonzalez — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:49:17 +0000

I disagree with the comments by Ian and Angus. Networking does not mean asking for a job. All it is is the idea of getting one’s foot in the door. If you establish a social relationship with a potential employer, he now knows YOU, not Joe Somebody with the slightly impressive resume. He knows what YOU are like. How YOU interact. When it does come time to look for a job, and your resume pops up on that potential employer’s desk, he is going to see it and say “Hey, I know this guy! He seems like a pretty good guy. I want to give him an interview first.”

By: Effective Networking in the Games Industry (Introduction)

Effective Networking in the Games Industry (Introduction) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:55:46 +0000

[...] Early Advice [...]

By: Lisa Zeise

Lisa Zeise — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 04:35:13 +0000

I agree with the ‘romancing’ analogy but from slightly different angle. There are many comparisons to someone looking for a date and someone looking for a job. For example, many times students (or anyone for that matter) might go into a job interview with the notion that they frankly just need a job. Any job.

“I just want a job. I do not care who I work for. I will take any job at any game dev company, anywhere, and I will do anything. And I want to work for YOU.”

I say, let’s flip that into a ‘romance’ scenario:
“I just want a date. I do not care who I date. I will take any date, with anyone. I just need a date and I want to date YOU.”

In either case, the party on the other end needs to feel a bit more special than that… as Ian said, being educated about the industry/company and how you fit there will get you farther.

By: Angus McQuarrie

Angus McQuarrie — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:07:00 +0000

There's also this sort of underlying assumption when talking to students that they ARE looking for a job, although perhaps not immediately, they will definitely be hard up for one shortly.

It doesn't pull as much weight as you might think. This is one of those areas where asking about hiring does you badly, but not asking doesn't really buy you much.

By: Ian Schreiber

Ian Schreiber — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 02:58:00 +0000

Hmm. I think you want to be educated about the industry first or else you’ll just get an “early” start on ruining your reputation :)

While looking for jobs does analogize well with romancing someone, I think the comparison breaks down here — you’re not feigning disinterest, you’re basically saying “wow, you’re a great girl and I’d LOVE to get to know you better, but right now you’re a Senior and I’m a Freshman and I realize it’d be socially awkward for you to date someone younger, but I’d like to be the kind of guy you’re looking for after you graduate and age isn’t an issue anymore.”

And I’m not entirely sure if a line like that would be really romantic, or creepy.