Job Search Question
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Edit: I forgot to mention I finally snagged a job at beatnik games while browsing the job forums so it works out in the end.
edit: Thanks all for the feedback. Not only have I found out that I'm not alone in this matter but I've also rediscovered my drive and my goal. I know what I have to do so it's only a matter of time. Thanks again.
So like many I'm a graduate with an alright portfolio, 8 years of modding experience and some minor journalism experience and I'm wondering if it's common for studios to not reply to job applications?
I've applied to a good 30+ studios (rough estimate) and only 2 have replied. It's quite a turn off to not receive a reply, not even an automatic one.
Just wondering if this is common among anyone else? By the way I'm not so ignorant to think just becuase I have a degree means I'm entitled to jobs galore. In fact the ones that did reply want "experience", well give me the chance for experience is my initial thought.
Perhaps this is a bad time for applying since I read lots of layoffs and studios are closing etc but I just want someone to reassure me that this is a common thing and that I should just keep working on my skills and keep applying.
Sadly my father is rather disappointed because he knows I've worked long and hard and got nothing back...
edit: Thanks all for the feedback. Not only have I found out that I'm not alone in this matter but I've also rediscovered my drive and my goal. I know what I have to do so it's only a matter of time. Thanks again.
So like many I'm a graduate with an alright portfolio, 8 years of modding experience and some minor journalism experience and I'm wondering if it's common for studios to not reply to job applications?
I've applied to a good 30+ studios (rough estimate) and only 2 have replied. It's quite a turn off to not receive a reply, not even an automatic one.
Just wondering if this is common among anyone else? By the way I'm not so ignorant to think just becuase I have a degree means I'm entitled to jobs galore. In fact the ones that did reply want "experience", well give me the chance for experience is my initial thought.
Perhaps this is a bad time for applying since I read lots of layoffs and studios are closing etc but I just want someone to reassure me that this is a common thing and that I should just keep working on my skills and keep applying.
Sadly my father is rather disappointed because he knows I've worked long and hard and got nothing back...
Replies
Even worse for us UK guys I think.. keep at it I guess, keep improving and keep passionate ^^
The studios that aren't closing are aware that other studios have closed, and that many experienced, talented artists are going to be on the market, and in many cases, those artists are going to take what they can get in terms of pay because it's a rough time right now.
If you continue sending out resumes and getting rejected, you're going to get discouraged. Instead, you might be better looking to an easier job to hold you over while you really bulk up your portfolio. You're at Polycount, so you're in the right place for that.
It's an extremely difficult job market, so don't get too discouraged, but to find a gig in this climate means being the best you can be, and your portfolio isn't there yet.
I "only" applied at something around 10 studios and most of them high profile, because i don't want to move a large distance for anything, as i can get anything here as well.
In the end, only 2 Studios replied, from one of them i know the character lead, the other studio wanted to offer me a job in china, which wouldn't be too bad but at that time not in my interest.
So i guess its somewhat usual, some studios have a pretty bad HR department some are just too busy and only answer candidates they really want - don't give up on it, sometimes it takes half a year for a studio to answer *cough* crytek *cough*
But also right now its a somewhat bad timing to get into the industry, so many experienced people are on the hunt right now.
I do think we are looking for an artist to join us.. i could ask if you are interested.
Anyways. Good luck on your search and keep it together. This time is always well spent working on your portfolio and getting more polished work out of it. I am sure that you will find something soon enough.
Admittedly, my portfolio was not mind blowing, but yeah, I barely heard back from anyone. It's frustrating, at times I actually wanted them to email me back and say 'look, you suck, work harder and we'll talk'... just so I knew I was on the right track. I guess they receive far too many apps to do that though.
Good luck man, it's not a pretty market!
If they get so many applications then I'd gladly offer my services to be that guy who replies to them, heh.
One final question. I'm not too concerned with money at this moment but what about offering my services for pure experience and no wage. A sort of internship without the pay. Worth trying?
Although saying that; if you think your portfolio is 'alright' then you're wasting your time applying anywhere. We young runts have to pretty much have our art look just as good as the professionals to get any notice now, and nobody bothers with "no thanks" replies anymore which is sucky.
Another thing I've noticed is that you're not clearly labeling on your folio where in the world/country you are. Always make this information clear. It really helps.
You'r portfolio is a bit blurry to. The mod pictures doesn't tell me anything. The HL2 printscreens looks like, like HL2 screens. But then your portfolio doesn't work in chrome, or the gallery don't, so what do i know.
Remember that like 20% of the people using the web actually use chrome. And the number goes up when it comes to people working with something technical. Would'n be surprised if ten of the studios you applied for didn't answer simply because they couldn't see the picture or the description.
Dreamer I added my location at the bottom following your advice. Thanks.
Overall the impression I get is this:
In order to secure a chance at getting a job in today's age, you need a portfolio that matches or comes close to the quality that professionals are producing in AAA games. Of course I always knew that but I had hoped there would be chances to start as a junior or something less, internship etc.
Games are money and it seems we've advanced so far that it is now a super challenge just to get in. Guess it wasn't the golden industry I thought it would be when I was 14.
So my next step really is to just get another job (unlikely since 1 in 5 are unemployed and I've worked all my life towards the games industry) and just improve my skills and work on my Iphone game.
Thanks all.
Good luck Habboi, I hope you make it man
And it's not the first time in a row this happens to me.
Yeah, this feels very-very bitter, buddy. Could be even heartbreaking and the only thing I can tell you is, that if you quit - you loose right there. If you keep pushing - you'll get what you want eventually. And it's in your power to speed things up.
Just don't let it get to you, mate. I personally like you work and I think you're much closer to getting there, then a lot of people I see. I sincerely hope that one more sexy enviro will get the job done for you. Good luck!
Uks been hit rather hard recently but theres alot of startups around if you look hard enough. Alot easier for juniors these days aswell. Just make some cool art and plaster it everywhere
good luck man
I'd really recommend evaluating your portfolio and removing some older work that's not really relevant to the position you're applying to. Ideally your portfolio pieces should 1: Tailor themselves to the job and specialty you're applying to, 2: Emphasize your best strengths and talents. If there's something not all that relevant, or if it's something you're not happy with right now, it probably shouldn't be visible in your portfolio. Above all else, market yourself as someone experienced on your portfolio. You shouldn't lie about your qualifications, but keep everything as professional and direct as possible.
It's real tough dealing with the disappointment, but if you take this whole situation as a challenge, and really put in the work to impress some of these people then something will eventually come along. I've been looking for work myself, and although I've gotten several responses from smaller companies I'm absolutely crushed that a certain company didn't get back to me yet. All this means is that I need to down another 10,000 cups of coffee and prove the doubters wrong.
Incidentally, Pixar is the only studio I know that always sends out rejection letters. Kind of insane, if you think about it, because they must get more applications than anyone else.
What bothers me though, is when you get completely ignored after taking an art test. Even if it sucks, could it hurt sending a copy/paste e-mail saying I didn't get the job?
There was this one test I took last year where not only did I not hear back, but all communication stopped right after I submitted it. Tried e-mailing them, and got ignored all throughout. Not asking for a critique or anything, but I think a copy/paste email saying I didn't get it is not unreasonable to ask.
But you can't expect a place to reply to every resume that gets sent in, for some studios that's hundreds a day. Sifting through them is hard enough. Most of the time the people doing the sifting have full time duties they also need to attend to.
Where I work, HR does a quick check to make sure they're not blatantly not qualified or some kind of spam bot, and then passes the rest onto the AD.
They also don't want to close doors they might want to open later.
As for the work without pay, that sends all the wrong signals... and seriously undervalues your work.
We pay our interns, we're a small company, its not much but any company using any kind of labor even unskilled, untrained labor, a company worth working for should pay them for time and travel expenses. Any place that would take you up on that offer is a place you should run away from.
That sux man!
Mr Habboi the answer is simple you just have to be the best as you can be.
Oh and Glottis, I would be interested if you could pass my portfolio over. This is in the UK I take it?
The first one keep, this is your quality marker, everything else must be at this level to get in. It's not volume of work its quality.
The next two are ok, obviously for now you can't have just one piece in your folio so keep these two until they can be rotated out.
The next 5 should not be included... they're awful. The bathroom scene if it was put in an engine, it might be worth it. But as it is, it looks like it was a "rendered scene" and it falls down on quite a few levels to be that. It doesn't really seem to apply to games and it's not really a high poly scene...
The desk scene is the same as the bathroom only the texture on the shelves looks like it was all carved out of one piece of wood. Vary the wood grain, even if you use the same tile, rotate the UV's. It doesn't even look like the drawers could open...
HL2 scenes? You're applying to work on games that haven't shipped yet, their quality bar is much higher than what is on the market right now and definitely higher than what was on the market 5 years ago.
So you've got 3 pieces one of them which is a keeper. Considering it's your latest, I know you can crank out more of that caliber its just getting them done and finished. Go GO GO! You've shown you can do it, you just need more.
Also it might not hurt to show some breakdown shots, wireframe overlay views, texture sheets and UV layouts.
Sometimes you have to hand out 1000 resumes/applications, to get 2 call backs.
Job hunting will always be frustrating. But if you love what you do, keep practicing! constantly check studio websites and apply apply apply. if you don't hear anything, take that as a motivation to get stronger!
What i'm personally doing is building up my portfolio, doing some freelance, some mod work, little bits of experience here and there. If money is not a factor in this, then maybe get together with a mod team and work on the skills you want to be hired for.
Some people are lucky to apply just at the right time, or have someone in the studio to get them the job. Heck i've seen not so talented in comparison to work i see here people get full time studio jobs just because they knew someone! So networking is a great asset in getting a studio job too.
If your portfolio to you, is alright, then why are you bothering? Keep practicing dude! you're in a situation where money doesn't matter, so just work work work, keep doing projects, keep gaining experience and building it up to a 'good' portfolio, not an 'alright' one.
If you're looking for reassurance, then maybe your heart's not really in it? i mean, having a bunch of people go 'hey buddy just keep going!' you shouldn't need that. Ya it sucks not getting responses but that happens with every job. However, you need to have the drive inside you to get the job, to keep working hard and build up the portfolio needed to gain employment. To take rejection not as something hurtful, even no rejection at all; take it as 'ya they got it, no they don't need you'.
Sometimes following up with an email a week or two later helps too. Bigger studios will lose your resume, it does happen.
Anyway thats just my take on things.
This^
ya i just noticed that too! buddy buddy buddy
don't have a ton of work in your portfolio that you didn't do, it's like telling an employer 'i cant do this!' even though you may be able too
i agree fully with skayne, try getting some portfolio pieces in environment arts that you did, it'll at least give you a wider range of things you can do.
My latest scene does show my current skills. Perhaps it is time I stop applying for jobs and really knuckle down. I'm already halfway through another scene so my portfolio won't be completely empty.
Thanks for the criticism. It has opened my eyes even though I sort of already knew all this. Funny though cause I only wanted to know if applying for jobs meant not getting much feedback. I now have a road in front of me and from your feedback I know what I have to do. So glad I came to Polycount, if only I had come here sooner.
P.S. I'm not in denial or anything. Someone said if I'm asking this question then I must be unsure but like I said this thread turned into a portfolio crit and I wasn't expecting such an overwhelming response.
The only way your going to have an awesome folio is if you have things in it that use the knowledge you learned in those school assignments and expand ontop of that and do something better then your first attempt.
I know a lot of guys that fall into that category and do that kind of work professionally, but they show run-throughs of their levels, lots of screenshots, top down views of levels etc. They also tend to work for larger companies on larger teams where you can be that specialized.
But if you want to do environmental assets and/or be a better artist more versatile, then what they said. Also, seconded to what Autocon said about school work.
Anyway I took your advice and removed all my work cept the latest from my front page.
In the personal work section there is quite alot to remove aswell, i would say the 4 first pictures is good, everything else i would remove.
Remember you do get better every day you work, so keep in mind to remove stuff that dont reflect where you are at now.
And i am wondering you say you have 8 years of modding experience, doing what?
I cant see any art there that would reflect 8 years, or maybe you did something else?
One more thing i saw you mentioned on 1 project that you got a bit careless at the end of the project, i wouldnt say that, since it might scare away employe's saying that you just wont it done as fast as possible, fast is good but quality must be there aswell.
And i would maybe choose another design or atleast not so saturated colors, it seams a bit childish.
And one more thing, keep on going... i dont get reply's either