Going to GDC for the first time, and I'm clueless lol

beansauce

Hello and thank you for reading. I've been a 3d prop/environment artist for roughly 4 years now and I’m having an extremely hard time getting my foot in the door with the game industry. I just got my tax return and instead of throwing it into my endless sea of debt I decided to do something that might actually help me. Just for kicks, I went to the GDC website to see if it’s coming up and long behold it’s in about 2 weeks in San Francisco (I live in Wisconsin mind you). I decided that this would be a huge leap of faith to take a trip down there to network with people and hand off my resume.

I've never been to a convention like this at all and have no idea what to expect. I need help sorting out my mind concerning this.

1. Is this a good idea?

2. Is this a common thing for people to do to look for employment? How successful is it? Are they bothered by this? I keep thinking they're all just going to tell me "Apply on our website, kthx"

3. How should I go about introducing myself and such with the intention of asking if they are hiring for internships or entry level positions?

4. Are there certain days I should avoid doing this?

5. Any additional suggestions as to what I can do to prepare and increase my chances of making this trip worthwhile?

Thank you in advance, and if you plan on being at GDC between march 2nd-6th send me an email so we can meet up and have a chat jam43d@gmail.com. Look forward to hearing from you guys, have a great day!

Meloncov

It's fairly unlikely that you'll directly find a job at GDC. Certainly not impossible, but I wouldn't count on it. What can happen, though, is you can make some connections to people at a bunch of different studios, and once they do have an opening, you know someone to contact to get your portfolio to the top of the stack.

At the job fair, it's pretty much expected to walk up to the booth, introduce yourself, and ask if they have openings relevant to you. Anywhere else at the conference, though, that's exactly the wrong approach. Just talk to people casually, try and make friends. Don't act like you're only talking to them in order to get something out them. After you've gotten to know them a bit you can ask if their studio is hiring, but that should be secondary to building meaningful connections.


So yes, it is worth it, but think of it as a long term investment, not a short term one.

beansauce

Meloncov wrote: »

It's fairly unlikely that you'll directly find a job at GDC. Certainly not impossible, but I wouldn't count on it. What can happen, though, is you can make some connections to people at a bunch of different studios, and once they do have an opening, you know someone to contact to get your portfolio to the top of the stack.

At the job fair, it's pretty much expected to walk up to the booth, introduce yourself, and ask if they have openings relevant to you. Anywhere else at the conference, though, that's exactly the wrong approach. Just talk to people casually, try and make friends. Don't act like you're only talking to them in order to get something out them. After you've gotten to know them a bit you can ask if their studio is hiring, but that should be secondary to building meaningful connections.


So yes, it is worth it, but think of it as a long term investment, not a short term one.

Well I'm not expecting a miracle where they'll jump on their desk screaming "You're hired!" but yeah I'm looking to drastically increase my chances of getting opportunities long term because it's really....really hard networking when you live in Wisconsin. Thank you very much for your input. I'm still reading up on what is all at GDC so I need to look more at what to expect at the job fair.

jfitch

From what I've heard from a few friends/colleagues, it can be pretty tricky, but almost everyone going will be pretty open to talking with you. That being said, I agree with Meloncov, don't jump straight to asking about a job if it isn't the job fair--ask about them, their work, what their interests are, etc. Be cool, but don't be too pushy. Don't try to be someone's best friend and stick with them all the time. And, if you get the chance, go drinking with some folks and just have a good time. A lot of the time, the key to getting the job you want is just making them like you.

beansauce

Well I'm a very sociable person so I don't think that's an issue. I guess i'm just over thinking this. I just keep having 2nd guesses that I'd be overstepping my boundaries by working my way towards asking for work, but after further research and asking around it's not at all uncommon for this. Thank you guys.

SurlyBird

If you go with having a good time, making some new connections and learning a new thing or two as your goals, you'll have a successful and hopefully fun GDC. If you go specifically hoping to land a job...you're probably going to come home disappointed. The sheer mass of people at GDC looking for work will probably blow your mind. There was a sea of people lining up and exchanging cards and resumes when I went in 2012. Based on the enthusiasm of the people working the show, my hunch is most of those resumes and cards went straight to File 13. But maybe not.

Never say never though. I'm sure some have managed to get hired because they made the trip to GDC.

Brian "Panda" Choi

SurlyBird wrote: »

If you go with having a good time, making some new connections and learning a new thing or two as your goals, you'll have a successful and hopefully fun GDC. If you go specifically hoping to land a job...you're probably going to come home disappointed. The sheer mass of people at GDC looking for work will probably blow your mind. There was a sea of people lining up and exchanging cards and resumes when I went in 2012. Based on the enthusiasm of the people working the show, my hunch is most of those resumes and cards went straight to File 13. But maybe not.

Never say never though. I'm sure some have managed to get hired because they made the trip to GDC.

Dang it I'm coming in looking for a job.

SurlyBird

I apologize for the negativity...not my goal. Just trying to give some perspective. I'll be delighted for anyone who does get a job by going to GDC, by the way. Prove me wrong!

I guess my sentiment is that if you're primary goals are to learn as much as you can, meet a lot of new people and to have a good time doing both, then you'll be successful regardless of the employment outcome, because you will be accomplishing something (and those are factors you can directly control). Getting a job is really up to the companies hiring and is not something you have much say in. And from what I saw last time I was there, it didn't seem like there was a lot of that going on - not that there weren't tons of people there for that very reason. I'm just trying to be very realistic in that regard - but I probably sound like Eeyore saying all that.

As others have said, it's probably better to go and just chat people up, make friends, get contacts and then enjoy yourself. It can be a wonderful experience even if you don't land work. Don't miss out on the fun.

bounchfx

figured I would chime in.

When I graduated college I had got my tax return as well and had a choice on my hands.. I really wanted to go to GDC, but I also really wanted a new PC. It was a tough decision but I figured GDC would be more of an investment and probably better for me (as useful as a new pc was I still had a usable one), and went.

it let to me meeting a lot of awesome people I wouldn't have met otherwise, and was responsible for me meeting my future art lead, not at the job fair or recruiter booth, but sitting in the playstation lounge. We were both chilling there resting our legs, I saw his name tag, recognized the company as a place I was interested in, and simply struck up conversation. He gave me his card and I forwarded him my resume and portfolio. It wasn't instant, but he was kind enough to keep up with me and it turned out they had an opening around 4-5 months later, and with his help I was able to get a much faster direct line to HR and be evaluated for the job.

I guess it's my really, really long way of saying it's worth going, but that you also need to be sociable and make sure you talk to people and network as you're able.

Good luck!