Dressing for Game studio interviews.
polycounter
I wanted to hear some opinions on what to wear to an interview at a game studio.
The last studio I interviewed at, I felt I was over dressed since while I was wearing a formal shirt and trousers with shoes, the interviewer had shorts and flip flops. This was one of the major game studios, I'm not sure if I should name.
I didn't get the position and I'm wondering if it was because I came across as too formal (besides other aspects that I'm not aware of yet)
I understand a portfolio is all that matters apparently, so can I attend an interview in shorts and flip flops if its more comfortable? I was also made to wait for over half hour.
Is this normal in the game industry?
Replies
Is there any onus on them being presentable?
Also they looked very tired, so I'm wondering if they're being overworked.
When I was in the waiting room, people passing by wouldn't even look at me, so I felt a bit unwelcome, seeing as I was on time. Everyone seemed to be in their own world.
I mean besides making me wait a half hour and giving me no information on who was interviewing me, they also pulled up a resume I'd submitted to them almost a year and a half ago. It was really awkward, since I was left wondering whether to tell them, or just fill in what I've been doing for the past year.
But in the end they didn't even look at it. o_O
The same studio once rejected me for a position I didn't apply for.
The interview was basically what are you here for, explain your process do you have any questions.
I received no information on what projects I'd be assigned to, and everything felt really rushed like they wanted me out of there asap.
But they did say they felt very positively about me and they'd call me in a week, but then I received standard rejection in about 3 weeks.
During that time they said I could contact them, but didn't give me an email to do so, so I added them on linkedin, sent a followup which still hasn't been seen.
For the moment I have written to one of the artists there asking how I fell short so I can improve. I was an internship position so during the interview it was made clear that I would be learning during the contract.
I was also not told if this was to be a multi step interview, like usually there's 3 interviews in my experience, pay being discussed at the end, here a lot of information was withheld, but I was told that they would get back to me immediately since they were really interested.
Should I write to them with feedback about the interview so the process might be better for future interviews?
In general my in studio experience hasn't been all too positive, like even with short contracts, there is talk of extension, then projects fall through, people get laid off, so I'm wondering if it has to do the quality of my work, or just the way the game industry I have experienced operates.
Sort of like wall street, everyone is in super rush mode.
In many cases I have demonstrated I can do the work, so they are definitely getting what they need from me for the work they actually do.
For this particular studio to prepare for the position I check out the work of character artists currently working and found a wide variety of skill levels, some have only sculpts, one artist I contacted says he doesn't know how to use unreal 4 and only does some basic retopo work, so there doesn't really seem to be a high benchmark expected of the people hired imo from what I'm seeing.
I'm not hating on the studio, I really felt we'd be a great fit since I'm a multidiscipinary artist and in addition to their ip they work 3rd party with several developers in realistic and stylised work, and at the interview I was told that they were very impressed with the portfolio.
No, they just asked who I'm meeting, I said the name of HR contact since the HR didn't reply to my email about who I was interviewing with, and they told me to wait.
Then I just sat there for half an hour.
Once at the interview there was no mention on being made to wait, just they said their names and titles and told me to start telling them about myself.
I really am not expecting a whole lot from an interview.
Like my brother during his interview for medical residency was given a tour of the facility and taken with other candidates to a 5 star restaurant with 4 course meal all paid for.
And this was before he'd decided if he wanted to join the hospital.
And medicine is more stressful than being in the game industry, they still find time to treat interviewing residents really well.
Interviewers are generally not going to dress up for your interview, they're going to wear whatever they normally wear on any other day (clothes they find comfortable). They're not trying to impress you with their snappy fashion sense, they're trying to determine if you're a good fit for their studio. As long as they're not wearing rags to your interview I wouldn't get too huffy about them not being "presentable".
People can look/be tired for lots of reasons, I wouldn't jump to conclusions about people being overworked just because you think they look tired.
If I dress better than them am I a good fit for their studio? Like there doesn't seem to be a dresscode tbh, everything feels very informal. I just didn't think this was the case for an interview.
I think it just comes down to the studio in the end.
Maybe lean more towards casual-professional or formal-casual.
Hence was wondering if they were overworked, they didn't even get my resume right.
If you come in wearing a suit and tie to a game artist interview, it'll probably be mentioned, and people will think its a bit odd, but no one is going to not hire you because you were perceived as over-dressed if your work is good and people like you.
games industry interviews, particularly art interviews, tend to be pretty casual. People are not going to dress up for you, most of the time they have a ton of other stuff going on and they'll only be there for part of the interview anyway. Sometimes people get pulled in at the last minute without even knowing they were going to be a part of the interview.
You are definitely over-thinking the dress code thing, both on your part and the part of your interviewers. It just is not that big of a deal.
Regardless,
I wonder if its possible to do something to make interview schedules more organised. I mean if you're being pulled last minute into an interview you haven't really prepared yourself to interview a candidate, which is why my experience felt very bizarre.
Its just not professional, like I understand the casual nature of the industry (I once saw a man in a lungi at a studio) but usually its always best practice for both sides to prepare for an interview, else as a candidate I start wondering if they are a good fit for me.
I wonder how many candidates think this way, maybe its time they started to do so?
Both sides need to take an effort. Atleast that's been the case in every other industry I've interviewed at (or heard of)
I'm not talking about some random dude being picked at the last minute to interview someone and knowing nothing about them. Lots of times interviews take all day, with multiple interviewers or groups of interviewers coming in and out all day. Sometimes you grab someone you hadn't thought of and ask if they'd like to sit in on the interview so they can get a feel for a candidate.
My point is that it's a pretty casual industry, including in interviews, and if you are expecting people to dress up to interview you, I think you are going to be disappointed 9 times out of 10.
It has nothing to do with the company not respecting you or not "making an effort". It's a fairly standard industry thing.
Like its fair if its all about my art, but then how are they getting a feel about what I'd be like to work with?
I wish it would have been a day long interview, or I could have gotten to see the studio so I can get a feel for what its like to work with them.
They were so tied down with NDA's it felt like fort knox in there, couldn't even make eye contact with people.
Its why I was assuming it was a multistep interview when they said they were really happy with me and would contact me in a week.
I think its necessary to be professional where its expected and that requires some prior planning.
In this case it really felt like they were seeing my work for the first time.
It was totally disorganised.
Its why I'm thinking of giving them some feedback about my experience to get their side, so we can work on it together for future interviews.
But if they're already like this would they really care?
I was wondering if people have had similar experiences or if this is just a one off thing.
What do you think about the writing to them about giving feedback for the interview?
Some industries I've been associated with have interview feedback forms for candidates to get a feel for how they felt about the process. I feel that might be a step in the right direction so there's that human connection.
I wouldn't go flip flop casual for an interview though, new hires usually try hard in the beginning and loosen up over time, so If I saw someone in flip flops and shorts on the first interview I would be a bit worried.
Remember that the interview probably means a lot more to you than to them, for you it might be a chance that comes once a month or once a year, but for them you might just be one of many interviews they have that day.
As for Japanese companies, I have both interviewed and been interviewed by Japanese companies and same thing there, they won't specifically dress up for you, but HR and people in general are usually more well dressed but I have had my fair share of flip floppers there as well, but people coming in for interviews usually wear a suite especially if it's their first job.
for pretty much all the interviews I have ever been to I wear nice jeans, clean, stylish sneakers, and a casual button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, or short sleeves if it's summer. a clean well put together look that shows I have enough self awareness to know an interview is a little more formal than the day to day, but not overly dressy. I have heard stories of people showing up for game art job interviews in a full on suit and....it's a bit weird.
and most importantly: deodorant. I know it sounds like common sense....but having been in some interviews and even day to day in some studios...apparently not. Although I was a sweaty nervous mess in my first game studio interview as well, but atleast the anti persperant was helping me keep it together :P
in my day to day I usually rock the jeans and tshirt look, and sometimes in summer shorts and flip flops if I am feeling casual. I used to be pretty sloppy and wear tank tops in the peak of summer but It's not really a good look, even at somewhere casual like a game studio. so I draw the line at t-shirts now.
I once hear from a mentor of mine about the buttons rule in the game industry and I find it kinda is actually like this:
artists and designers and most programmers: no buttons, just tshirts and jeans
mid level producers: polo shirts with 2-3 buttons usually
high level producers and management: usually a dress shirt with lots of buttons
CEOs and Top level management : they're so important that they actually cover all their buttons with a tie.
its a funny little joke but look around at most game studios and it's kinda true.
as for the having to wait 30 mins, that's pretty rough, I have had similar situations in the past, sometimes meetings run a bit late and a lead has to jet to an interview but needs to hit the bathroom in between etc. I highly doubt they were going out of their way to be late, sometimes things just happen.
As for randomly pulling in other team members into interviews, it happens, sometimes key people are out sick and so someone else can fill in, but most people are not going to dress up for an interview session regardless. there is a wide range of personal styles in the industry, such as people who are heavily tattooed, in some jobs that's looked down upon, but in games no one bats an eye. its just different culture than more professional jobs like the medical, financial or law fields etc.
I think I will just keep to dressing the same way. I think the suit bit is overkill though for the japanese company it was expected atleast from what I read from other people interviewing there. And the interviewers were also very formally dressed.
What about sending feedback for the interview to the company? Like I genuinely want to tell them about my experience but I'm worried they might take it the wrong way.
Like this is the first time I got to meet with them personally, and I would really like to know where I've fallen short so I can work on that an reapply successfully.
Fact is I don't think its my portfolio, atleast not this time, since they told me how impressed they were with what I had at the interview, and it was an internship position, so unless they were bluffing I don't really know.
They sure sounded like they wanted to start with me right away to, so I'm confused about what happened.
It is very difficult in touch with them now for some reason.
A colleague at another company mentioned that "it sounds like "company name" o_O
Even glassdoor seems to have similar experiences, so there seems to be something wrong internally that needs fixing I feel.
I kinda want to name the company just to make people aware, and also make a thread about other interview experiences in the AAA game industry I found to be unprofessional, like giving an week long arttest then not responding for 3 months later saying that the position is no longer there when the job listing is still on the site to this day.
Do they blacklist you as an outsider if you speak out genuinely hoping to make a change? Like its something I want to address so it benefits everyone.
The dress code is one thing but there were a lot of aspects about the interview process that seemed unprofessional.
I understand that in most cases the candidates interviewing for a first job with a company don't have a lot of leverage, but its no reason to be unprofessional, especially for a well established AAA company.
Sending a polite email with some feedback letting them know what you thought of the interview process is probably fine.
I would not make a public thread airing your grievances with the company over perceived unprofessionalism, that is...not a good look.
I can only contact on linkedin at this point since there is no email address they gave me.
And its not grievances, just oversights that should be addressed. A lot of people on polycount only get the rosy side of getting into dream jobs so I feel that its important to also showcase the other side to give them a better idea of what they're getting into.
Like I understand that candidates are on the receiving end of things and many times have to just put up with the way things are, but it isn't wrong to try and address the situation so that it has a positive effect on all concerned.
Personally, dress code and uniforms usually exist for a reason. And for good reasons. Same reason I keep a separate office at home and dont work in pjs. If the crew is dressed casual, the ship better be fucking immaculate. Sounds like it's not.
Imo: I would seriously throw out all the weak parts and improve the presentation of the good ones. In my experience quality is more important then quantity. You have some great skills but you hiding them behind a lot of haze. Maybe make a thread about your portfolio instead to get some more feedback.
I actually asked the interviewers later about the portfolio and they said it was great. They had no idea I'd been rejected, so not sure what happened internally or who was responsible for the final say.
I mean as far as being for a character artist internship it was certainly good enough according to them.
I did get a few suggestions to improve rendering on a few pieces so I'm looking into that, but it wasn't seen as the reason for the rejection. To be fair they don't know why I was rejected and told me to just keep applying.
I understand as artists we keep beating ourselves about this aspect every time there's a rejection, in the sense that its the only thing we can change. But there are several factors that influence the hiring process.
I've had art test's go without reply for months followed by "position is no longer there and feedback can't be given", to an entire studio get liquidated a few weeks into my review process.
The main challenge I'm facing with portfolio improvements is depending on who I ask, (and these aren't people I'm applying for jobs with just general artists around the internet) the critique is so arbitrary that the consensus seems to be scrap the entire portfolio and start over.
A piece that's admired by some is despised by others. Its bizarre really.
Of course I'd be happy to receive critique regardless since I want to keep improving.
Most I've done is asked for some feedback, though honestly there is lot else I have to keep myself occupied.
I still feel a dress code ought to be enforced atleast for interviews. Otherwise it feels like a frat house.
Quality is always relative. Most likely someone else was better then you or they ditched, postponed the whole internship position.
For instance I've been told work is good for character artist role, but you don't have the professional industry job experience for a senior role which we're hiring for right now. So they don't dwell too much on the technical/subjective side and I haven't received any critique that suggest that I don't have the process down to make characters.
Like some aspects I can improve certainly like hair for instance, but on a team you rarely work on every aspect all at once (which is what I do freelance) and I've seen new hires not having all aspects down.
So while its great to receive critique and improve, I seriously doubt there is a 1 to 1 correlation between the quality of your portfolio of work and what you actually get hired at a studio and what you're paid to do as a service, unless you are hired for super specialised roles like the character artists working on the mech dinosaurs on Horizon Zero Dawn who have engineering backgrounds/work with industrial designers.
I try to take the best of both, a good lot I've had to figure out on my own though.
I find that much of the recruitment process seems to follow an arbitrary set of rules to reduce risk, but this is not always the best approach since you lose out on hiring people that could offer a lot more than just do what their told and leave.
I understand portfolio is king (but this is debatable if you actually look at all the people hired there doesn't seem to be any bar at all), isn't it important to appreciate other aspects that a candidate brings to the company from a growth perspective, otherwise I feel like a fast food worker.
Not that this is a bad approach, its just that I could offer so much more by comparison for the good of a company.
Does your company give you sufficient support to manage raising children like child care subsidy and on site day care with less over time and shorter work hours? Like if coworkers are literally working with no sleep as a result of caring for kids, this is something the company ought to address immediately for the goodwill of its workforce.
Like working with no sleep would affect the quality of the work you produce so maybe an arrangement to remote contract some of the work might be a good approach.
Coming from the culture I'm from, best child care is family since we all live in joint families.
Somebody like you is always going to going against the current. While you may not be good enough to get a disposable job at bigcompany, you definitely have all the skills necessary to publish your own work which will be appreciated by gamers despite its non-AAA perfection.
Searching for work is a full time job that seems to require a certain skillset and personality not everybody is going to have or want to develop. My advice: life isnt meant to be a constant struggle. If you feel like it is, change course. Find somewhere else to hunt.
In the time you are applying and jumping through hoops for jobs, you could be monetizing the time you are spending in training by making games and 3d content for market.
Dont wait until you are "ready" to make money from your art. Consumer doesn't know the difference between one thing and another. Stuff you hate there is gonna be somebody out there who loves it.
Every time I've gone for an interview, I've worn the same basic thing. Long sleeve oxford shirt, with the top button undone. Jeans + belt. Simple leather slip-on shoes.
Basically, this. Except I'm not a male model, heh.
I'm just used to certain protocols when it comes to interviews for both sides, in the game industry the onus seems to be only on the applicant.
I just never expected to meet a recruiter in shorts and flip flops.
I wonder if they dress like that for non art positions like HR and management.
If you really want to be careful about it, stalk the parking lot, the day before. See what employees are wearing. Then simply dress yourself one notch better.
And don't worry if one interviewer wears a suit, while another wears a hawaiian shirt. It's friggin game development.
i'd like to know, which game studio has a hard dresscode. like i don't know any and i visited a few.
Don't be naked is usually the most common dresscode, but being casual is the norm, not the exception.
i'd be personally weirded out a bit, if everybody in a game studio would be wearing a suit.
In my experience, it's almost always the case that the less experience someone has, the more formally they dress for an interview. If you come in overdressed people's first impression is going to be that you're very green and a little bit out of touch with the nature of the industry. That's certainly not a deal-breaker, especially for a junior level hire, but it's also not the best first impression to give.
What is the nature of the industry? It seems totally arbitrary to me unless you mean the more stereotypical game developer dress codes which are usually unkempt hair, oversized hoodies with a general air of shabbiness.
Like that's what I've seen the majority wear in studios I've visited and many of these studios hire from local game dev schools so I'm not sure if there's a correlation there. No one seemed to have a problem with it. Desks were also extremely messy, junk food wrappers etc, sort of like organised chaos. I mean people are busy so probably don't get to make time to clean until end of the week.
Something like this (no offence intended, many of my friends dress this way too, I don't think it has any bearing on the game dev work they actualy do though. Just that they are pretty into the games they play so doesn't give them time to focus on other aspects such as grooming and wearing fitting clothing)
9:38
There's more examples in the movie Grandma's Boy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FCR4Jop8PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ltORkYAdVk
Many employees at this studio seemed to sport this, like honestly they're not there to make a fashion statement, but I would never dress this way for an interview just feels unprofessional. Like maybe the art team would dress like the examples above, but there's HR, producers that attend might not, so better to keep it simple formal casual like examples from Eric etc above.
An interview is meant to have a certain standard usually to keep things focused on the task at hand. Meaning carrying it out.
Like you're hiring a person for a service, that's what the interview is for. A dress code makes the first impression a simple affair.
If they turned up in a suit of armor and had trouble getting through the door since their sword was too long, probably won't have time to get into the actual interview process.
And every studio is different, what Alex Javor meant was that usually across all industries there is a dresscode for interviews, which unless a suit is considered mandatory is usually what Eric mentioned up there i.e formal casual.
And how casual is casual? And someone in formal casual isn't inexperienced. I mean there are the sales/marketing nuts who dress to impress so they tend to go overboard, but that's kinda why dress codes are a good idea for interviews.
Like my first impression of my interviewer in shorts and flip flops wasn't inexperienced person (though I'm starting to think that given how the interview went) But underdressed for an interview certainly, and certainly didn't do a whole lot to instill any confidence in the company.
If they can't take some time to prepare for an interview, imagine working for them, going to be a chaotic mess. And I do understand a lot of people are prepared to deal with this for reasons so there's that.
If it were me, I'd try to fix that if it benefits their day to day operations in some way.
Seriously though, read through the advice given here by people who've worked in games for a while and don't over-think things.
The interview in a game studio is basically to ferret out one thing ... are you someone we could collaborate with on a day-to-day basis without getting pissed off you aren't pulling your own weight, or smelling bad, or speaking unintelligibly.
That's it.
Resume and portfolio were assessed before you got to the face-to-face. So it's not about skill, nor talent. It's about people skills. Self awareness. Absence or presence of asshole-ism. Comfort in your own skin. What is this person really like, and will they fit our culture.
Over-dressing is one little red flag, that maybe this person doesn't get it. Looks like it's going to be a bit more work to get them up to speed.
I had a Japanese company send me emails for a year and a half to get me over for an interview for an Art director position and when I finally went the art guys still wore their casual daily clothes, and nobody cares, me included, usually it's the other way around they want to give a sense of freedom and fun, it's a game company after all.