Is it worth to send a resume to big companies if you don't have work experience in game studios?
polycounter lvl 5
I started to think more and more that I need to find a job in a game studio. One of the main requirements is that it should be a rather big studio (like Ubisoft/Square Enix/etc), so it can offer relocation to the USA/Japan/Canada/Europe from Russia.
Question: is it worth to spend time applying resume to such companies (writing cover letter per company might be a trouble, I guess) or it's better to focus on portfolio and try to promote yourself on Artstation, for example, so the recruiter will find me on his own?
I personally never worked in game studios before, so it might be a problem as I don't have N years of experience working on AAA projects (that's why I think that sending resumes will be worthless).
I understand that I need a really outstanding portfolio in order to make interest from a big studio. To be honest, I never worked seriously on it, because my main focus was on creating game assets for UE4 Marketplace and making personal/educational/open-source projects. But I also fear that spending a lot of time on the portfolio also might be useless as it won't give any guarantee that AAA-studios will have any interest in me (it could be cheaper to hire somebody on-site).
I understand that I need a really outstanding portfolio in order to make interest from a big studio. To be honest, I never worked seriously on it, because my main focus was on creating game assets for UE4 Marketplace and making personal/educational/open-source projects. But I also fear that spending a lot of time on the portfolio also might be useless as it won't give any guarantee that AAA-studios will have any interest in me (it could be cheaper to hire somebody on-site).
I want to try myself as an environment artist or technical artist. Everything, related to Art, I learned by myself (I started to learn 4+ years ago). I have a degree in computer science and a rather good programming skills, so mostly I'm receiving invitations to the job interview, related to programming positions (not what I want now). As for Art/GameDev positions - I receive invitations only from local companies, which is also not what I want.
Replies
But in the text of your question, you specify that you're applying to studios in other countries. That's probably not worth your time, unless it's a country that allows open immigration with your own (like between two EU countries). Visa sponsorship is expensive, and most countries have laws that make it virtually impossible to bring in immigrants for entry-level positions.
Apply to local game developers and outsourcing studios, or even find individual freelance work. Once you have five years of so of experience under your belt, visa sponsorship becomes a much more realistic possibility.
However as pointed out above, finding the first job abroad in a country where you need a Visa it would be very difficult because to be considered for a position where you need sponsorship, the company must be really interested in you.
That means either that:
1) You are an outstanding artist that is better than the majority of the artist in that country
OR
2) You bring something to the table that benefits the company. This usually means experience in a lead role that you don't have.
OR
3) You are famous for some reason even if you are not the best ( maybe you got interviewed, you won competition like ArtStation etc. )
If the company is interested they still have to convince the country to sponsor your Visa, that's why you want one of the 3 things that i mentioned above. Because the legals that will release the Visa want explanation and proof of why a company want to hire a foreigner.
There are some countries where the immigration is less strict. USA ? Don't even think about it. EU ? a bit easier.
For Japan the "pure" japanese companies want proficiency in japanese language at N2 level more or less. The more international companies like Square Enix, Platinum Games and similar are ok with english but want some years of experience ( usually 3 or 5 ).
Square seems to not care though from what i read on their career page...
I also read about some concept artists that got hired from Bandai and Capcom after college but they were very very good.
I know that in Russia there are some outsourcing companies that works for AAA companies, maybe you can try applying there ?
According to Meloncov / Andreicus answers, I guess I have two possibilities now: to become a famous/outstanding artist or work on local companies for 5+ years.
The problem that after 5+ years it might be impossible to move out of my country due to political reasons. Don't want to take that risk just for the record in a resume, which also won't give you any guarantees.
So the only way I see now is to continue making better and better works until I become valuable enough for hiring.
The worst thing that could happen is that they say no or don't reply.