Graduate Advice

Aardvark Swift has a long tradition in helping people break into the games industry. Over the past 17 years we have assisted many new graduates in getting their first job in the industry and also helped experienced people move into games from other sectors.

The transition to next generation consoles has led to rapidly increasing development team sizes, and the growth of the mobile sector and on line gaming means there is unprecedented demand for development talent. It is still very tough to break into the industry, though, and competition for entry-level roles is intense. Successful applicants generally have a real passion for the games industry, are keen games players and get involved in hobbyist development projects, either individually or as part of a team.

The games industry in the UK is widespread. There are clusters of games developers across the country, and buoyant areas include the Midlands, the South East and the North West. The more flexible you can be when looking at areas the more chance you will have of success. It is often easier to be more restrictive about locations when you have completed at least one project.

Similarly it is also sensible to be as flexible as possible in terms of the type of role you are willing to consider as well as the genre of project. In the long term you might want to work on engine technology, but an opportunity to get experience working on Tools as a first step might be a more attainable (and still valuable) first step.  

Graduate CV Advice

Your CV is one of the most important recruitment tools you have, so spending time getting it right is well worth the effort. It will be initially assessed in a matter of seconds, and if the potential employer doesn’t see what they wish to almost instantaneously, your details will rapidly hit the “unsuccessful” pile.

Generally try to keep the length of your CV to 2 pages. Much more than that and you risk losing the attention of your reader. It should go without saying, but remember to proof read what you have written (even better get someone else to check it as well). Don’t just rely on spell checkers!  

1) Objective section. It is a good idea to start with a couple of lines outlining a little information about yourself and what you are hoping for. e.g. Somebody looking for an entry level programming role might write something like:

"I am a bright, talented graduate with strong C/C++ programming skills and a passion for computer games. I am looking for an entry level programming role that will allow me to grow and develop my coding skills."

You are looking to quickly highlight a couple of key skills that are relevant to the games industry in order to make an impact with the reader and make them want to read on.
 
2) Skills - a quick summary of your key skills is worth putting in next. Make sure the games relevant ones are again mentioned, e.g. C/C++, Direct X, Open GL etc for programmers, art packages (Maya, 3Dsmax etc) for Artists
 
3) Education - Most recent first. Try to pick out the most relevant aspects of your education and think about how they relate to the games industry. Think about how best to use the space - your degree is more important to prospective employers than your GCSEs for example, so accordingly it should have more space dedicated to it in your CV. Pick out modules that are relevant to the roles you are applying for and go into a little more detail on them. Make sure to include grades for individual modules.
 
4) Work History - Again try to make it as relevant to games / programming as possible. If you have done any commercial programming, for example, it might be that you have worked well in teams, worked to strict deadlines, have experience developing and modifying other peoples code. These are all skills that will transfer well into the games industry.
 
5) Additional info - Here you can let us know about the types of games you play / are interested in. Also be sure to talk about any demos / hobbyist development you have done. If you have demo's explain a little about their functionality - the volume of applicants for graduate roles means that people are more likely to spend time reviewing demos if they have an idea of what they are displaying. This is a good chance to get a prospective employer interested in your work.
 
Demo Advice