Pro Advice
Hall of Fame Week Panel Discusses How to Break into the Games Industry
Full Sail grads gave students advice on navigating the competitive industry and dealing with rejection.
At Hall of Fame 14, numerous Full Sail grads came together to share their knowledge and life experience with students in a series of panels and presentations covering a range of topics including life after graduation, new technologies, industry tips, and more. In the “Life after Full Sail: Breaking into the Games Industry” panel, moderated by Full Sail staff member Will Jenson, students learned how to set themselves apart when breaking into this competitive industry. Full Sail grads Narie Kay (Game Design), Matthew Potthoff (Entertainment Business), and Taylor Collins (Game Design) shared interview tips, resume advice, and more.
As students begin their journeys into the games industry, they will be met with a lot of feedback, both positive and negative, in the form of job acceptances or rejections. The panelists shared their own anecdotes of rejections to inspire the students to lead with optimism and patience after these experiences, as the gaming industry is a small place where everyone knows everyone and there is no room for ego. While Matthew Potthoff is now the current Director of Gaming & Esports at PIVOT Agency, and a former professional esports player, he was once applying for jobs like anyone else. He shared a story about how he went into an interview with Ubisoft extremely confident that he would get the role, but ultimately, the position went to someone else, despite how good of a fit Matt believed himself to be.
“I encourage you guys not to be discouraged. Even if you feel you’re qualified or something doesn’t happen, just keep working the system,” he told students.
Panelists also gave tips and tricks on how to prepare for interviews, which is often an employer's first impression of an employee and helps them determine who is the right fit for their company.
“This is a weird one,” said Game Design grad Taylor Collins, who currently works as a User Researcher at 2K before sharing her method for interview prep.
“I like to listen to, like, a hype song before my interview," she said. "My go-to is ‘Could’ve Been Me’ by The Struts. [In Zoom interviews], I also put sticky notes on my computer. I got this from a [fellow] Full Sail grad. I put ‘breathe’ and ‘smile’ and ‘you got it,’ just as little reminders.”
During the panel, students were free to raise their hands and ask questions. One student asked if there’s any hope of pursuing a company again after a rejection, and Narie Kay, Senior Producer at Rocket Science, explained that she was rejected 15 times before she was finally accepted for a position at Blizzard Entertainment. Thankfully, she was tenacious and kept applying over years and years, and ultimately her hard work paid off.
“'No' is not forever,” she explains. “It’s just 'not right now.'”
“As long as you don’t burn that bridge,” Matthew tacked on, emphasizing how important it is to maintain positive relationships throughout one's career.
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