Comments on: Mixup – An endeavour in recruitment processes Hi Joao, Your experience is eerily close to mine (qualifications, motivation, everything). I did well in the programming tests and phone interviews, got good feedback but got dicked around and waited for weeks for confirmations and appointment dates. Many mooons later I was hired and over the next year I learned what caused the delay and why my recruitment worked out the way it did. Most games studios are at the mercy of tumultuous financial conditions. Whether it's a parent publisher changing the scope of the project or speculative investors altering their confidence in the company, the resulting budget for new hires shifts like the winds. One week the directors might approve a whole new team of artists and programmers for a pet project and the next week people are talking about layoffs. It's a really dynamic industry which is hard for outsiders to comprehend but the good part is that there are always opportunities arising. The staff in production (your future leads) will make up their minds quickly if a candidate can get the job done, the confusion comes from a mix of HR speak and the aforementioned changing conditions. tl;dr - You sound smart and motivated, hang in there and you will land your dream job, you just have to be patient. Hi Joao,

Your experience is eerily close to mine (qualifications, motivation, everything). I did well in the programming tests and phone interviews, got good feedback but got dicked around and waited for weeks for confirmations and appointment dates.

Many mooons later I was hired and over the next year I learned what caused the delay and why my recruitment worked out the way it did. Most games studios are at the mercy of tumultuous financial conditions. Whether it’s a parent publisher changing the scope of the project or speculative investors altering their confidence in the company, the resulting budget for new hires shifts like the winds.

One week the directors might approve a whole new team of artists and programmers for a pet project and the next week people are talking about layoffs. It’s a really dynamic industry which is hard for outsiders to comprehend but the good part is that there are always opportunities arising. The staff in production (your future leads) will make up their minds quickly if a candidate can get the job done, the confusion comes from a mix of HR speak and the aforementioned changing conditions.

tl;dr – You sound smart and motivated, hang in there and you will land your dream job, you just have to be patient.

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By: Joao-Costa/2011/05/10/mixup-an-endeavour-in-recruitment-processes/#comment-3813 Joao-Costa Tue, 10 May 2011 18:26:33 +0000 Yeah, it's pretty much always like that, not just for juniors/graduates, but for experienced staff as well. I've actually got as far as being offered a job in the past to have the contract never arrive, despite my chasing it up, and ended up taking a different job, only for the first company who never sent the contract to call me up in a panic having "caught up" with their backlog after "the HR department reshuffle" that my contract was "lost" in. I like to think of events like that as a good thing. A close shave. A disaster averted. I mean, you wouldn't want to work there, if that's how organised they are, would you? Yeah, it’s pretty much always like that, not just for juniors/graduates, but for experienced staff as well.

I’ve actually got as far as being offered a job in the past to have the contract never arrive, despite my chasing it up, and ended up taking a different job, only for the first company who never sent the contract to call me up in a panic having “caught up” with their backlog after “the HR department reshuffle” that my contract was “lost” in.

I like to think of events like that as a good thing. A close shave. A disaster averted.

I mean, you wouldn’t want to work there, if that’s how organised they are, would you?

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By: Geraldo Nascimento/2011/05/10/mixup-an-endeavour-in-recruitment-processes/#comment-3809 Geraldo Nascimento Tue, 10 May 2011 17:26:26 +0000 It seems that everyone has weird wacky stories about their recruitment experiences. At least we can all have a hearty laugh about that. It seems that everyone has weird wacky stories about their recruitment experiences.
At least we can all have a hearty laugh about that.

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By: Mitch Evans/2011/05/10/mixup-an-endeavour-in-recruitment-processes/#comment-3800 Mitch Evans Tue, 10 May 2011 15:11:22 +0000 Yeah I waited that much, in good faith, since I wasn't near my graduation date. Well... it wasn't a month straight without being contacted. But if you sum it all up, it's more than a month from application to the final answer. From that day on I changed my procedures as well, and they are mostly the same as yours. In fact, I have an offer between hands that I've been waiting for two weeks right now, and have been contacting every week the folk from the recruitment team, asking him if he has news (with immediate reply). I know in advance that these things take time, specially because this offer is from the US and I'm living in the european union... so, that cute little thing we enjoy in life called burocracy(ahah) takes a lot of time, specially the Visa. I guess that keep contacting him on a weekly basis is the best approach, no? Yeah I waited that much, in good faith, since I wasn’t near my graduation date.
Well… it wasn’t a month straight without being contacted. But if you sum it all up, it’s more than a month from application to the final answer.

From that day on I changed my procedures as well, and they are mostly the same as yours.

In fact, I have an offer between hands that I’ve been waiting for two weeks right now, and have been contacting every week the folk from the recruitment team, asking him if he has news (with immediate reply). I know in advance that these things take time, specially because this offer is from the US and I’m living in the european union… so, that cute little thing we enjoy in life called burocracy(ahah) takes a lot of time, specially the Visa. I guess that keep contacting him on a weekly basis is the best approach, no?

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By: Charbit Romain/2011/05/10/mixup-an-endeavour-in-recruitment-processes/#comment-3788 Charbit Romain Tue, 10 May 2011 12:11:02 +0000 Wow, that really sucks. I potentially could have had something like this happen to me, but dodged a bit of a bullet with it. I was offered an awesome internship interstate, but didn't accept right away because I was through to the final phase for another internship at a local company (after resume, photo interview, online test, and first in-person interview). My decision was going to be affected by which state my partner would get into uni in as well. When I was offered the local position, I decided to take that one, and made the calls. When I spoke to the interstate guy, he told me he was glad I'd decided that because they had just had funding cuts (govt-funded research) and he probably wouldn't have had a position for me. So all was OK in the end, but if I'd turned down the local job and my partner had accepted the interstate uni course we could have been in a bit of a pickle! Although it wasn't really anyone's fault, other than whoever decided to cut funding. Wow, that really sucks. I potentially could have had something like this happen to me, but dodged a bit of a bullet with it.
I was offered an awesome internship interstate, but didn’t accept right away because I was through to the final phase for another internship at a local company (after resume, photo interview, online test, and first in-person interview). My decision was going to be affected by which state my partner would get into uni in as well.
When I was offered the local position, I decided to take that one, and made the calls. When I spoke to the interstate guy, he told me he was glad I’d decided that because they had just had funding cuts (govt-funded research) and he probably wouldn’t have had a position for me.
So all was OK in the end, but if I’d turned down the local job and my partner had accepted the interstate uni course we could have been in a bit of a pickle! Although it wasn’t really anyone’s fault, other than whoever decided to cut funding.

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By: Geraldo Nascimento/2011/05/10/mixup-an-endeavour-in-recruitment-processes/#comment-3786 Geraldo Nascimento Tue, 10 May 2011 10:57:38 +0000 Thanks for your reply! I've had more headaches besides this one, unfortunately. Though none of them reached a "so close of getting the job" state. They had you working and didn't know your qualifications? I'm speechless! That's worse than what I wrote about! Really, thanks for your tips. I'm actively looking for a job right now and it's good and feels good to be prepared for this kind of situations. Bring it on! I just wanted to bring this delicate topic to discussion, stir things up a little bit. Thanks for your reply!

I’ve had more headaches besides this one, unfortunately. Though none of them reached a “so close of getting the job” state.

They had you working and didn’t know your qualifications? I’m speechless! That’s worse than what I wrote about!

Really, thanks for your tips. I’m actively looking for a job right now and it’s good and feels good to be prepared for this kind of situations. Bring it on!

I just wanted to bring this delicate topic to discussion, stir things up a little bit.

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By: Stitched/2011/05/10/mixup-an-endeavour-in-recruitment-processes/#comment-3784 Stitched Tue, 10 May 2011 10:40:40 +0000