1. PREPARING FOR YOUR
CAREER
AN INSIDERS PERSPECTIVE ON
GETTING HIRED
A N D M A N A G I N G YO U R C A R E E R
BRIAN PELLETIER
BPELLETIER@LEARNINGGAM.ES

2. WHO AM I?
 20 years in games industry
 Helped build Raven teams
 Developed 16+ retail games
 Art Director & Creative Director

4. CAREER JOURNEY
 Marvel Comics:
 Freelance Artist
 Raven Software - 5 years
 Artist - 2D/3D/Animation
 Art Manager
 Lead Artist

5. CAREER JOURNEY
 Activision / Raven – 13 years:
 Art Director
 Project Leader/Creative Director
 Artist 2D/3D
 Games Learning Society / Learning Games Network
 Art Director
 Creative Director
 Head of Project Development

6. CAREER PATH
 Production Path



Increase skills and experience over time
Become and expert at your craft
Mentor and Train others
 Management & Leadership Path >> Me

Learn management skills



Organize production for others
People Leader


training
personnel issues
More responsibility – more pay

More headaches!

7. WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU
 Hired over 40 people
 Reviewed thousands of resumes and Portfolios
 Conducted 100’s of interviews
 I’m still at it

8. THE HIRING PROCESS
 RESUME
 PORTFOLIO
 PHONE INTERVIEW
 ON SITE INTERVIEW
 COVER LETTER AND THANK YOU

9. RESUME
WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR

10. RESUME: WHAT I LOOK FOR
 Easy to Read
 Skills
 Do you fit the requirements
 Software Programs
 Doesn’t matter which ones
 Experience
 Yes! even for entry level position >>

11. RESUME: EXPERIENCE
 Hiring for a team position:
 Experience working with others

Group projects – class project or with friends
List the projects
 Number of team members
 What your roles were

 Internships
 Join a Mod group
 Create your own game/s

Shows passion / self motivation / proactive

12. PORTFOLIO
WHAT I WANT TO SEE

13. PORTFOLIO: WHAT I WANT TO SEE
 Blogs vs. Websites
 Quality – eye for detail
 Instant reaction
 Well rounded skills
 Area of Specialty
 What is your focus?
 Quality over Quantity

14. PORTFOLIO: WHAT I WANT TO SEE
 Consistency
 Diamond in the rough syndrome
 3 examples with same quality
 Compare yourself to others
 Internet – world at your fingertips
 Never plagiarize!
 See internet…
 Differentiate yourself from classmates

15. PORTFOLIO: WHAT YOU SHOULD SEE
 Comparison of entry level art
1
2

16. PORTFOLIO: WHAT YOU SHOULD SEE
 Comparison of entry level art
3

17. PORTFOLIO: WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
 Continue to build your portfolio
 Work on new art to better your portfolio
 After school – it took me 3 portfolios to get Marvel Gig.
 During Career – continue to build portfolio
 Catalogue your work
 Be prepared
 I didn’t save enough images of my game art
 Create Process Images
 Create step by step images to show your process

18. STEP BY STEP EXAMPLE

19. PHONE INTERVIEW
WHAT I WANT TO KNOW

20. PHONE INTERVIEW: DIGGING DEEPER
 Okay, so we like your Resume and Portfolio
 Screening process overview:
 Did you do what you say you did
 How well do you know your programs
 Passion enthusiasm
 How well do you work with others
 Your potential to get better
 Personality / Culture fit

21. PHONE INTERVIEW: DIGGING DEEPER
 Be prepared to answer the questions
 Did you do what you say you did, and…
 …How well do you know your programs
 Tell me the process and programs you used to create “X”?
 How did you get your reference?
 What stock models or textures did you use?
 What part of “X” was created by someone else?
 What feature of the program did you use to create “A & B”?
 What problems did you encounter?

How did you overcome?

22. PHONE INTERVIEW: DIGGING DEEPER
 How well do you work with others?
 What was the project you worked on?
 What was your role?
 What was main factor in the success of project?
 What was the biggest issue facing the project?



Tell me a time when you disagreed with a teammate?
Explain a situation where you disagreed with your instructor?


How did you overcome?
How did you work through the issues?
Besides the tasks given to you, how did you help your team succeed

23. PHONE INTERVIEW: DIGGING DEEPER
 Passion, Personality and Culture Fit
 What Artists inspire you?
 What games inspire you?


Where/what do you see yourself doing in 5 years?



Be truthful if not the games (or kind) the company makes
Be honest! Don’t pander to what you “think” I want to hear
What do you do for fun?
Who are your heroes?

24. PHONE INTERVIEW: DIGGING DEEPER
 What are YOU screening the employer for?
 Prepare questions to ask
 Do your homework on employer
 Are they a good fit for you?
 Be respectful and grateful

25. ON SITE INTERVIEW
DO YOU FIT IN?

26. ON SITE INTERVIEW: HOW DOES IT FEEL?
 Congrats, We like you enough to spend money on you.
 If we weren’t serious about hiring you, we wouldn’t be flying
you out. Or spending our precious time with you.
 Be courteous, appreciative and respectful.
 Dress to impress
 This is our first date
 Do we want to commit to a relationship?

27. COVER LETTERS
WHAT IT TELLS ME

28. COVER AND THANK YOU LETTERS
 Written communication skills – it matters.
 Communicate Passion and Enthusiasm
 Show knowledge of potential employer
 Follow up with any extra info or clarification
 Thank by name and be appreciative – mean it!

29. THE BIG SECRET
I HIRE PERSONALITIES FIRST
SKILLS SECOND

30. CREATE OPPORTUNITIES
 Get Discovered:
 Create Fan Art…with a twist!
 Re-imaging their universe – be original
 Put on message boards / fan sites
 Post your Artwork on Art sites
 Enter Contests
 All the art sites do them

31. LAST WORDS
“Choose a job you love, and you will
never have to work a day in your life.”
Confucius

32. LAST WORDS 
THANK YOU
BRIAN PELLETIER
bpelletier@learninggam.es