71: Resume, Cover Letter, and Getting a Job with Sonia Michaels

Sonia Michaels - “There are a lot of really qualified people out there and so when I have three people that have similar degrees, similar qualifications, and similar experience. You're going to hire the one that seems like they're going to be the best to work with because no one wants to work with a jerk.”
Sonia Michaels is a senior lecturer at Digipen where she helps students create outstanding career search materials, develop their professional networking skills, and launch their careers in the game industry. Under her guidance, students and alumni have earned positions at Blizzard, Riot Games, Bungie, Microsoft, Amazon, and many more.
Keypoints:
She didn't know there was a job opportunity for teaching communication within the game industry, until she began preparing her students at DigiPen to launch their careers There is no awesome job called Game Idea Guy Critical thinking is essential Using custom resumes and cover letter How to do phone interviews   Important to explain how you will fit in with the company and what you will contribute Awesome people are helping to reduce crunch time practices Avoid using a premade template Add your personal branding into your resume No one wants to work with a jerk! Excited about more narrative driven games And much more Connect:
EmailL sonia.michaels@gmail.com / smichaels@digipen.edu Twitter : @soniaghm Linkedin  DigiPen Institute of Technology  Career Consulting - soyouwanttomakegames  GDC Sonia Michaels: Get Noticed & Get Hired   Resources:
GDC Conference Associate  Chris Deleon Gamkedo Game developer Resources by David Arcila  Trello  Kate Edwards Former IGDA Exec. Director and now does Game Culturalization on Geogrify.com GDC Mata Haggis: Storytelling Tools to Boost Your Indie Game’s Narrative and Gameplay  People Remember that knowledge is only Potential power, Execution is the game. I highly encourage you take what you learn and put it to good use. Don’t let it go to waste. Connect with my guests and ask them questions, they are willing to help. Comment below to share your thoughts and experience because I read every single message. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more inspiring stories. Thank you for your time! www.gamedevloadout.com