There
are many "right" answers to how to do a resume correctly. The following
is what I think about when I am crafting one for an employer.
I try to include these 5 sections as my base: Summary, Skills, Game Projects, Work Experience, & Education. As my relevant work experience grew, I cut out the Game Projects section, which was dedicated to any game projects that weren't for an employer.
Your Summary should be 2-3 sentences stating specific career
interests, including any relevant highlights that qualify you for these
interests. You never want to leave the employer questioning what
profession/skills you represent. A great area to read some summaries for
the resume is over at Susan Ireland's website:
http://susanireland.com/job-lounge/examples-of-good-resume-summary-statements/
Consider having a Skills section created with a Word Table. Give it 2-3 columns to organize your skills, making it easier for the reader to understand what exactly you offer. When I was starting out, I had a column for design, production, & software. I was able to identify the specific principles I had learned, as well as the software unique to each discipline in a clean, concise manner.
In your Game Projects section you should showcase your top 2-3 game projects. Include the title of the project, your role (only one - you need to know what you are primarily on the team), and the date range (month/year format) that you worked on this project. You'll want some bullet points under each project to better define what you have done. In as few bullet points as possible (preferably 2-3 bullet points per project) explain WHAT you did and HOW you did it.
As for Work Experience, address any previous experience you have. If your work experience is irrelevant, you still probably want it on your resume, but maybe leave out the bullet points. If you were a manager at a retail store, the reader can safely assume what your responsibilities were. If you have a truly unique point, provide it similar to how you wrote your Game Projects section.
For the Education section, a reader will expect to see your school's name, geographic location, and graduation date (month/year format). If your GPA is above a 3.0, I recommend including this information, as well as any honors/awards you are given at graduation. Keep this section to 2 lines per education unless you wrote a thesis or have a large capstone project that doesn't fit in your Game Projects section.
If you have volunteer work, served in a nation's Military, or have other notable accomplishments, consider adding those in their own section, as well. Feel free to ask others in the community for feedback on your resume.
Many people expect your resume to be no longer than 1 page. Remember, you have LinkedIn & your portfolio to effectively elaborate on what you have done. The resume's main purpose is to land you that first interview. Afterwards, it's mostly irrelevant, as your other materials will be what helps you seal the deal. Oh, and please remember, Google is your friend. Search for things like "Game Design Resumes", click the "images" tab, and see what's out there. Don't kill yourself trying to reinvent the wheel.
I hope this helps you get started on preparing your resume for the game industry! Remember, there is more than one "right" way to write the resume. This is how I would start off. Comment below if you have any questions or thoughts!
I try to include these 5 sections as my base: Summary, Skills, Game Projects, Work Experience, & Education. As my relevant work experience grew, I cut out the Game Projects section, which was dedicated to any game projects that weren't for an employer.
Your Summary should be 2-3 sentences stating specific career
interests, including any relevant highlights that qualify you for these
interests. You never want to leave the employer questioning what
profession/skills you represent. A great area to read some summaries for
the resume is over at Susan Ireland's website:
http://susanireland.com/job-lounge/examples-of-good-resume-summary-statements/
Consider having a Skills section created with a Word Table. Give it 2-3 columns to organize your skills, making it easier for the reader to understand what exactly you offer. When I was starting out, I had a column for design, production, & software. I was able to identify the specific principles I had learned, as well as the software unique to each discipline in a clean, concise manner.
In your Game Projects section you should showcase your top 2-3 game projects. Include the title of the project, your role (only one - you need to know what you are primarily on the team), and the date range (month/year format) that you worked on this project. You'll want some bullet points under each project to better define what you have done. In as few bullet points as possible (preferably 2-3 bullet points per project) explain WHAT you did and HOW you did it.
As for Work Experience, address any previous experience you have. If your work experience is irrelevant, you still probably want it on your resume, but maybe leave out the bullet points. If you were a manager at a retail store, the reader can safely assume what your responsibilities were. If you have a truly unique point, provide it similar to how you wrote your Game Projects section.
For the Education section, a reader will expect to see your school's name, geographic location, and graduation date (month/year format). If your GPA is above a 3.0, I recommend including this information, as well as any honors/awards you are given at graduation. Keep this section to 2 lines per education unless you wrote a thesis or have a large capstone project that doesn't fit in your Game Projects section.
If you have volunteer work, served in a nation's Military, or have other notable accomplishments, consider adding those in their own section, as well. Feel free to ask others in the community for feedback on your resume.
Many people expect your resume to be no longer than 1 page. Remember, you have LinkedIn & your portfolio to effectively elaborate on what you have done. The resume's main purpose is to land you that first interview. Afterwards, it's mostly irrelevant, as your other materials will be what helps you seal the deal. Oh, and please remember, Google is your friend. Search for things like "Game Design Resumes", click the "images" tab, and see what's out there. Don't kill yourself trying to reinvent the wheel.
I hope this helps you get started on preparing your resume for the game industry! Remember, there is more than one "right" way to write the resume. This is how I would start off. Comment below if you have any questions or thoughts!
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