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Non Gaming Discussions => Off-Topic => Topic started by: Knotter8 on July 13, 2005, 08:29:42 AM
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Hi there
My portfolio has gotten me a job interview tomorrow at an established games development assets studio in the Netherlands. They do some pretty big Cgi Intro and cutscenes work for gamedevelopers/publishers as well. The vacancy I\'m talking about is 3D character modeler onsite full time job.
So, they evidently see my high poly character stuff is worth it to invite me for an interview.
I haven\'t got any big substantial games development expierence other than 2 garage games projects from about 2 to 3 years ago, as an artist/modeler. I just passed on my OBJ meshes to the programmers who incorporated it in a Milkshape3D engine.
I can sincerely say my strengths are organic character modeling and concept design although I won\'t shy away from clean technical object meshes. In the last 3 years I switched from Maya to Cinema4D becuz of the p2p modeling i liked better in C4D. I might have to switch back in regards to the job.
So, any last minute advice for the actual job interview about what to say and what NOT to say would be very welcome.
* edit : i graduated Bc from arts academy in NL and I graduated certificate as \'3D producer\' from a private multimedia school after that. My last job as a webdesigner earned me about 1200 to 1400 Euros per month, which was pretty crappy for a fulltime job.
Greetz,
Knotter8
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I think of interviewing for jobs as a specialized skill that only comes with practice. You don\'t use that skill in anything else in life, so job interviews in general (the way most employers conduct them) are useless. They don\'t give the employer a realistic image of how the individual will perform in the job.
The only quick advice I could give is: prepare answers for all the bullshit interview questions that uncreative interviewers like to ask. I don\'t know if they do this in the Netherlands, but I\'m talking about things like "What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness? Describe a project you worked on that went well, and another that failed. What is your favorite book?" etc. Don\'t answer them truthfully. You have to come up with the optimal interview answer that will make you look good. A bullshit question deserves a bullshit answer, but you can\'t wait to come up with it at the last second. You need to prepare it ahead of time.
Save your truthful meaningful answers for the important questions that have to do specifically with the responsibilities of the job you\'re interviewing for.
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Thanx :)
But.. it sounds kinda tricky, the way you described the formal job interviews.
I\'ll do some preps then
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When they ask, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?", answer: "Celebrating the 5th anniversary of you asking me that question!", then kick them in the groin.
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Masturabate b4 hand just to get the jitters out I recomened at least 3 times in a row...
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I\'ll have to shake hands ! :eek:
Seriously though, the general consensus of the replies on my thead on CGtalk is that I really should consider myself lucky and not shoot myself in the foot.
Especially, considering the current economy and such....
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"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
I forgot about that question. They ALWAYS ask that one, and I hate it. If George Bush doesn\'t need to think 5 years into the future, why do I?
There are websites that list traditional interview questions. You should check these out. http://www.quintcareers.com/interview_questions.html
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I had one interview that was 1 hour+ of questions like others have stated above. They also wanted to know what type of person rubbed me the wrong way and just a ton of off the wall questions.
I left not knowing what they thought of me, only to get a call back telling me the job was mine. But they took to long to get back to me and I took another one the week before.
It can\'t hurt to prepare a little bit, but you don\'t want to come off as if you are reciting pre-written responses to the common questions. Just relax and be confident (fake it like I do if you must) and you\'ll do fine.
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I had an interview that lasted more than 6 hours. They take you from one manager to the next, and each one interviews you separately. You have to answer all the same questions 5 times, and by the end of the day you feel like a jabbering wreck from the nervous hospital.
Be sure to wear a suit jacket so they can\'t see your pit stains.
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Thanx for that list Coredweller !
I think I have those pretty much covered already.
Of course, this is a gamesdevelopment company we\'re talking about and the vacancy a 3d artist job so they invited me by means of portfolio evaluation. I read alot that crap or lesser portfolios get thrown away instantly.
Afaik, game dev/ game assets dev is mostly a team effort. I know i can work well in a team as well as solo. But indeed, some of those questions on that list look really ugh.
* edit ; i think tomorrows interview will be no longer than one hour. I mean... these guys have important game projects to do so it wouldn\'t look good on their side to \'waste\' more than 1 hour on one job candidate.
And I will dress neat & clean but not too formal. No suit, since the weather\'s too hot for it this week.
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I would defitley dress decent, tie yes it maybe hot outside but might be freezing inside from a/c. Remember you only get one chance at making a first impression, don\'t be a wise guy, and the interviewer is not your best friend. It\'s yes sir or no sir. Be professional.
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Above all else...
BE PROFESSIONAL
Answer questions like you are an authority in the field. Let them know that you know your shiz and that *you* are the man for the job.
Remember other people are vying for the same position as you. Maybe they are smarter and know more about 3D modeling but if you just act more professional (ie- great team/people/communication skills) this can set you on top. Most of this stuff is learned on the job anyway.
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If you want to impress them, just say "Y\'know *insert high profile game here* ?... I worked on that."
Then, when they check and find you have no credits on that title.. just say that they snubbed you.
It always works!
*waits for Knotter to fail*
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wear a suit, a matching one
i find it amusing to see people come into my workplace for interviews wearing dockers and a sport jacket of a different color
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ps- since no one said it..
Good luck!
*and don\'t be a douche ;)
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Yeah good luck buddy.
I\'m currently getting my resume together to start the search for a new job.
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Whenever they ask me the 5 year question I always tell them that I will have their jizob and they will be sitting on the beach sizoaking up rays and spizonging off free cizash from me taking over.
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the five year question? f**k that! i\'d say if i don\'t get this job, i see myself wearin my ski mask and working at my other "nightly" job, close to your house....:fro:...:D
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I\'m back from the interview !
Lemme try to explain how this day was very educational :
The interview didn\'t go butter smooth nor great, but it was faaaaar from a
disaster. And....it was short ; the core interview was about 15 minutes.
The interviewer breezed through my portfolio disc lightning fast (so when you get to the interview make sure you have discs or pics full of other great work. I was glad to have 2 discs of older work with me ! ).
Conclusion :
I assume he had already taken time to examine it extensively and this was just
his way of getting to the main \'issue\' ;
I\'m a Cinema4D & Maya guy. They work tight outsource assets production on 3DsMax.
For any guy who wants to get into the gaming industry I advise ; start with 3ds Max !
So, the outcome is that he offered me to do an offsite evaluation test ; becuz he did state that he especially liked my modeling of technical objects (which was a bit of a surprise becuz I thought i was moderate at it and organic character modeling was my main portfolio focus) If i succeed the evaluation test they\'ll offer me an internship. From what I\'ve seen in there in the offices, I know that will be very very very educational and it\'ll form the base for a good shot at the actual job.
The guys working there are a good 2 to 4 years younger than me so i kinda felt sucky about it about lagging behind in terms of what i could see they were doing.
Their workflow and methods also differ quite alot from the tutorials most are doing here on the internet. He called it \'blocking out\'. First create the general shape & body/limb dimension, afterwards the details. Alot of head tutorials i know start with eyes, or mouth, so that exactly the opposite direction of how they work.
I had to sign a NDA of course, but I can tell you they\'re working on HUGE high profile projects, seriously.
I also told the interviewer about the other job apps. I said honesty and clear communication were key to succes in my last job and he agreed, so i got the impression it wasn\'t disastrous to tell.
Ok, so now i know to a better extent & depth what this company is about and I\'ll surely do the evaluation test. But I also know the other companies (of which most are full gamesdevs and multimedia studios themselves) still have to reply and with them, the factor of \'creativity & concept\' will play a larger role in their recruitment.
My advice : get to know somehow, the company you want to apply at in the future and learn the software they are using. Read books about modern day game character modeling if you\'re aiming for that. and ow yeah.... Zbrush IS a major thing in nxt gen game development. Make sure u get to know it.
Greetz,
Knotter8
* edit : i was wearing office suit trousers and a neat short sleeve shirt and i really felt over-dressed compared to all the ppl i saw there including the interviewer himself. Alot of those super talented guys there looked & dressed like high schoolers or college dudes :eek:
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That\'s awesome... My ultimate goal is to do sound and music in the game industry, so, obviously I\'n impressed by you.
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I have an online webgallery at the cinema4d forum i\'m a member of. It contains a small amount of the target portfolio i made. Thumbnails are clickable of course.
Knotter8\'s target portfolio samples (http://www.cinema4d.nl/phpBB2/album_personal.php?user_id=722)
Goodluck with the sound design career !
The company i visited today also did some sound fx work although i have to note they do it in collaboration with a full sound fx studio.
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Looks pretty good , im no expert but looks decent to me
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I have had one job interview, I don\'t remember it, as I was sort of doped up durin\' it. Obviously, I done well and got the job. Since then I have had a semi-interview, which was just for when I got promoted. That one was a breeze, because promotions are all about ass-kissing.
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cool art porfolio. It seems like we have some quite a number of talented people in this forum. From web designers (No-One, MM, Vid, etc) to video special effects (MPTheory) to 3-D modeling (knotter8)...
interesting.
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Ok, the ones I\'m still waiting to reply ( of which several companies state they guarantee a reply )
- Guerrilla Games
- Khaeon
- PlayLogic
- RareWare
- Media Republic
- INDG
And I registered and submitted portfolio at Aswift.com who are gamedev recruiters.
Note : those online samples are justa fraction. The whole disc spans about 50 pages on technical modeling.
I\'m really anxious as to what Guerrilla\'s gonna say :bounce:
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Nice work Knotter.
As for my interview story, I\'ve been to what seems like a dozen interviews (counting college career fairs and all that). The last one I went to I NAILED it. I couldn\'t have done a better job, I think I surprised them and even myself.
It was a table of 4 people where I was doing most of the talking (out of my ass answering bs questions) and it ended with the big boss first looking & smiling at me saying "Well we\'re making decisions very quickly and will let you know within the week." She also started asking how much time would be needed for me to quit my other job to start work there and if I have reliable transportation, etc.. I left feeling 90% confident that I was getting the job.
Week passed with no call so I called them. Same old story, making decision within a week. Waited another week, no call so I emailed another person within the company who was part of the interview. No answer, so I said screw em.
A big company like that should have the professional courtesy to call like they said they would and at least say I didn\'t get the job. Welcome to the real world, patooey!!
I just finished up an internship for a small business. They\'re too small to take on a web designer but they did say they would need me for some freelance work which is cool . Also doing another site for a fee that has yet TBD.
But back to the subject, at the internship I learned a TON. I also have a decent amount of material to put on my portfolio. I\'m sure you\'ll learn & love the experience you get from working out in the field. It\'s not just the skills, but the environment of learning how to treat a client, to fake laugh with your boss, how to anal fist a Cherokee...
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Cool ! Thanx for sharing your experiences THX.
The guys at CGtalk say though that i shouldn\'t let the company run internship more than 3 months.
They\'ve seen it happen with interns and seemingly it\'s \'3 months stretch internship - fire - hire new intern\'.
I still have to ask to what extent any internship with them will cover costs (I\'d have to relocate) but imho those guys gave me some pretty good advice to watch my back about not being exploited.
No doubt though, that internship will/would be very learningfull.
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forgive my ignorance,
what is internship?
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Well, traditionally it\'s a term for college student\'s reallife work experience during college years at a company which is in his/her target workfield.
They can vary from 3 months to a full college year in duration. Most of the times companies only pay traveling expenses to intern students.
In regards to my situation ; He offered me \'internship\' becuz I lack concrete game dev experience years on resume.
I\'ve seen the studio, observed the stuff those guys are working on and yes, it\'s even a step ahead of some of CGtalk\'s very good members and very tailord to a tight production pipeline.
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Now i gets it. Reminds me some of those young nurses that work in the hospital. They just gathered some experience in the hospital for a few months, not really their job yet though...
so, i guess you will have quite an experience being intership there. Like you said, you are going to learn a lot there before you head out to a real job. Cool.
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First evaluation test though which probably consists of some modeling assignment.
I would learn alot from them, technically.
I\'ve been thinking alot about how they work and their core business ; right now I\'m inclined to say that jobs at the other companies - which are true full gamedevelopers - have more emphasis on 3D character concept & development......which would fit my profile better.
I\'ll keep all options open though :)
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do you know enough 3ds max to just jump right in and get to work? Or are you pretty new to the program?
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Nope..That\'s the \'barrier\' the interviewer pitched.
They run tight schedule outsource projects, which means regards to character modeling ;
concept sketch - directly to 3D model.
Full game dev studio\'s take more development time and phases for a character.
Of course, I\'m always willing to learn new 3D apps to get a great 3D job :thepimp:
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Originally posted by mm
i find it amusing to see people come into my workplace for interviews wearing dockers and a sport jacket of a different color
I can\'t imagine anyone dressing up like that for a job interview...at Denny\'s....;)
3dsmax is a breeze... once you get past the quirks....
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Originally posted by mm
wear a suit, a matching one
i find it amusing to see people come into my workplace for interviews wearing dockers and a sport jacket of a different color
You can actually get a job as an egotist?
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Having been there now, i think it\'s really pompous to go to game dev job interviews in a suit.
Being neat well dressed goes without saying, but for such companies a suit is
just unwanted display of corporate bizz
behaviour.
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ahh good point. These companies tend to focus more on the creative side I guess.
I have to say though I used to hate dressing up, walking in the city in nice duds makes you look & feel important. :) I still only have two ties though lol.
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Well, when i was a kid , back in the early eighties i thought suits looked cool. Then in the nineties up until about 2003 i hated suits.
Since my last job (2003 - 2005) i have 1 single suit. No tie though. It still feels kind of like I\'m dressing more important than i am.
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Yes but you want to look important, your selling your services& you want to look top shelf. I would pickup a couple of qaulity ties, i love wearing ties.
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Have to dust one of my ties off, have an interview today. :) Wish me luck!
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good luck dude. What job interview though?
*psst...it\'s Samwise\'s handjob interview?*
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Goodluck THX ! for what kinda biz is it ?
ok, i have had rejections from INDG, Playlogic and Guerrilla :( . They have
application rounds ; the resume\'s without
+2 years of serious gamedevelopment
experience get thrown out first.
Ok, so, i finished the evaluation test model for Streamline Studios today. One little problem though ; they wanna have it in 3D max format. My C4D can export as FBX which Max imports correctly but texture won\'t map well. A buddy of mine with 3D Max is figuring out the conversion atm.
Damn. i hope i can send it today becuz the model and texture are good.
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Hey, i am still rootin for you,if it came out good you have to show the rest of us.
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Knotter, hope you get it man. I know you\'re a smarty. If you have the time post some samples, I always like seeing stuff from the 3d monkeys here.
Anyway thanks all for wishing me luck. The interview went well, it was a consulting/contracting firm that will call me when one of their clients needs a web designer that fits my bill.
I also just got off the phone with another company who setup an interview for me. They seem better to work with and it\'s a perm position so I hope I get it.
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I myself am looking for a new job. I am jr @wsu and I am tired of nothing jobs. I work for Saline Mustang doing nothing related to what I have been studying for the past 3 years in college. Which is computer science. I am just tired and need a change I should have graduated college last year.
I hope you get in the internship man.
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Congrats on the great job interviews THX !
I got news : I have PASSED teh Streamline Studios evaluation test ! :D
Next gen game development looks to become a whole lot closer to me now.
I paid a hefty price for it though ; social life of mine has been decimated to get where i am now. Kind of sad when you think about it..... :(
* edit ; i\'ll disclose more of my portfolio soon.
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So whats been going on any good news interview wise?
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Well, I\'m still waiting for Rareware & MediaRepublic to reply.
Today I\'m writing for Triumph studios and I plan to job app to Aswift.com\'s vacancies really soon.
Good news is that i\'ve got help from a reintegration company who might be able to help and assist in any way towards getting \'there\' ; which means that there could be possibilities to fund my internship or any other post schooling.
The bureacratic unemployment institutions are a real pain, but of course i do understand the need to get back to employment asap.
It\'s just that they don\'t care shit about what kinda job. They\'ll go as far to \'force\' any very well educated person into some crappy factory job :mad:
I\'ve put all my effort into this 3D portfolio and 3D job apps to avoid such nasty situations to be forced to take lower educated jobs. I\'m really glad i\'m beginning to see the \'fruits\' of my efforts.
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Lol. They came to a conclusion : I can start the internship THIS week. Preferably asap.
I\'ll start wednesday @ Streamline Studios (http://www.streamline-studios.com)
:bounce:
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Congrats Knotter!! Hope you\'ll learn a ton and maybe even get hired after the internship is up.
My interview today was so-so. 3 people grilled me for 50 friggin minutes. I answered most the questions well and bs\'ed my way out of ones where I didn\'t have the experience. Hope I land it, seems like a cushy job so far.
Funny thing, I got a call on my way into the office building and the temp agency wants to set me up with an interview with one of their clients. This is really exhausting...
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Awesome i am thrilled for you, i am sure you will do just fine.
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Originally posted by THX
This is really exhausting...
Goodluck THX !
Yeah, one does indeed need to be persistent to get a real career going.
Getting into the games industry is like trying to infiltrate Fort Knox or sumthin\'.
Believe me, this is NOT my first try (in years).
(Maybe there are internet forums in your workfield to get advise from the pro\'s like CGtalk is in my case.)
It\'s very tough without actual experience and coming out of unemployment becuz the pressure\'s there from social security institutions. Damn bureaucrats would even send Einstein to factory shift work without hesitation.
The good thing is, one learns alot from each consecutive job interview. Goodluck on your next one !
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Just had my eleventy-billionth interview today. Best thing about it was it was the best interview I gave EVAR. Worst thing is they have 4-5 more people to do.
(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.maxima.org%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2Fohnoes.gif&hash=10d8d408a9bcfc587667123ca38d07ea95747137)
Did you break any NDA\'s yet Knotter? ;)
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Thumbs up dude. The most important thing is your own interview went great so there\'s nothing you can do more. Other applicants are always gonna be the case. 5 guys sounds like nothing compared to the numbers i hear in context of games industry jobs.
My work here, at \' internship\' status, is going pretty well. Learning industry standards while being productive on a Xbox360 live game (making a character atm), meeting new cool ppl.
I hope a (paid) contract offer will be the outcome.
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Glad to hear your doing good.Just keep up the hard work i am sure something good will come from it.
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Thanx dude :)
I notice alot of game studios are ramping up for next gen game devlopment, which means hiring more ppl.