What makes our gamedev recruitment process so damn good?

Step into the exciting realm of GameDev recruitment where we’re about to supercharge your hiring process! In this article, we’ve got all the insider tips and tricks to help you assemble a powerhouse team of gaming talent. Get ready to level up your recruitment game and unlock the secret to building an epic crew that will rock the gaming world. Let’s dive in!

How does the recruitment and selection process look like?

We’re partners. Period. Both with the game developers looking for a cool job in the game industry and with the companies. (Read more about it here) But what does that mean besides sounding fancy?

• We work closely with the hiring managers (ppl in the game studio’s structure. They’re making the call if you’re hired or not) or team leads. Meaning – we get all information from the hiring decision-makers.
• Our job is to know the client’s team structure, company culture, current hiring needs, plans, and struggles.
• Sometimes companies are not aware of the current market standards. So knowing all the above, we advise whenever market insight is needed.
• By being so close with our clients, we can quickly and accurately identify who they’re looking for, saving time and money for everyone. Yeah – game developers’ time especially.
• We’re very picky when it comes to choosing our clients. We’re making sure that we’re finding the best possible place for the game developers to thrive in their roles.

What is a good recruitment process? – aka. Why should you, the game developer, care about all of this?

There are two pain points for the gamedev ppl during the hiring process.

• Lack of transparency
• Time wasted

By doing our homework before going on a hunting spree, we’re addressing two of them at the time.

First – our recruitment teams are addressing all needs of the video game studios we decided to work with, and we spend our time learning something about you.

So you won’t be bothered with offers for the programmers if you’re a game designer.

(But if you want to help us a bit with our job – here are few tips on how to build your Linkedin profile to get only relevant GameDev recruitment offers)

That’s why you can be sure that whenever our recruiter approaches you. You’ll get all the details.

• We’ll reveal info about the job role we’re pitching to you (job requirements etc)
• We’ll share info about the company
• We’ll tell you what the salary is (ofc when it’s possible. This is the tricky one – It’s still hard to persuade some companies to include that kind of info – but still, we’re trying to educate game studios why they should share it)

We’ll tell you all that before our first call. Want to know why?

Because it saves your time, and it saves our time as well.

If you don’t like the initial offer – there’s no point in taking another 15 minutes of your life on a pointless call.

Everybody wins.

And how does this look like from the recruiter’s and client’s POV?

The recruitment and selection process is brutal these days.

The market is super competitive, and it’s challenging to find the right candidates – believe me, we know!

But we also know that with the right approach, which is being transparent and respectful (oh, and speaking the same language as candidates), we can connect even with passive candidates.

Having solid relationships with the game dev studios we’re supporting lets us identify each offer’s strongest points. That leads to better market response and a successful recruitment process.

Even if the offer is not perfect, we can get feedback from the candidates. We’re sharing the candidate’s experience with game companies so that together we can better address what’s currently needed out there and make everyone happier.

ヽ(‘▽`)/

We help candidates pick an opportunity best suited to their background and preferences as we collaborate with many companies, from Indies to the biggest AAA molochs. Plus, we can share some insights on doing well during the interview process and brush up on their CV if necessary. (Btw – here’s an article bout that as well: 10 resume mistakes to avoid)

It’s a win-win-win kind of deal!

Quality over quantity – primary value in our recruitment and selection process.

After the intro call with a new client – video game studio, we start talking with our network!

The companies we’re supporting in finding the right talent expect a certain volume of CVs to flow their way, but more importantly, a certain quality of the leads we share.

Being in constant touch with the hiring manager helps us calibrate our sourcing, especially at the beginning of the cooperation, and adjust to the feedback we get to better target candidates at every stage of the selection process.

Here again, providing a smaller quantity but higher quality, screened candidates save time for everyone.

After all, our job is to find the right candidate, not send 30 CVs every week that do not exactly fulfill the criteria. Just for the sake of sending someone. No one has time for that.

Connecting with the industry candidates – GameDev recruitment process steps

We have a vast network of game development specialists, and we’re using it daily. Still, we’re also actively headhunting (meaning approaching passive candidates and not looking for a job change).

The key to a job well done is to have a great understanding of the clients’ needs and the profile we’re after and understand the candidate’s ambitions, preferences, and experience.

Only then can a recruiter match these two together. And that’s indeed what we do! Even if we’re approaching a candidate with a specific offer, during our chat with them, it sometimes turns out that it’s not the best match for them, BUT!

We often have a different job opening on the table that is more in line with what they’re after. So we, recruiters, have to be great listeners and think fast.

When interviewing candidates as the first step of the recruitment process, apart from checking the experience required for a particular role, we’re also checking their current situation, motivation to change a job, and their soft skills in general.

There are things that our clients cannot verbalize and put in the job descriptions. Still, after years of collaboration, we know exactly what traits can make a candidate stand out in their eyes. Even though some things may seem insignificant, the devil is in the details and can make a hell of a difference.

Recruiters need to be quick on their feet

You have to think and act fast. Otherwise, the candidate will get a job elsewhere.

Approaching candidates, interviewing them, and sending the CV with notes to the hiring manager can be done within the same day or two.

Later on, we help get the recruitment process moving and maintain the candidate’s interest in the job. Cause you know – we’re all human. So if a client wants to reach out to a candidate we approached about their offer 2 weeks ago, he will need a few minutes to remember what the deal was all about.

That’s why we all have to act fast and the recruiting process to be smooth and seamless for everyone’s benefit.

Support on the way – level up the GameDev recruitment process

After we introduce an ideal candidate to a company and the recruitment process on the studio’s side begins, we continue to offer support throughout it. Both candidates’ experience and our client’s image are important. So we’re in a perfect position to hear the feedback about the process from both sides. If need be, we’re working with our clients on changing the recruitment process to serve their needs better and leave candidates with a better experience. After all, it’s not only a company that is choosing to hire someone but also this person has to be convinced joining this studio is a good move for them.

Our advantage as GameDev Recruitment provider

We work hand-in-hand with a variety of game development companies, from indie game developers to AAA, as well as hundreds of game specialists.

We know what the pain points are at every step of the way. As a GameDev recruitment services provider (no, we’re not a regular game industry recruitment agency), we specialize in making it as simple and effective as possible. As a result, we can address and actively diminish the biggest struggles that both clients and game developers candidates have during the hiring process, saving them time, money (or even both).

Logical thinking, speed, attention to detail, and market knowledge are our weapons, and we’re super happy to be able to help in the best way we know.

So if you’re looking for a new job, want to hire us, or simply work with us…

drop us a note. 😉