When you’re applying for gaming industry jobs, one way to grab attention and stand out from other applicants is with your resume design. An eye-catching resume can keep hiring managers engaged. Consider that most employers only take 6 to 7 seconds to scan a resume, according to Indeed. How you design yours can be a game-changer.
As you put together your resume for gaming jobs, here’s what to include and how to make yours stand out.
First: Include the Essentials
It’s important to first be aware that most large companies use an applicant tracking system to initially screen candidates for competitive jobs. An applicant tracking system (ATS) is automated technology that scans resumes for keywords that match what an employer is looking for.
According to a 2021 report by CIO, more than 98% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS. At least 75% of recruiters use an ATS, as well.
Before you begin designing, make sure the information you feature on your resume can make it past an ATS so it gets to the right person’s desk.
Make sure to:
- Write out your qualifications, experience and skills so that they match what’s listed in the job description, as relevant. You should never lie on your resume or over-qualify yourself, but you want to avoid getting too cutesy or creative in how you position your expertise. Your copy should closely match what the job description requires.
- As CNBC recommends, you’ll want to choose a file format for your resume that the ATS can accurately process. Look for what resume file recommendation the employer recommends using, or default to a Word doc if you’re unsure.
- Feature your contact information at the top of your resume. Remember to use professional contact information. Create a new email address if your personal one isn’t professional-sounding.
Carefully read the directions for how you should submit your resume. If you’re able to send a PDF directly to a hiring manager, you can get more creative in your design. If you’re uploading a resume to an online portal, you’ll want to be simpler in your presentation and design.
What to Include on Your Gaming Resume
Read the job description for items to include on your resume. Generally, you’ll want to make sure your resume features the following items:
- Contact information: This should include your full name, city and state where you reside, phone number, email address, link to your gaming portfolio and link to your LinkedIn profile. Why does a LinkedIn profile matter? According to Kinsta, 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn. Hiring managers also visit candidates’ LinkedIn profiles to see things like peer recommendations and skill endorsements.
- Career summary and selected achievements: Summarize your career journey with how many years you’ve worked in the industry and how you’d characterize yourself as a candidate. In a selected achievements section, you can feature your most notable accomplishments at the top of your resume.
- Core competencies: These are the industry-specific and transferable skills that characterize you as a professional, like video game design, leadership or problem-solving. Look at the job description to find skills the employer wants that match up to your talent.
- Education: In addition to listing a degree, you can also share certifications you have and short courses you’ve taken in your field.
- Technical skills: Both within your work experience and in its own section, list the software and technology tools you’re familiar with using. Employers may be looking for specific tool knowledge, so list everything you’re confident using. As you explain your work accomplishments, weave those skills based on where you used them.
- Honors and awards: You might feature awards you’ve won in your selected achievements section, and/or list honors in their own section on your resume.
- Volunteerism: This last section on your resume gives employers the opportunity to see how well-rounded you are as a candidate. List the organization, role (if different than “volunteer”) and years you contributed to the organization.
The bulk of your resume will be your work experience. You can feature this after a core competencies section and before education, technical skills, honors and awards, and volunteerism sections.
Start with your most recent position and list the name of the employer, dates worked and your role. Add a sentence or two that summarizes your duties. Then, in bullets, describe quantifiable accomplishments or tasks first, then list more general duties.
It’s best practice to keep your resume to two full pages. If you run out of room to list all of your experience, you can adjust your resume to include an “additional experience” section that simply lists employers, job titles and dates worked at the end of your more recent job experience.
What About Design?
You can get really creative with design in your gaming portfolio and website that showcases your work examples. Remember that with a resume, a simpler format will help ensure your details pass the ATS test.
However, you can also design a more creative, longer version of your resume and upload it to your website and your LinkedIn profile. You might add the logos of games you’ve worked on under relevant employers, or add images of designs you’ve contributed to, for example. If you find the contact information for a hiring manager, you can ask them if you can email a more creatively designed version of your resume as a PDF file for them to view.
For a higher likelihood of standing apart from other candidates, you’ll be more effective when you present your experience in a way that matches the job description from the employer. Think about how your experience fits the position’s requirements. Then word it as closely as possible to what the employer’s looking for.Searching for gaming jobs? Contact the ggLocators gaming recruiter team to find positions that fit your passion and expertise.
