Getting a games programming job - Tip 5 - Understanding The Interview Process

To get a games job you’ll go through an interview process. If this is your first proper job, then it’s good to know what to expect. Here’s how an average games company might do things:

• You submit your resume.
• If they’re interested in you, someone contacts you to arrange a phone interview.
• You have a phone interview with someone technical. They probably ask programming and problem solving questions, as well as about the things you’ve listed in your resume.
• If that goes OK, they might send you a programming test which you do at home and email back to them. This could be 10 questions in which you write a function, or writing just one system.
• If that goes OK, you’re invited in for an in-house interview. If you’re out of state, then they’ll either fly you in, or perhaps do more phone interviewing first.
• If the interview goes OK, they check your references.
• If your references check out they make you a job offer.
• You choose to accept or reject the offer.

Each company is different. For example, some companies don’t do a programming test, or do the test before the phone interview.

In future posts I’ll spend time talking about the different stages of the interview process. I’ll aim to give some tips which help you know what to expect, keep you calm, and generally improve your chances of landing a job.