{"id":220,"date":"2019-03-22T19:39:09","date_gmt":"2019-03-22T19:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.caleb-perkins.com\/?p=220"},"modified":"2019-03-22T19:39:09","modified_gmt":"2019-03-22T19:39:09","slug":"jake-ross-tell-me-something-i-dont-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serket.dev\/index.php\/2019\/03\/22\/jake-ross-tell-me-something-i-dont-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Jake Ross: “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Star Citizen:\u00a0 crowdsourced in 2012 as a spiritual successor to Wing Commander, over 2 million backers, and over 220 million raised in crowdfunding.\u00a0 5 studios worldwide with over 500 employees.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Last night, industry professional Jake Ross came to give back to the community and speak at TAGD.\u00a0 As the senior producer at Cloud Imperium Games, Ross has six years of experience at varying levels of producer and has worked as a manager in almost every part of game development.<\/p>\n

In particular, Ross is the “first line of defense” for hiring, and was able to give some particularly insightful tips for resume and website design (which will be soon applied to my own resume and website).<\/p>\n

His responsibilities at Cloud Imperium include:<\/p>\n

1) Facilitating communication between multiple studios around the world.
\n2) Drive game features and cross-departmental projects from start to completion utilizing Agile, Scrum, and Kanban methodologies
\n3) Acting as Scrum Master for multiple scrums in engineering, design, and animation disciplines
\n4) Acting as Live Release Manager for North America-based studios, ensuring the process of publishing builds to our live servers goes smoothly and chasing down issues should they arise
\n5) Working daily with other Producers, Product Owners, and team members to track and update tasks
\n6) Providing reports and status updates for feature development and releases
\n7) Helping set up long-term schedules and drive deliverables, setting up reviews as needed
\n8) Establishing new content pipelines to ensure smooth transitions and communication between departments.<\/p>\n

After this brief introduction, Ross began the main talk:\u00a0 “How do you get into the industry?”<\/p>\n

\n

\"star<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 Your First Impression<\/h2>\n

Your resume is going to be the first thing anyone sees and it’s super important to nail that impression.\u00a0 It’s your opportunity for someone to see what you can bring to the table.<\/p>\n

Cater to ‘skimmers’ first, ‘studiers’ last.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hiring managers are going to be looking for buzzwords, things that pop out, and anything interesting.\u00a0 Your goal as an applicant is to catch eyes:\u00a0 if you manage that, then those eyes will study to learn more.<\/p>\n

Cater your resume to whom you are applying.<\/h5>\n

This is easier said than done, due to the fact that some specific qualities of open positions may not be directly listed on the application.\u00a0 This is where research and networking can come in handy:\u00a0 for example, if you know that the company uses a particular engine (even if they don’t list it), make sure that your resume reflects the experience you have there.<\/p>\n

Put the most important things at the top of your resume.<\/h5>\n

While many people have an objective section, it’s not strictly required.\u00a0 One idea might be to list extremely important skills or big numbers like “Over 30 projects shipped” or “7 years of experience in ______ role”.<\/p>\n

That said, you should maintain chronological order for your work experience to keep things from getting confusing.\u00a0 Hiring managers want to know what your most recent experience is so they know what you can hit the ground running with.<\/p>\n

Don’t put something on your resume unless you’re comfortable using it immediately.<\/h5>\n

This is something that trips people up.\u00a0 For example, you probably shouldn’t list C++ if you’ve only ever made a couple things with it for one class and don’t really know how to use it extensively.<\/p>\n

Misc tips<\/h5>\n