“I’m an avid gamer and my dream is to get paid to test video games. What do I need to do to break into the industry?!”

Whether by phone or e-mail, I’ve gotten asked this more times than I can recall. I’ve even received e-mails from people that say they would do the work for free! And those are the people we hire, blog post done. Just kidding!

Working with some of the biggest names in the industry, we’ve been fortunate to place a number of video game fanatics into QA tester positions over the years. We at Wired Talent know what works — and doesn’t work — when trying to land a QA tester job. I’m going to keep this very simple with two major tips that are absolutely critical when applying for a QA tester job through an agency.

Tip #1: Video Game Tester Jobs are Real Jobs

Just because the industry is video games and the job is testing a game, that doesn’t mean you can forget all rules for applying for a job. For example, I receive countless e-mails with poor grammar, poor punctuation, and strings of sentences that no employer wants to hear/read/see when it comes to hiring a new employee. Keep it professional and apply for QA positions like you would any other job you’re serious about landing. QA positions revolve around your ability to catch mistakes, including spelling and grammar, corrupted text, etc., as well as the ability to clearly communicate those issues. When applying for a QA tester job, make sure to exhibit those skills. Write clearly, concisely, and with correct spelling and grammar. Keep it professional, and make sure to include all items from the advertisement in your e-mail, since your ability to follow instructions is one of the first things a recruiter looks for after examining the e-mail’s structure.

Tip #2: Include a Video Game Resume

When applying for a marketing position, you include examples of the marketing you’ve done. When you apply for a content specialist position you include a portfolio of content you’ve written. Makes sense, right? It’s no different when applying for a QA tester job. Candidates who submit applications and resumes that zero in on game skills ALWAYS get a call from us (But don’t forget the first tip — we don’t call applicants who submit everything with caps lock on and no punctuation). We recommend you take it one step further and attach a video game resume in addition to your “regular” resume. Be sure to make it specific to the posting. For example, if the company produces MMOs, include your MMO experience. Include any beta testing you’ve done, and keep it concise. Being an avid gamer is a great thing, but don’t list all of your gaming experience from the Atari days until now. Below is an example of what a video game resume looks like when applying to a company that produces MMOs:

Final Fantasy XI
2003-Present

1 x Galka Samurai 75
- Other jobs in low-mid level range.

Linkshell Officer of LightsTemplar(RPLS)
- Linkshell dedicated to enhancing the game experience of other players through role-playing

Linkshell Member of DynastyofVirtue
- HNMLS and social LS participating in sky, sea, and other endgame events

We hope this helps you land your dream job and we especially hope you won’t be working for free. Look out for our next post, where we interview one of our current QA testers about breaking into the industry and find out where he’s at now. As always, we invite you to provide any feedback, questions, or suggestions you see fit.

Greg Santos
Recruiter at Wired Talent

This entry was posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 7:05 pm and is filed under Breaking into the Game Industry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.