We took turns being the interviewer and the interviewee, and had 3 different sets of questions to choose from. One person also took notes on how we were doing. There were about 5 - 6 questions on the papers we were given, but as the interviewer we were expected to add our own.
I was interviewed first, and most questions were general questions like, "Tell us about yourself", "What can you bring to the company?", and "What are your weaknesses?".
I found it difficult because I don't know anything about the company or the games they make, so It was hard to answer questions like "why do you want to work here?" and I ended up just giving a generals answers like "Because I love creating and playing games".
One question stood out, which was "If you were an animal what would you be?". While its a strange question I can kind of understand that something like this may pop up. Especially for a company which makes kids games, they would probaly want people working with them who have a more fun personality.
I didn't really know what animal I would be, and just said monkey because I can be energetic and active.
I still found the interview difficult, or even more difficult even though it was a mock one, I guess it was because I didn't know anything about the company and the fact that I probably wouldn't try to work for one like it.
As the interviewee, it was a lot more different, it felt like there was no pressure and you had a lot more power. I didn't really add any extra questions as I didn't know what to add, and the interview ended up being a lot more shorter than it should of been, but it was definitely interesting playing the part of the interviewee.
I had a look around at interview tips and found a good blog post on the subject, which went over many of the general interview questions and explained how to best go about answering them.
http://laidinpeace.blogspot.co.uk/p/game-job-interview-questions-and-how-to.html
I have took some quotes and made some bullet point dos and don't s from the blog, most are quite obvious but there are some good points.
Why do you want to work here?
"This question is an open opportunity to show you've done some research on the company where you're interviewing. All companies and interviewers are flattered when the interviewee knows who they are, knows what games they make, and wants to be a part of their experience. Do your homework and put on a good show! " (Sharad mitra 2010)
- Don't say things like "I need a job"
- "I want to work on an FPS game" isnt that good an answer
- "I want to work on game franchise X because I played the first two games and still see potential growth of the product". Is a good answer because it shows you know about what the company does, and It can lead to further conversation.
What will you bring to the team?
"Have some knowledge of how the company operates. Who does what? Your goal is to slot your experience, passion and skills (and if you are a student, your passion, skills, and desired career direction) into any holes the company may have -- and it should have some. Otherwise, why are they hiring?"
(Sharad mitra 2010)
- Talk about previous experiences in groups and how they went.
- What your strengths are when working in a group
What is your biggest weakness?
"What most employers are looking for is an honest answer that is followed up with an example of something you have done to work on your weakness. For example, you can say, "My workspace tends to become extremely disorganized," as long as you follow it up with, "but recently, I've put in a lot of effort to go paperless, and I'm extremely systematic in the way I manage my email inbox." " (Sharad mitra 2010)
- Try not to be too negative
- Talk about how you are dealing with your weaknesses
Do you have any questions?
I found this one important as I didn't expect it for my interview at straw dog studios, and it was probably one of the reasons I didn't get a reply as It made me seem uninterested.
Here are some of the questions listed on the blog which are good to ask
"
- What are the core working hours?
- How do you assign or schedule tasks? Who gets to decide who does what and estimates time?
- What's the career path for this job? How do I get to progress? What is the process for promotion?
- What training approach do you use? How would I learn new skills?
- How are personnel reviews handled? Who does them and how often?
- Are there any specific development processes used here, for example, Scrum?
- Who would I report to?
- If I'm hired, what is the next game I might work on? How much input would I have on that?
- Is there a relocation package?
- What bonus structure or incentives are there? "
(Sharad mitra 2010)
(Sharad mitra 2010)
I will make sure I use some of these if I ever have another interview.
Sharad mitra 2010, game job interview questions and how to answer them, TAD/Generalist/Manager/teacher, Viewed 18/10/14
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