Have you ever felt nervous before a job interview?

If the answer is no, we have two follow-up questions: how? And can you teach us? For us mere mortals, job interviews can be stressful. To help you feel more relaxed, prepared, and confident, we asked our incredible THU Career Camp recruiters to share their tips! 

First things first…How to prepare for an interview.

Atomhawk: "Present an honest version of yourself- we don’t want you to be a clone of a well-known artist, we look for people who are skilled and passionate about their interests. Be ready to discuss your art process, what pieces you do and don’t like from your portfolio, and the things that inspire you."

Kojima Productions: "​​Come prepared by actually playing our game! And be able to tell us your thoughts: what was good, what should be reconsidered, etc."

Platige: "Be yourself in the meeting - Keep it real! We value authenticity which is the source of our creativity, energy, and imagination and that is what makes our work so special, so be yourself.Ask us whatever you feel is important for you to know because this meeting is also for you."

Axis Studio (Jill Wallace):

  • "Do your research and reference projects/ work created by the studio, that are relevant to your style of portfolio. 
  • Find out who will be attending the interview and what the format/agenda is (if they don’t tell you that, ask).
  • Have some Qs written down to ask about the role, about the studio, about the team you might be working with (respect the likelihood of sensitive info covered by NDAs). ALWAYS ASK QS!
  • Find out what the working culture is like via their social media, values on their website, and speak to those if they resonate with you. It’s not just about the work, it’s about how you fit with the team and the work environment."

 

What about presenting your portfolio?

Kojima Productions: "If you have experience working on a wide range of works, we recommend especially highlighting stuff that has a similar design, theme, or atmosphere to KJP’s work. If you have any original pieces of work (games, art, sound, etc.), we would love to see those as well!"

Polygon Pictures: "For creators who are interested in Polygon Pictures, at THU CC, show us your work;  portfolio, or demo reel, you are most confident with first. This is how you make your first impression on us. If you have worked in a team, it would be helpful to tell us your role in the project, the tools you used and the time you spent working on them.  During the interview, please tell us what animation styles you like. Also, tell us about your strengths and weaknesses, and your dreams for the future. We want to know who you are through our conversation, not just what's on your CV."

Outfit7: "There are some ground rules that most of the companies would appreciate seeing:

  • Above all, keep it updated - old works that may be close to your heart may not be the best representatives of your current skill level.
  • Keep it relevant - if needed, adapt the portfolio to match the company (or at least include artwork that is relevant for company products).
  • Keep it unified - do yourself justice, add your TOP artwork there, the weakest pieces will impact reviewers and get us to question your skill levels.
  • Optimize - 200 jpegs won’t do you justice, even 10 of amazing artworks can get you to move to the next recruitment stage.
  • Make sure we can access it easily - whether it is online or in a single file, make the format readable on ANY device - recruiters may not have Photoshop or other software installed.
  • In the end, the process of how you got to the solution is always cool, so a short gif of a process from start to finish is a nice touch."

 

What are some Do’s and Don’ts that trigger a recruiter?

Atomhawk: "Citing perfectionism as a weakness- this is a common one. Thinking you have to know all the 3d packages or work on environments to get a job when your real interest is in creating characters."

Kojima Productions: "If you like KJP’s work or the man himself, Hideo Kojima, then really show us that! There are no “don’ts".

Wildlife: 

  • "Do ask questions. It shows that you're engaged in the conversation and interested.
  • Do try to break the ice, when you see an opportunity.
  • When online, make sure you have a camera and working microphone. It's important that we get to emulate the impression of being face to face, and it makes the whole thing more humane.
  • Don't try to sell a character! Recruiters want to really get to know you as you are. Be yourself.
  • Don't go hyper formal or hyper-casual. Being polite and friendly is already a great balance.
  • Don't be arrogant or talk poorly about your previous works or coworkers during an interview. It's not ethical and it's not fair: the recruiter is only getting your side of the story."


Good luck with your interviews and enjoy THU Career Camp!