Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
M4rk
Oct 14, 2006

ArcheAgeSource.com

Kitten Kisses posted:

Your thumbnails could be improved. You have these great big squares and a tiny image smooshed down at the bottom being cut off. Make the actual image take up the full space of the thumb. The images being linked to kind of suffer from the same thing. Again, it's a big square with a tiny image in the middle that looks like it could be interesting if I could actually see any detail in it. Would be nice if those images actually linked to the websites they are about. Likewise, you should link to a normal image of your game recruiter ad. Is it a good ad? Who knows! You can't see any of the details.

If you have to have your twitter feed at the bottom of the page you should be a lot more careful about the things you tweet. I wouldn't want half the crap in your feed to potentially show up on the front page of my website I am sending to potential employers.

I do like the clean simplicity of your site's layout
Thanks, you're right about the images, they're pretty awful. I'll fix them when I wake up tomorrow. Sleep is coming for me.

I try to keep my twitter feed clean, think I've done a pretty good job so far, but you're right about it being potentially a liability.

M4rk fucked around with this message at 07:41 on Aug 18, 2011

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Adraeus
Jan 25, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post

M4rk posted:

Thanks for the response Diplo. I typed up a long response to your suggestions, but I'll email it to you instead of posting.
I hope you actually make the changes Dan recommended... Here's my brief critique.

Portfolio Website
  • Showing me screenshots of your community websites doesn't show me that you create great communities.
  • What's a "great" community anyway? You need to show me that you've put more thought into community design than installing a CMS and creating a theme.
  • You claim to be a marketer and a public relations "guy", but I don't see any evidence that supports those claims. Being able to design collateral doesn't make you a marketer. Being a community manager doesn't make you a public relations professional. Also, if you claim expertise in some area, I would expect you to take your expertise seriously. Calling yourself a "public relations guy" tells me that you don't.
  • "Whatever else you need me to be" is not authoritative. Know your audience. Know your capabilities. Know what you want to do. I recently heard a speaker at a webinar say, "Choose words that are objective, factual, assertive, positive, and action-oriented." Reinforce your competence with confidence.
  • Do you need a separate portfolio website? You can do what you've done with your portfolio website on your LinkedIn profile with applications.

LinkedIn
  • Remove the skills section. Lists of software that you've used don't tell me about your capabilities or what you've achieved through the use of your skills. If you believe that referencing a skill is important to a hiring manager, include the use of that skill within the appropriate job entry.
  • When I first viewed your LinkedIn profile, I thought that you should remove the Examiner entry. Looks like you did and that's good, but your Examiner work is still mentioned in your summary.
  • Don't link to your "personal website."
  • I'd hide the recommendations section. Testimonials are a weak and cheap promotional tactic. Nobody cares that you have any on your LinkedIn profile.
  • Revise your entries to support hyperbole (e.g., "most-followed fansite") and eliminate redundant words (e.g., "entirely new".)
  • "They still exist but are not active due to a decline in the two games' popularity." You can strengthen this statement in your favor. Right now, this reads like "I can't produce work that stays relevant." Arcanum, Deus Ex, and Fallout have significantly declined in popularity; however, these titles have community websites that have managed to stay relevant to niche audiences.
  • Remove the quotes around independent alternative, if this phrase is a term.
  • In your job titles, "founder" should precede everything else.
  • If your fansites generated any revenue, you can call yourself an entrepreneur. Now, you might not be a great entrepreneur, but at least you can develop a business without any direction.
  • If you don't want to emphasize your entrepreneurial experience, don't use "founder" in your job titles. HR managers generally won't consider hiring entrepreneurs. If they do, they won't consider you for anything less than a senior position, and that's if you're lucky.
  • Today, user counts are irrelevant unless they're MAUs, DAUs, or paying customers. Ensure that you're not embellishing your profile with meaningless data.

Twitter
I don't see anything terribly wrong with your tweets. They're certainly not worse than what celebrities tweet on a regular basis. But,
  • you've made a quip about "old folks" (i.e., people older than you who have the power to hire you),
  • you've said that you wasted six consecutive hours playing a game (i.e., you don't know either how to spend your time more productively or when to keep quiet),
  • and you've demonstrated uncritical thinking (e.g., "if Penny Arcade apologizes, they admit to being wrong".)
More and more hiring managers are vetting candidates with social media. Watch what you say. Be aware that everything you say sends messages about yourself. I see that you've received degrees in communication studies. You should know this.

Adraeus fucked around with this message at 08:37 on Aug 18, 2011

Note Block
May 14, 2007

nothing could fit so perfectly inside




Fun Shoe
M4rk, when you say you are a designer, what do you mean? Web design? Game design?

Monster w21 Faces
May 11, 2006

"What the fuck is that?"
"What the fuck is this?!"
He designed the system they use to generate ideas for games, thereby crushing the dreams of countless teenagers and man children the world over.

Akuma
Sep 11, 2001


So this is my next project. Seems way too premature to announce but I guess that's why they don't pay me the big(gest) bucks.

For those not willing to click: Naked Gun point'n'click. Or just "tap" since it's for tablets.

Shalinor
Jun 10, 2002

Can I buy you a rootbeer?

Akuma posted:

So this is my next project. Seems way too premature to announce but I guess that's why they don't pay me the big(gest) bucks.

For those not willing to click: Naked Gun point'n'click. Or just "tap" since it's for tablets.
Naked Gun: ICUP. ... hehe, yes, I will probably buy it. I love potty humour, and I loved Naked Gun.

"Cigarette?" "Yes, it is." If I can't offer everyone a cigarette or coffee in the game, no purchase :colbert:

M4rk
Oct 14, 2006

ArcheAgeSource.com

Ramen Ocelot posted:

M4rk, when you say you are a designer, what do you mean? Web design? Game design?
Print and web design, mostly. Print is my favorite, though. I'm sick of making websites look the same in every browser, at least I can be reasonably sure how things will look when printed, if printed correctly.

I'm nowhere close to being a game designer. ;)

EDIT: I changed that line on my personal site to "visual designer" to alleviate confusion.

M4rk fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Aug 18, 2011

Sigma-X
Jun 17, 2005

M4rk posted:

Print and web design, mostly. Print is my favorite, though. I'm sick of making websites look the same in every browser, at least I can be reasonably sure how things will look when printed, if printed correctly.

I'm nowhere close to being a game designer. ;)

Less than asking you, specifically, I think he was pointing out that the word means a lot of things and you need to specify.

Overall, looking at that site, you look very Jack of all Trades without much in the way of proof of Mastery in any of them.

You don't have to list everything you've ever done, and pinch hitting for a day doesn't make you the profession, either. It needs tightening.

BizarroAzrael
Apr 6, 2006

"That must weigh heavily on your soul. Let me purge it for you."

Akuma posted:

So this is my next project. Seems way too premature to announce but I guess that's why they don't pay me the big(gest) bucks.

For those not willing to click: Naked Gun point'n'click. Or just "tap" since it's for tablets.

Sounds like a fun project to be a part of. Are you guys recruiting? I've never seen a job posting on any of the places I look and there's no job section on your site, nor what looks like a suitable email address to send a speculative.

Akuma
Sep 11, 2001


Not at the moment, sorry :( Except for that Flash post we talked about before.

Akuma
Sep 11, 2001


Goddamnit edit is broken in the Awful app at the moment.

It is fun! I've been pushing to get the lead on this for a while now, very happy the deal is all signed. I've just come off assisting my wife with the design of some other license-based point and click game, which was ace. I loved the genre as a kid so I'm totally living the dream.

M4rk
Oct 14, 2006

ArcheAgeSource.com

Sigma-X posted:

Less than asking you, specifically, I think he was pointing out that the word means a lot of things and you need to specify.

Overall, looking at that site, you look very Jack of all Trades without much in the way of proof of Mastery in any of them.

You don't have to list everything you've ever done, and pinch hitting for a day doesn't make you the profession, either. It needs tightening.
I changed my little blurb, per your and Eagle's suggestions, to this:

"I'm a community manager, marketer and visual designer. Why so many hats? Because they're necessary to create great communities. Can I help you? Contact me."

What I'm trying to get across is that I've developed these skills not because I'm willy-nilly throwing myself at walls and trying to see what sticks, but because I have the ability to adapt to whatever situation I'm in and excel. If I needed to redesign a fansite, I didn't pay someone else $500 to do it, I did it myself and learned along the way why full-time designers charge $500+ a pop. I'm not half-assing everything I do, I do it 100% to the best of my abilities and then some. What I don't know how to do, I teach myself or find someone to tutor me.

These skills are necessary according to most of the qualifications lists I'm reading for positions I'd like to have, so I've acquired and polished them. My skills aren't at a hobbyist level, they're enthusiast or better. For example, I understand shop talk about ENG (electronic news gathering) because I did it for years during my time in college. I know the lingo, I know what does what and how to fix it, what brands to avoid and why, how to work the audio or video board in-studio, camera op on-location or in-studio, floor directing, etc. It's fun, collecting this information is like a game to me, and then all of a sudden people are asking me for advice or to work on things or fix their stuff.

So I appreciate that you guys are giving me great advice to be more to-the-point, but I'm not sure that taking it would be the best course of action for the positions I'm trying to apply for. Would it be better if I posted what jobs I was considering?

Also, Eagle, I took a lot of your suggestions for my LinkedIn to heart, but I'm wary about moving to it exclusively as my portfolio. I like having a bit more freedom than LinkedIn apps give me. :)

M4rk fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Aug 18, 2011

Adraeus
Jan 25, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post

M4rk posted:

"I'm a community manager, marketer and visual designer. Why so many hats? Because they're necessary to create great communities. Can I help you? Contact me."
I forgot to suggest that you should focus on one occupation. For example, I have plenty of experience in many different areas, but my LinkedIn profile shows only my business leadership experience. I think you one-upped my forgotten suggestion.

Reverse the wording and you've got yourself a mission statement: "I create great communities through..." and then show not only the look and feel of your portfolio communities but also why they're great.

Imagine that your audience doesn't know what "great communities" means. Write five brief sentences per community page that explain what made each community successful.

I like that you added a call to action to your mission statement, but I think it can be improved. Think "let's create great communities together" while you're determining how.

M4rk posted:

What I'm trying to get across is that I've developed these skills [...] because I have the ability to adapt to whatever situation I'm in and excel.
Adaptation is worthy of expression, but show your flexibility through the varied challenges that you've faced. Avoid looking like a chameleon.

M4rk posted:

So I appreciate that you guys are giving me great advice to be more to-the-point, but I'm not sure that taking it would be the best course of action for the positions I'm trying to apply for. Would it be better if I posted what jobs I was considering?
One of your tweets mentioned that you were interested in internships. I think you're aiming too far below your level.

M4rk posted:

I like having a bit more freedom than LinkedIn apps give me.
Well, applying your visual arts experience to LinkedIn can immediately show prospective employers via the Google Presentation or SlideShare applications that you a) can produce effective presentations and b) understand how your capabilities create value in the workplace.

M4rk
Oct 14, 2006

ArcheAgeSource.com

Black Eagle posted:

Reverse the wording and you've got yourself a mission statement: "I create great communities through..." and then show not only the look and feel of your portfolio communities but also why they're great.

Imagine that your audience doesn't know what "great communities" means. Write five brief sentences per community page that explain what made each community successful.

I like that you added a call to action to your mission statement, but I think it can be improved. Think "let's create great communities together" while you're determining how.
Those are two drat fine suggestions. Gonna do them when I get home from my part-time customer service job (perfecting the art of making upset people happy). :)

quote:

Adaptation is worthy of expression, but show your flexibility through the varied challenges that you've faced. Avoid looking like a chameleon.

One of your tweets mentioned that you were interested in internships. I think you're aiming too far below your level.
That tweet's probably pretty old, I just got finished with my internship and graduated. Maybe I should go back and delete it...

quote:

Well, applying your visual arts experience to LinkedIn can immediately show prospective employers via the Google Presentation or SlideShare applications that you a) can produce effective presentations and b) understand how your capabilities create value in the workplace.
I've got a great slideshow I'd love to upload and use in the Google Presentation app, but they limit the filesize to some pitifully small number, and my presentation has an embedded video. Perhaps I should remove that slide and upload it anyhow? I have a video of the live presentation of the Powerpoint, too. However, in it I am but one among five people that speak. I did create the presentation solo, though.

Chernabog
Apr 16, 2007



Someone linked this today on my facebook.

Maide
Aug 21, 2008

There's a Starman waiting in the sky...
According to that chart, being a programmer means you're always awesome :smug:

ceebee
Feb 12, 2004
Yeh I did just get a job working for Trion Worlds as a character artist. AWYEHHH so excited!

Maide
Aug 21, 2008

There's a Starman waiting in the sky...

ceebee posted:

Yeh I did just get a job working for Trion Worlds as a character artist. AWYEHHH so excited!

Congratulations! Hope you have lots of fun and don't get overworked :)

anime was right
Jun 27, 2008

death is certain
keep yr cool
How am I Wonder Woman?

hailthefish
Oct 24, 2010

Waterbed posted:

How am I Wonder Woman?

You have a jet, but it's invisible. And you're into bondage.

Maide
Aug 21, 2008

There's a Starman waiting in the sky...

Waterbed posted:

How am I Wonder Woman?

Much like only men can be programmers, only women can be designers. Wonder Woman was the Superman of female super heroes (until they actually made a Superwoman/Supergirl).

Volcano Style
May 2, 2006

THERE IS ONLY ONE
EDIT: Woah, wrong thread entirely. Sorry.

Volcano Style fucked around with this message at 05:00 on Aug 19, 2011

Shalinor
Jun 10, 2002

Can I buy you a rootbeer?

Maide posted:

According to that chart, being a programmer means you're always awesome :smug:
Whereas everyone, apparently including designers, thinks designers are lame.

treeboy
Nov 13, 2004

James T. Kirk was a great man, but that was another life.

Chernabog posted:

Someone linked this today on my facebook.


saw a similar chart today at work doing the rounds in emails, got a good chuckle though we felt lumping all the artists together was a little too general...

Chasiubao
Apr 2, 2010


treeboy posted:

saw a similar chart today at work doing the rounds in emails, got a good chuckle though we felt lumping all the artists together was a little too general...

Whatever you all draw pretty pictures :colbert:

M4rk
Oct 14, 2006

ArcheAgeSource.com
Hey Eagle, worked on my site a bit this evening, changed the blurb again and added text to most of the project pages. What do you think? Personally I'm proud of the adjustments and drat glad you suggested them. :roboluv:

Vulcan
Mar 24, 2005
Motobike
What kind of jobs are in the games industry that don't focus on art or programming?

Always been interested in game development, but I don't have a strong desire to program (even though I know a couple languages that I have to know for work), and even though I enjoyed dicking around in photoshop and 3DSmax as a kid, I was never really good at it and never had a strong desire to get better.

I've always made levels in video games when I was younger and loved every minute of it- although assembling a map in Duke 3D's build engine or in Quake was like child's play compared to what I've seen in SDK's today.

I guess a follow up question would be, do you have to start and build a reputation as a artist or programmer to reach these other positions?

Also I'm not talking about PR or office jobs that may not really lead anywhere. I read in the OP about not doing the whole QA thing, I wouldn't leave my IT career for a QA job anyway. Is there anything left?

Vulcan fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Aug 19, 2011

M4rk
Oct 14, 2006

ArcheAgeSource.com

Vulcan posted:

What kind of jobs are in the games industry that don't focus on art or programming?

Always been interested in game development, but I don't have a strong desire to program (even though I know a couple languages that I have to know for work), and even though I enjoyed dicking around in photoshop and 3DSmax as a kid, I was never really good at it and never had a strong desire to get better.

I've always made levels in video games when I was younger and loved every minute of it- although assembling a map in Duke 3D's build engine or in Quake was like child's play compared to what I've seen in SDK's today.

I guess a follow up question would be, do you have to start and build a reputation as a artist or programmer to reach these other positions?

Also I'm not talking about PR or office jobs that may not really lead anywhere. I read in the OP about not doing the whole QA thing, I wouldn't leave my IT career for a QA job anyway. Is there anything left?
Design, production, writing. Don't know why you write off PR (and probably Marketing along with it). But hey, if you're in IT, why not do IT for games? There's lots of companies out there that need good server engineers and whatnot to keep their multiplayer platform running smoothly and to push out updates and everything else that's done over the internet now. There's even openings for configuration engineers and office techs. Just gotta look for 'em.

Vulcan
Mar 24, 2005
Motobike
I actually applied for an IT job at a well known indie company (then) that is now a lot bigger and famous, and when I got a callback they said I was overqualified and thought I would get bored.

I knew I was overqualified dammit that's why I was using it as my "in" so I could move onto something else later if I found my niche. It even paid almost as much as I was making at the time, was so sure I'd get it I told all my friends about how awesome it was going to be.

Might give it a go again I guess, thanks for the input.

Note Block
May 14, 2007

nothing could fit so perfectly inside




Fun Shoe

treeboy posted:

saw a similar chart today at work doing the rounds in emails, got a good chuckle though we felt lumping all the artists together was a little too general...

This one?



I enjoy the additional column and row for QA, and it's funny that in both charts, the QA see themselves as a superhero.

Which is true, because I'm Batman.

M4rk
Oct 14, 2006

ArcheAgeSource.com

Vulcan posted:

I actually applied for an IT job at a well known indie company (then) that is now a lot bigger and famous, and when I got a callback they said I was overqualified and thought I would get bored.

I knew I was overqualified dammit that's why I was using it as my "in" so I could move onto something else later if I found my niche. It even paid almost as much as I was making at the time, was so sure I'd get it I told all my friends about how awesome it was going to be.

Might give it a go again I guess, thanks for the input.
If you're heavy into server tech, database upkeep and the like, look at companies that primarily do MMOs or games with some kind of multiplayer aspect. NCsoft Austin, for example, is always looking for server techs. That's all the remaining advice I've got.

GetWellGamers
Apr 11, 2006

The Get-Well Gamers Foundation: Touching Kids Everywhere!
What would you say about focus testing for people trying to get their foot in the door? I mean, maybe not once or twice, but if you've got a handful of companies who know you by name and specifically call you to do focus testing on their projects/DLCs/etc. over and over again, you think that'd be worth putting on a resume'? And if you did, how would you put it? A couple of students I know are on like their eighth or ninth focus test at some places because every time they want good feedback they call these kids up before they cast their net anywhere else.

Tricky Ed
Aug 18, 2010

It is important to avoid confusion. This is the one that's okay to lick.


Vulcan posted:

I guess a follow up question would be, do you have to start and build a reputation as a artist or programmer to reach these other positions?

Also I'm not talking about PR or office jobs that may not really lead anywhere. I read in the OP about not doing the whole QA thing, I wouldn't leave my IT career for a QA job anyway. Is there anything left?

You definitely don't have to start in art or programming to be a designer, though either background helps. While there are other types of designers, I'll concentrate on level design because that's what you've mentioned doing in the past.

Level designers basically do exactly what it says on the box -- build levels for a game. Different studios specialize differently. Some level designers just block out the level, creating basic layouts and passing them off to level artists to make them look good. Other level designers (usually using a level editor) do the whole thing from soup to nuts.

The good news is you can build a level design portfolio pretty cheaply, and sometimes using the same tools the game developers use. The bad news is it's tough to get noticed unless you make outstanding stuff. The good news is you can get a lot of help to get started, and a lot of feedback from the many communities around the various games.

Either way, you don't have to start out in art or programming if that's not what you want to do. On my team we've got designers who were hired as designers (interns/assistants/associates and worked up) and designers who moved over from CS, QA, or Community. While there's no reason you can't move to design from art or programming, I don't personally know anyone who has.

Monster w21 Faces
May 11, 2006

"What the fuck is that?"
"What the fuck is this?!"

hailthefish posted:

You have a jet, but it's invisible. And you're into bondage.

Aren't we all? I thought it was an industry requirement.

Leif.
Mar 27, 2005

Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester

Monster w21 Faces posted:

Aren't we all? I thought it was an industry requirement.

Bondage requirement was eliminated when people got mad about my GDC Austin stories.

Adraeus
Jan 25, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post

M4rk posted:

Hey Eagle, worked on my site a bit this evening, changed the blurb again and added text to most of the project pages. What do you think? Personally I'm proud of the adjustments and drat glad you suggested them.
I think you can do better. Here's an example:

Black Eagle posted:

"Mark Wilhelm builds successful communities by identifying, engaging, and leveraging consumers through excellence in communication. Using a holistic approach that combines effective publishing strategies with proven marketing tactics, we can work together to connect your audience to the brands they love. Reach out to get started."

Your portfolio item descriptions need more work, too. Be concise. In addition, many people, novices and experts alike, fall into the trap of thinking big numbers alone are impressive. You wrote, "AionSource.com currently has over 110,000 members and sports an impressive record of over 5000 members on at one time." So what? That's half of the story. Why are those numbers meaningful? Why should I care? The size of your audience is a means to an end, not an end itself. You need to tie those numbers to an outcome. What did you accomplish with 110K members? A prospective employer or client would want to see that you understand your role in the marketing machine. I'd rewrite each of your item descriptions and focus on how your successful communities created bottom-line value for businesses. What makes each of your communities successful in terms of how each accelerated the adoption of new products, improved the overall level of customer satisfaction, and strengthened customer loyalty?

Monster w21 Faces
May 11, 2006

"What the fuck is that?"
"What the fuck is this?!"

Diplomaticus posted:

Bondage requirement was eliminated when people got mad about my GDC Austin stories.

Well I'm going to keep the spirit alive!

Shalinor
Jun 10, 2002

Can I buy you a rootbeer?

Diplomaticus posted:

Bondage requirement was eliminated when people got mad about my GDC Austin stories.
I'm just mad you stopped telling them. The apparent delta between SIGGRAPH and GDC is absurd.

I mean at SIGGRAPH, they just... taught stuff, and we ate and drank a lot. Not even one story of latex-wrapped revelry :(

EDIT: VV I walked around, shook hands, checked out booths, went to places, etc. Not once was I offered E or asked about the future of perception. Maybe I just need to learn the secret handshake? (last time this got brought up, someone else said that SIGGRAPH is waaaay lower key than it used to be... I might still suck at finding parties, but I gathered they weren't anywhere near as common)

I did manage to ferret out some of the better swag. Got a neat Intel USB stick, woo :smug:

Really though, I can't exactly complain. It was New Orleans for pete's sake. Hell, maybe that's why there were no parties, because everyone else was also wandering Bourbon street and eating awesome food.

Shalinor fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Aug 19, 2011

devilmouse
Mar 26, 2004

It's just like real life.

Shalinor posted:

I'm just mad you stopped telling them. The apparent delta between SIGGRAPH and GDC is absurd.

I mean at SIGGRAPH, they just... taught stuff, and we ate and drank a lot. Not even one story of latex-wrapped revelry :(

You were hanging out with the wrong people at SIGGRAPH. GDC is NERDS GONE WILD. SIGGRAPH is an ecstasy-fueled week talking about THE FUTURE OF PRECEPTION, MAN.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

DancingMachine
Aug 12, 2004

He's a dancing machine!
If you file another minor cosmetic issue as "must fix for ship" I am going to burn down the building.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply