Applying for a job - Need resume help.

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wyrd

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There's a job that is near impossible for me to get, but I feel the need to apply anyway. To satisfy the curious, I'm going to apply for this job.

I need some advice. I've participated in and been accepted to several beta tests, some small, some large. The ones worth mentioning are Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC), EverQuest (EQ), and EverQuest: Online Adventures (EQOA). I also played EQ for 2 years, and DAoC for 6 months. This info. is relevant to the job position, so I was wondering where I might put such information at on a resume? Would beta testing be considered a volunteer job? Maybe a seperate section titled "MMORPG Experience?"

Also, where can I find some samples of cover letters? I don't think I've actually ever seen one before. :(

Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
I'd put it under "Experience" or something similar. Beta testing is good, but being a customer service representative is a bit different. It sounds like they'll be wanting you to watch over things, not unlike the police maybe?, and report on people's play. I would assume that also means helping out newbs, reporting supposed bugs, suspected cheaters, etc., and possibly give out warning to "mean" people and such.

Could be fun - but I noticed it's not part time. Are you leaving school for this?

-Ner
 
Experience? Sounds fitting I guess. Why Experience rather then MMORPG Experience? Or are you suggesting that I put games I've beta'd along with my job experience?

You have the right idea about what the job is, however that's not why I was going to put down the games I've beta'd. They want a hardcore MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) player, if I put down my MMORPG gaming experiences (including beta testing), then they'll know just how hardcore I am. The only job I've had that even remotely comes close to the "customer service" area is when I was working at a video rental store. I had to deal with all sorts of disgruntal customers (if you've worked at a video rental store then you know what I mean).

Oh.. and yes, if I get hired I will be leaving school. Aside from Q&A (Quality Assurance), this is the only job I could possibly even hope to get inside the gaming industry. If I have to leave school to get my foot in the door, so be it. Especially when it's at such a reputable company (Blizzard is known for WarCraft, Diablo and StarCraft). Let's not forget that it'd require me to relocate (they're about 4-5 hours away from my current location.. which I am willing to drive for an interview if I get one). I have no idea what the pay will be either, and I honestly don't care.
 
Are you sure it's worth giving up school and relocating for a job that says it's essentially only temporary?
 
I would try to pad your CV out a little, i know the companies here (UK) prefer two pages, one page is a bit sparse.

What are your other interests? Other qualifications?

Also, i would recommend finishing school and uni (if u can afford it, again i dont know what thats like in the US). You may get this job, and work your way up a little bit - but without decent qual's your never get to a decent position. If you had already done all that, then take any old position, with the right qual's behind you - your would start low but soon work your way up.

I would just like to say that everything i have said here, is true for the UK. I dont know whether its the same in the US, but i would imagine so.
 
First, I do not know anything about the game programming industry.

However, I have a few general suggestions:

(1) You may want to put your computer skills up front. Most recruiters/hiring look at this before they look at anything else.

(2) You may want to drop the beginner/intermediate. Save that for the interveiw. If the job requires a skill they will test you for it.

(3) Under Hobbies/Interests or something similar: why not put down that you are a senior contributer on this web page? You do not have to give your online name. Something like:

* performs as senior contributer to the Extreme .Net Forums web page by providing solutions for various programming problems. The Extreme .Net Forums web page focusses on a,b, and directx programming. (replace a,b with areas that your contribute)

That way get in another plug on your gaming experience. Actually my suggested entry for your resume above needs work, but you get the idea.

Good luck on the job though (I did not check out the link for it)
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

Jay:
The standard here (if I'm not mistaken) is a 1 page resume and a 1 page cover letter. I have no other qualifications, and since this is a specific job position, I'd think that my interests were fairly obvious - gaming.

Quahog:
The computer skills I have listed aren't relevant to this job position, which is why I put them near last. I personally think my gaming experience is far more important. Plus, if I've been playing MMORPGs for almost 3 years, one should be able to assume that I'm not an idiot when it comes to computers and the internet.

Someone else suggested putting these forums on my resume, but I honestly don't know if it's appropriate. I don't see how it would show that I have more gaming experience, as this forum is totally unrelated to the subject. It might be useful in showing that I help others (if you can call what I do here helping) in my spare time, and not just at jobs. Anyone else have thoughts on this?
 
You know...

The sad thing is that I submit my resume to Blizzard every year for a job (My skillsets: Assembler, C++, C#, Open GL Programmer, Direct 3D, Distributed Transaction Architect, Project Management, etc.) NADA! Not one response. (Except for automated ones.) Anyhoo ... I imagine they are like the Mafia... You have to know someone to get in, and you can never get out....


I have never gotten a reply... =(


Anyhoo.

I think you should focus more on Customer Service. This position is about Customer Service.

Dump as much as you can about all of the experience you have had resolving customer complaints.

That is what the Interview will be about anyways. How would you handle this situation....

Anyhoo good luck.


P.S. Anyone here ever work for Blizzard and can get me in on WoW? Just wondering.
 
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