27/07/2017 Gamasutra: Olga Novikova's Blog - Get Your Dream Job: 5 Secrets to Writing a Killer Cover Letter

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a Killer Cover Letter
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by Olga Novikova on 04/29/13 12:01:00 pm

PROGRA MMING 7 comments

A RT The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community.
The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

A UDIO

DESIGN Interested in switching careers and breaking into the gaming industry? Submitting a good cover
letter can make a difference.

PRODUCTION
If you have worked in a different industry and are trying to break into gaming, submitting a cover
letter along with a solid resume is your best bet. Without a cover letter your resume is going to look
BIZ/MA RKETING
out of context and is likely to end up in the ‘not qualified’ pile. You want to make sure that your cover
letter fills in between the lines of your resume, tells a hiring manager a story, and alleviates any
Latest Jobs immediate concerns from looking at your resume. Here are five areas you should focus on to help you
View A ll RSS write your story.

July 27, 2017 1. Show your knowledge of the industry. Getting across that you are not a stranger to the gaming
world will go a long way to establishing rapport with your prospective employer. Don’t be shy about
Sony PlayStation
your ‘gaming’ experience no matter how subtle- any connection matters. If you have been an avid
Se nior Anim ation
Program m e r gamer since childhood (and still have the original PlayStation in your garage), or have taken game
design classes in college, make sure to talk about it. The gaming industry evolves at the speed of the
Sony PlayStation
wind, and the longer you have been following it, the more points you will score with the hiring
Se nior Staff Gam e play
Program m e r manager. However, don’t despair if you only recently discovered your passion for gaming. Talk about
what sparked your interest and why it’s important for you to be a part of it. Also, don’t forget to
Sony PlayStation
Se nior Staff FX Artist mention if you are following any gaming blogs. Keeping up with the industry news shows dedication
and passion; two important factors that will play in your favor.
Sony PlayStation
Se nior Staff Lighte r
2. Show that you understand the culture. Gaming companies, like many other companies in the tech
Sony PlayStation
space, pride themselves on having liberal work environments. Work schedules are flexible, teams
Se nior Environm e nt
Artist
often work in an open space layout, and people might get together to bounce creative ideas off each
other at companywide brainstorm meetings. Many times, it’s not uncommon to have rock band
O utpost Gam e s
Tuesday, board game nights on Thursday, happy hour Fridays, and a ton of other activities all with
Sr Gam e s Software
Engine e r the effort of building collaboration, inspiring innovation and nurturing creativity. However, having more
freedom and flexibility also means less structure and more ambiguity. Therefore, it’s important to
show that you can thrive in this type of environment. So don’t be shy about letting your personality
Latest Blogs come through in the cover letter. Make sure to stay professional and respectful, but if you get a smile
out the hiring manager that certainly can’t hurt your application!
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July 27, 2017 3. Do the research on your dream company. Typically every company website has an ‘about us’
section. Make sure to read up on the company history, its goals, its pain points and go-to market
Love and R om ance in strategy. Then take your skills, knowledge and experience and show how you can bring value to the
He ave n's Vault company. The goal is to position yourself as a valuable contributor and a necessary member of the
Six Ye ars afte r company’s future.
Mone yball [2]

Vide o Gam e De e p
C uts: C astle vania Go-
e s To Arm s
W hy we will ne ve r
show ads in our
m obile gam e s [5]
O f Te lltale Form ula
and Gam e of Throne s
Press Releases
July 27, 2017
Games Press
You also want to research any recent company news, new partnerships, office expansions, product
releases etc. Putting in a sentence or two showing that you follow the company news will show your
commitment to getting the job at your dream company.
4. and 5. Know what job you are applying for AND show that your skills are transferrable. These
two points are closely related. First, give the job description a good read. Make sure that you have a
good understanding of what the role entails and what kind of skills the candidate should have in
order to be successful. Then connect your background and experience and show how your skills can
be applied to the job you want. Focusing on your core skills outside of the environment in which
you’ve learned them, and showing that they are transferrable will help validate your qualifications.
Following the above tips should tell the hiring manager a story about your dedication, knowledge and
passion for the industry AND most importantly (if the points 4 and 5 are done right) also show that
you are qualified for the job.

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27/07/2017 Gamasutra: Olga Novikova's Blog - Get Your Dream Job: 5 Secrets to Writing a Killer Cover Letter

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About
Editor-In-Chief: Comments
Kris Graft

Editor:
Ale x W awro Mathieu MarquisBolduc 29 Apr 2013 at 4:52 pm PST

A ssignment Editor: I'll say this: I've never read the cover letter of anyone, nor have I ever had any indication
C hris Bak e r
than mines were ever read. Sometimes I wonder if cover letters arent some sort of
Contributors: practical joke gone wrong, played on us by career counselors.
C hris Ke rr
Alissa McAloon
Ps: I *dont* work in HR.
Em m a Kidwe ll
Bryant Francis
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Kathe rine C ross
A dvertising:
C ourtne y Blair
Christian Nutt 29 Apr 2013 at 10:22 pm PST

C ontact Gam asutra

I've hired before and I definitely read them. Then again, I'm always
hiring writers. =P
R e port a Proble m

Subm it Ne ws
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C om m e nt Guide line s

Blogging Guide line s

Kelly Kleider 30 Apr 2013 at 6:14 am PST

How W e W ork I wouldn't say I ignore them, but I don't pay much attention to them. A
lot of places have on-line submission of resumes etc... so there's no
room for anything more than 1/2 a tweet.

"I am looking for employment as an artist in the game industr"

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If you e njoy re ading this

site , you m ight also want to
Eric Schwarz 30 Apr 2013 at 8:06 am PST
che ck out the se UBM Te ch
site s: In other news, water is wet and the sun came up this morning. I'm not saying these
suggestions are invalid or anything, but I'm pretty sure they teach this in junior high
Game Career Guide school career studies. As others have said I'm also not sure your cover letter is going to
make or break anything provided you don't do anything stupid (like insulting the person
Indie Games you're applying to).

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Raphael Alexis 30 Apr 2013 at 9:55 am PST

Let's assume you're in HR, you are to go through a mountain of

applications.
What is it you look at the moment you ...look at one? Right, the CL.

If it says what every other CL out there says, namely the same thing
you'll find at the top of their CV, that they are highly motivated
individuals who like to work hard and get paid low who always wanted
to work at your place..... well, it goes pretty much off the heap.
There's nothing less interesting than standard hackneyed sayings.

If, however, you were to go by what Olga advises you to do, you might
actually catch the HR fellow's attention. That in itself doesn't really do
anything but make him/her take a look at your resume, portfolio or
whatever references you sent.

You can (maybe not easily, but you can) demonstrate your skills and/or
knowledge in but a few sentences, you'll want to target that HR person

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27/07/2017 Gamasutra: Olga Novikova's Blog - Get Your Dream Job: 5 Secrets to Writing a Killer Cover Letter
and reflect that you have something in common with the company you
apply to - and that you have something they actually want.

Now all this is somewhat common knowledge you'd think, but

considering how many plain and boring and incomplete and contradictory
applications I've come across so far ( and I bet every HR person has )
prove this theory wrong... well I guess it's worth mentioning these
golden rules again every once in a while :)

Ah... and this one is for free:

Rule Nr. 6: Don't Suck Up To Whomever You Apply To (too much)!

Unless you're convinced that the ability to suck up to someone is a major

qualification... don't overdo it. Really, very few people want mindless
slaves around when they can get a polite individual instead.
Sentences like "I've been watching your stock rating, it's been falling but
I am so sure you guys will accomplish everything you want to that I did
not only pour all my money into buying shares and cheer you on from the
sidelines but decided that working with you is also the greatest thing to
do!" ....brrr... seriously, that's just.... you really don't wanna do that.

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Olga Novikova 30 Apr 2013 at 11:57 am PST

I appreciate everyone’s comments. In my opinion a well written cover letter always

stands out from the crowd. As far as this advice being self-evident, perhaps that’s true
for some. Although I have come across a fair share of cover letters that don’t add any
value. Those are either standard templates that are sent to every company the
candidate is applying to, or as Raphael has mentioned, simply restate what’s already
written in the resume.

The idea behind the blog was that a cover letter should be used as a tool to
communicate to the hiring manager information that is above and beyond of what is
written in the resume. Imagine if you have been given two minutes to give your elevator
pitch to the hiring manager explaining why you are the best candidate for the job, what
would you say? Now, because not everyone gets that kind of an opportunity, the cover
letter is one way to get your point across to the hiring manager. If the cover letter starts
a frank conversation, I don’t see why a hiring manager wouldn’t want to continue it.

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Kirtan Bhatt 30 Apr 2013 at 5:02 pm PST

This was so helpful, thank you!

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