Digital Dave

The Game Developers Conference is right around the corner, and the internship process is getting under way.   I typically revise my resume, on average, every 6 months.  It doesn’t matter if I’m looking for a job or not, I just want to have it on standby if somebody needs it.

In fact… Just the other day a weak tie contacted me asking if I was looking for an Internship.  I told him yes and he told me to send him my resume as soon as possible so he could pass it on to the hiring manager.  That, in itself, is proof that you should always have it ready.  If you don’t have anything started and you are reading this, do yourself a favor and begin writing one.

So. It’s no secret that I am a fan of what Darius has been writing on his blog in regard to networking.  A few weeks ago he posted a link to a website that wrote on resume objectives.  After reading that site, Darius and I got into a discussion on objectives and he really got me thinking about how I am creating it.

Well, I’ve thought about it and today I decided to go and revise my objective.  Thanks, Darius!

I used to write my objectives in a very simplified way.  The reason: That’s how everybody in academia wants you to write them.  Short and sweet. To the point.   While there are certain situations in your life where you will want to do something like this, it didn’t suit my situation.

The problem with this is that most of the companies that I submit my resume to will already know I want a programming position.  Why re-iterate it?  Why not sell that space as an informal pitch? I will be applying directly online to a job posting, or directly in person where I can talk to them about what it is that I want to do.

So, in an effort to get feedback on my objective from people who hop on this site and are already in an industry, I decided to post some of my ideas that I wrote today.   All of these are really well spoken for what I believe in and what I am about.  There is no inflammation of words here, these are exactly what I truly believe in.

And please, for the love of all things sacred, don’t go and slap any of this on your resume.  My advice to you if you are trying to write an objective is: be yourself.  Imagine talking to somebody about yourself (what we ALL are good at), and what you can offer to help them.

Rough Draft Objectives:

• I want to use my continuous desire, and determination, to work with highly talented people on a common goal of developing a video game that will impact the lives of the community in a powerful way.

• I want to work with creative and intelligence people on a daily basis; creating and developing a vision that will transcend toward reality through raw passion, initiative, and enthusiasm.

• I need to work with individuals that will give me a chance.  Not guided by raw intelligence, but by determination and a will to never give up, I want to show that pure excitement for continuous learning and effort can drive success.

•  I want to use my attention to detail, desire to learn, and initiative, to add value to a development process.  I want to provide my loyalty to a company and help push a project from a vision to completion, motivating people along the way.