Ennissa Soleil Martin

Recruiters Job Hunt Too ❣️ Curious about what that looks like? I'm not gonna lie, this is not the type of content I wish I were posting, but what a great opportunity to walk you through my job hunt with me! ⚠️Disclaimer: This series is not meant to be a Job Hunting Guide, just an exploration of how it's going for me. --- Job Hunter's Journal Week 1 🧡  ➡️ Motto: Here we go again. After having the appropriate emotional response to maybe being at risk of losing my job, my brain changed gears. It's survival time! 1️⃣ I started by jotting down every single thing on my brain, good, bad, helpful... whatever I needed to take it out of my head to actually see it under the light. From questions to fears, timelines, and more questions. It all went to paper (I actually use Evernote, but you get it). 2️⃣ The next day my brain seemed less chaotic and I felt the need to ✨create✨, so instead of forcing myself to do one of the less fun tasks of job hunting, I made a Notion board to track applications, documents and things to do. Then I still had a bit of happy energy, so I wrote a general cover letter to use as a second page on my CV (not that I had an updated #CV to attach it to at this point 😅). 3️⃣ Unfortunately, it was time to bite the bullet, and just update my CV. I will spare you of the details but it involved crying, yelling, and at least a few damaged stationary bits. I used Canva because it's the least depressing of the tools and I needed some colour. I was a tad bit worried my CV wouldn't be AI-friendly, but then I just researched it quite a bit, just to remind myself AI isn't all that yet (I wrote and published an article on Linkedin about AI in Recruitment if you are also worried (https://bit.ly/4b2sgJL). 4️⃣ Then I decided on a gameplan, I would apply to jobs currently open to not miss any deadlines. Once the plan was set, I could no longer procrastinate, cause I knew what I had to do. I went to Amir's resources and I went through 243 careers pages for game studios across the globe. Then I found some inner strength (aka "I can't move back to my parents' house") and went through every single relevant role on Hitmarker | Gaming Jobs, Work With Indies, Remote Game Jobs, and LinkedIn. I applied for the open ones straight away and logged them onto my tracker. I also identified a couple of companies to apply speculatively to, cause you never know. 5️⃣ 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬...🎵 I've set up every single job alert I could find. I also quickly checked Indeed, before remembering that's where jobs go to die, and then I left my computer and decided to re-watch House M.D. ➡️ Yay or Nay? Do you want me to keep you updated? ➡️ Also, are you hiring? Asking for a friend 👀 (I'm the friend) --- 📣 Follow #RethinkRecruitment and ring the 🔔 to read about: ⏩ https://entrylevel.games/ 🌟 Opinions are very much my own™️ #Layoffs #Redundancies #GameDev

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I am going to toot Ubisoft's horn on this upcoming Star Wars Outlaws game... Fantastic job on incorporating accessibility features and I truly am excited to see what it brings at the end of August! I am honestly impressed with the bottomless list myself, coming from a career in special education previously. Features include: Visuals: -Including high contrast settings -Colorblind accessibility features (HUGE) -Visual intensity -View angle. Audio: -No audio reliance -Subtitles -Configurable dynamic range -Choice of audio channels -Volume sliders -Dynamic audio mix -Audio descriptions as cinematics (GAME CHANGER FEATURE if you ask me, especially for those with reading issues!) -Positional audio cues Controls: -Auto-walk -PC supports keyboard, mouse, and controller -Keyboard and mouse remapping -Controller presets -Sensitivity adjuster -Camera inversion -Configurable dead zones -Adoptive trigger intensity -Motion aiming -Auto-align (This is 100% for those who lose track of where they are going!) -Toggle sprint -Vibration strength -Change holds to presses (definitely helps those who have motor issues). Stealth and Combat: -Difficulty presets -Individualized difficulty settings -Aim assist (Keep it 100!) -Option to hold rather than repeatedly press (This is 100!) -Different play styles -Adrenaline rush feature (Interesting feature) -Auto-perfect reloading -Stealth assists (I like this!) Navigation and Traversal: -Fast travel -Safe climbing -Auto ledge grab -Straight forward grappling -Auto object avoidance and ledge guard (LOVE THIS!) -Health regeneration -World map markers (I am a junkie for saving locations, so I like this stuff!) Space: -Damage from colliding objects and stuns from ion weapons can be turned off -Self-righting can bring ship back to horizon (Again, love this feature for people who lose orientation easily!) -Incremental throttle -Hold or toggle (Huge for those with neurological disabilities!) -Flexible combat style (Aim assists and pursuit mode to help those that have cognitive or neurological delay or even kiddos!) -Motion sickness friendly design Mini-Games: -Individual Difficulty Settings Nix -Vocal and visual cues and automated Nix orders for a variety of tasks (attacking, pickpocketing, picking up) Menus and HUD (Some repeats here) -Accessibility presets -Menu Narration -Colorblindness Presets (This again is 100% in my eyes, even though I am not colorblind!) -Clear fonts -Large and small text -Replace style text with regular font -Increased contrast -Replace holds with taps -Control reminders -Configurable HUD Oh what continues to inspire me to want to be a part of the future in games, especially in Accessibility and/or Trust and Safety! Cheers, Stephen Lenz Resource and Owner of this information found here in depth: 1) https://lnkd.in/gAJrYWJ3 #accessibility #videogaming #technology #DEI #motivation

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Hiring manager: Do you tell the candidates what the interview will be about?     Me: Yes, of course.     Hiring manager: Do we tell the candidates we expect them to use the STAR method?     Me: Yes, of course.     Hiring manager: Ok, but surely, we don’t tell them what we will ask them?     Me: No, we do that as well. I’ll tell them the competency areas & culture/values focused areas you’ll ask them questions on.     Hiring manager: Ok, but why?     Me: We want to give every candidate the best possible chance to succeed and smash our interviews. If we help them be as prepared as possible, it only maximises the interview experience for both sides.      The best prepared candidates will be the best performing candidates. Talent Acquisition & Recruitment teams should be doing everything they cand to support their candidates.      A small amount of effort for talent acquisition, but a big effect on candidate experience 🚀 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What extra information do you think should be provided to help candidates prep for interviews? 🤔 #talentacquisition #recruitment #interviewing

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The top 5 mistakes that will get your resume instantly rejected: 1. Lack of Location Every company needs to know where you're based for timezone, employment, and tax entity purposes regardless if it's a remote position or not. If a recruiter can't find this information, it's easier for them to toss your resume than to ask. All you need is a city and a country -- no need for the full address. 2. Unreadable Font / Format If it's hard for a recruiter to understand your information, they will give up and move onto the next resume. Same if they find a typo. Give your resume to friends, family, a stranger and have them proof it for readability + format. Bonus points if you use a non-generic (ie Arial, Times New Roman) yet readable font. 3. Pictures and Graphs Avoid displaying a picture of yourself - it introduces an unnecessary and immediate bias before the recruiter looks at your actual background. Instead, put your LinkedIn URL at the top underneath your name. Hard-to-understand graphics displaying skills are also a big no-no. Use actual words to describe your proficiencies. (Note: if you're a designer or artist it's totally fine to add some visual flair to your resume!) 4. Long Objective Section Your experience should speak for itself, and if it doesn't, then you need a summary section (no more than 5 lines) to explain who you are and what you do. Otherwise skip it. Long, overwrought objective and summary sections make resumes look antiquated. 5. 2+ Pages Recruiters rarely scroll to the second page unless there's something compelling on the first. In some cases, depending on the role, they won't even look at a resume if there's multiple pages. Concise, compelling verbiage should be highlighted in your very first bullet points. Remove experience that is no longer relevant or button it down to a single line. Disagree? Miss something? Let me know in the comments.

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There are a lot of skills that, as a recruiter, I use in the day-to-day. Organization, yes. Networking, definitely. Communication, of course. But the main one is: MEMORY!!! I can't tell you how many times I'll remember a portfolio and then struggle to connect it to a face or a name. Sometimes I'll know where I met a person who showed me their portfolio, and then I can trace it back to a date or a chat where I put the link to it. Quite often my brain will save me and the name of the artist will pop in my head right when I need it. But not always. I wonder how much of my "brain's RAM memory" I'm using right now just with artist's portfolio storage - and it's only getting more difficult with the years coming and the new people I meet! Can I get an increase in brain RAM??? I need my mental database! 😅

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🎮🕹 Talent Tip Tuesday! 🕹🎮 We are ALREADY creeping into half of 2024....let that sink in ...in a mere 11 hours (at least as at the time of this post on the East Coast of the US) it will be May! Some people are still feeling the effects of layoffs this year, so the advice to get back out there continues! With it being a month that Recognizes Mental Health Awareness (And Military Appreciation of course!!!) , it's important to give yourself a bit of clarity/ reality to your efforts to save some of your mental well being. "I put in so many applications to places I really want to work, what do I do now....??" It may seem that your online application goes into an abyss of nothingness after you have spent a whole lot of time dealing with a system you haven't worked with before, have retyped some experience that already was uploaded via your resume, or even just fighting with finding the best version of your resume to present. I certainly can't wave a magic wand that ends all of that lol, but here is some insight that will help you grasp the effort of the importance of that electronic wrestling match when you are done: - You are likely in a pool of the largest applications we have seen in awhile right now - As we are all experiencing in the Tech/Gaming Industry, layoffs are at an all time high, so your fear of being among SO many other candidates are valid....so what you do after is important now more than ever. - Your application is in, now get to work on what you do after - It doesn't stop after the "submit" button because of the above ^, so get to work on identifying/researching that Company/Team/Hiring Contact. Get your emails and LinkedIn creeping on and start getting in the ears of those who are very close to the role! - Use that Network! - Building out a network here on LinkedIn is really about surrounding yourself with the people in your desired background! USE THAT NETWORK!!!! tap people that might work there that you have connected with, ask them their experience with hiring and the company in general. Ask for contacts for your application! - Know when to move on - Putting a lot of work, thought and effort into approaching those ideal roles in the companies you are passionate about can lead to not seeing some red flags. If you are following up, doing all your research and work without getting responses or feedback, then hey....their loss! Onto the next one! Be kind to each other and more importantly yourself out there! Thank you as always for reading along to my rants to clouds in the sky! (I kid! I appreciate all your engagement) May is right around the corner! (You have to type the last line of this in the comments btw ⬇ 🤣 )

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If you know you're about to receive an offer, is it OK to have a call with a recruiter who approaches you? Definitely. If you've just accepted an offer is it still OK to speak to another recruiter who reaches out? Sure! If you've already signed the employment contract and you're about to start a new job is it still OK...? YES. THERE ARE GENUINELY NO LIMITS to when you should have an exploratory call about a role/company you are interested in learning more about. The world is a super uncertain place, and sometimes things don't work out. Companies have zero compunction about dismissing you in your probation period if it's not working for them. So hedge those bets, babies. You have my unequivocal support. Any recruiter worth their salt will be happy to stay in touch if, after a short conversation, the timing really isn't right. #recruiting #recruiters #hiring #talentacquisition #joboffers #interviewing

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The future of #gaming will be defined by studios that can deliver on the powerful trifecta of seamless performance, persistent progression and deep personalization. https://lnkd.in/gd8PgTPU

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The future of #gaming will be defined by studios that can deliver on the powerful trifecta of seamless performance, persistent progression and deep personalization. https://lnkd.in/gd8PgTPU

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Question for game dev hiring managers: How does “shipping” a AAA game correlate with a candidate’s likely success in an open role? Specifically, how is this different than experience working on a AAA game? These are always separate requirements, it’s never and/or. So why are you filtering out more experienced candidates that didn’t get to work on games that finished over less experienced candidates who were lucky enough to be in the right place(s) at the right time? Is there an implicit conclusion that game devs whose games don’t ship are actually less qualified than those whose games launch? What’s the reasoning? Full disclosure: I’ve never shipped a AAA game.

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❇️ Monsters, Inc and the job market ❇️ Being on the job search can feel like you’re in the Disney Pixar movie Monsters, Inc. 🚫 You apply to jobs and the door remains closed and never hear back or get to see what’s on the other side 👿 Sometimes you might feel like the monster unknown of what’s on the other side of the door 👧🏻 Sometimes you feel like the kid that’s scared and don’t know what’s going on or where to go next 🧦 Sometimes it feels like a code 2319 has been thrown cause you’ve embarked into the unknown and don’t know what’s friend or foe 🪫 It may feel like you’re running low on energy like the city of Monstropolis running low on screams 🚪 When you don’t get the offer or get rejected it feels like that door is shredded and your hopes are crushed 💚 Just like at the end of the movie it turns into laughs instead of scares just like when you get that job offer and start that new role. In the end it works out. Howdy! 🤠 If this is your first rodeo here, my name is Erika. I’m an aspiring 6th generation insurance agent and a young cattle rancher ready for my next opportunity. Art credit to Regeener on Deviant 💌 #monstersinc #pixar #disney #moviereference #jobmarket #opentowork #apply #youvegotthis #unemployed #laidoff #layoff #jobs #corporatecowgirl #insurance

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I have 4 job offers for Reddit, Inc. candidates in the works today 🎉 🎉 🎉 I'm always looking for common themes and patterns among who does (and does not) pass interviews for interviews and gets an offer (and this has varied based on which company I am working for). At Reddit, in addition to being strong in the technical fundamentals, I have noticed that folks we hire tend to bring self-awareness and a growth mindset and can admit what they don't know and how they are evolving. They show up and talk through their thought process like themselves, not a canned interview avatar (we all have one... it's like when you have a "first date" persona that 0% matches the person you are in real life LOL). I'm also EXTREMELY happy to report that I work for a company who, in my experience, doesn't hire "brilliant jerks" (friends in tech, we all know a few companies who absolutely do 🤫 ). We hire people who bring enthusiasm for what they do, and can share strong + specific examples of how they collaborate well with and mentor others. Hope you have a great Friday, and here's hoping we bring 4 more awesome "Snoos" to Reddit!!!

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As recruiter and today being someone committed in helping YAGER continue to build a world class #teamyager, I would be delighted to get any of these questions on interviews I hold. Preparation is key to success on interview processes. Not only in getting to know your new employer but as well in getting to know yourself. Candidates that prep > candidates that rely on improvisation #recruitmenttips #talentacquisition #truetothegame

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Reaching out to recruiters directly to ask for a referral works 0.00000005% of the time. No, I don't like those odds either. *It MAY work if it's a really small company of 50-100 people. But even then, it's not a referral if I don't know you. You could say it's a recommendation if it's not that recruiter's role to fill, and they are introducing you to another recruiter, but I mean...it's way better/more impressive to do your research and reach out to the right people to begin with if you're going to reach out at all. Or just, ya know, apply for the role (novel idea, I know)... TL;DR To make the sort of recommendation I'm constantly asked to on LinkedIn, I am taking time away from my own candidates, who are my absolute number one priority. So if I'm connecting someone I definitely don't know with someone I very likely also don't know, I would have to be well beyond convinced that you are the right person for that role. Which is information I just do not have. #hiring #referrals #linkedin #candidates #recruiters #recruiting #jobsearch

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If the cover letter section on every online job application disappeared tomorrow, we would be no worse off. Don't make candidates write yet another templated document begging you to hire them. The hiring process is enough of a gauntlet as it is. Most companies have already stopped making them mandatory. What if we just...deleted that section? #coverletter #jobapplication #hiring #candidates #recruiting #talentacquisition #recruiterthoughts

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Be kind to us Recruiters, we are humans too. JUST KIDDING. But there have been a lot of changes to the recruiting landscape since every company decided to collectively lay low for 18 months. AI has changed how we need to hire. Candidate priorities have shifted. Job needs have changed. Metrics have changed (or prioritization of metrics have anyway...). Whole companies have changed - new players, new non-players. Recruiting tech has changed. Interview processes have changed. What does good look like now? WHO KNOWS!!! #recruiting #talentacquisition #sourcing #hiring #interviewing

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As a recruiter, the point of talking to me at the beginning of the process is so that YOU can assess if interviewing with us is worth your time. I’m prepared to answer any and all questions below (if applicable), and if I only have surface-level answers to some of them, I’ll be able to advise which questions you should ask again in future interviews (the Manager ones, for example)!

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Candidates always deserve a second chance. No company's hiring process is an absolute talent oracle. You can interview a candidate for 10 hours and still know next to nothing about them. Maybe they bombed their previous interview. Maybe they applied for 100+ jobs and were rejected for every single one. Maybe they have a typo on their CV (the horror). Your ability to be self-reflective is measured by your ability to find the talent in someone you've previously written off. Candidates always deserve a second chance. #candidates #hiring #recruiting #interviews #jobs #talentacquisition #jobapplications

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You know who you are. 🫠 BUT IT BEARS REPEATING: The interviews themselves are a better reflection of what it's like to work at a company than any blurb on a job description. #candidateexperience #interviews #interviewing #hiring #recruiting #jobseeking

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