First EA App Complete
Heard from Rob Moreno today letting me know that EAP isn’t ready to bring me on just yet. Darn! I was hoping that they would see past my lack of game industry experience but it looks like they noticed. ;) So that wraps my first formal application to a position with EA! Not too shabby–I made 5 new production contacts, several of whom were kind enough to offer me help after the interview was over.
The vibe I got from my conversation with Rob this afternoon was that EAP may not be as well equipped as Studio to take on an industry newbie like myself–EAP has 3-5 people on a team managing an external development studio whereas Studio can have as many as 200 people on a project. Gives Studio more resources with which to mentor people like me. It may also afford me greater learning opportunities simply because I would be surrounded by a lot more activity on a daily basis. That isnt to say there wont be other opportunities at EAP that would be a good fit for what I can bring to the party right now…only time will tell.
My original guess was that it would take me about 3-5 interview-level-applications within the industry before I’m likely to land my first offer. I figure I’m a bit of an anomaly (neither a workplace newbie nor a game industry veteran) so it will take me that much longer to practice my interview skills, become familiar with the positions, and become comfortable with the process. I (of course) was hoping Id be able to hit a home run on my first at bat, but ya know, I’m pretty happy with the double. :)
The campaign continues! I’ve got a couple informational interviews lined up next week and I’m going to follow up with the EAP guys to see if they might be willing to introduce me to some new faces Studio side…maybe give some tips on how to be even better prepared for my next opportunity with EA. The guys at EALA mentioned that they are ramping up as they bring the new office online in January as well. All that is to say I’ve got my work cut out for me. ;)