One specific CV challenge you might encounter as a game developer is effectively showcasing your diverse skill set and projects to potential employers. Our guide provides structured advice on how to concisely present your experiences and achievements, ensuring your CV stands out in the competitive gaming industry.
- Design and format your professional game developer CV;
- Curate your key contact information, skills, and achievements throughout your CV sections;
- Ensure your profile stays competitive by studying other industry-leading game developer CVs;
- Create a great CV even if you happen to have less professional experience, or switching fields.
When writing your game developer CV, you may need plenty of insights from hiring managers. We have prepared industry-leading advice in the form of our relevant CV guides.
Structuring and formatting your game developer CV for an excellent first impression
The experts' best advice regarding your CV format is to keep it simple and concise. Recruiters assessing your CV are foremost looking out for candidates who match their ideal job profile. Your white space, borders, and margins. You may still be wondering which format you need to export your CV in. We recommend using the PDF one, as, upon being uploaded, it never alters your information or CV design. Before we move on to the actual content of your game developer CV, we'd like to remind you about the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS). The ATS is a software that is sometimes used to initially assess your profile. Here's what you need to keep in mind about the ATS:- All serif and sans-serif fonts (e.g. Rubik, Volkhov, Exo 2 etc.) are ATS-friendly;
- Many candidates invest in Arial and Times New Roman, so avoid these fonts if you want your application to stand out;
- Both single and double column CVs can be read by the ATS, so it's entirely up to you to select your CV design.
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Incorporate a touch of colour in headers or section breaks, but keep it professional and ensure it doesn’t detract from readability, especially in more conservative industries.
The top sections on a game developer CV
- Relevant game projects showcase your direct experience.
- Technical skills detail the software and tools you've mastered.
- Game development experience highlights your industry background.
- Education and certifications indicate your foundational knowledge.
- Portfolio link provides instant access to your work samples.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight your technical skills relevant to game development, such as knowledge of programming languages like C++ and C#, as well as experience with game engines, like Unity or Unreal Engine.
- Showcase your portfolio with links to games you've developed or contributed to, demonstrating your practical experience and creativity within the gaming industry.
- Include your collaborative experience, emphasising teamwork and project management skills, as well as any experience with version control systems such as Git.
- Detail your understanding of the game development lifecycle, including pre-production, production, and post-release support, to display a comprehensive knowledge of the process.
- Mention any specialised knowledge you might have in gaming subfields, such as AI, physics, graphics, or user interface design, which can set you apart in a niche market.
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Our checklist for the must-have information in your game developer CV header
Right at the very top of your game developer CV is where you'd find the header section or the space for your contact details, headline, and professional photo. Wondering how to present your the name of the city you live in and the country abbreviation as your address;
- are tailored to the role you're applying for by integrating key job skills and requirements;
- showcase what your unique value is, most often in the form of your most noteworthy accomplishment;
- select your relevant qualifications, skills, or current role to pass the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment. Still not sure how to write your CV headline? Our examples below showcase best practices on creating effective headlines:
Examples of good CV headlines for game developer:
- Lead Gameplay Programmer | AI Specialist | Unreal Engine | 10+ Years Experience | MSc Computer Science
- Senior Environment Artist | AAA Titles | Photorealistic Texturing | VR Expertise | BA(Hons) Fine Arts
- Junior Game Designer | Level Design Enthusiast | Unity Certified | RPG Passion | 2 Years in Industry
- Technical Animator | Motion Capture Wizard | Rigging & Skinning | BSc Multimedia Arts | 5+ Years Professional
- Lead UI/UX Designer | Player-Centric Interfaces | Mobile & Console | MA Design Innovation | 8 Years Expertise
- Senior Sound Designer | Interactive Audio | Pro Tools Certified | Ambient Soundscaping | 12 Years Experience
Opting between a game developer CV summary or objective
Within the top one third of your game developer CV, you have the opportunity to briefly summarise your best achievements or present your professional goals and dreams. Those two functions are met by either the CV summary or the objective.
- The summary is three-to-five sentences long and should narrate your best successes, while answering key requirements for the role. Select up to three skills which you can feature in your summary. Always aim to present what the actual outcomes were of using your particular skill set. The summary is an excellent choice for more experienced professionals.
- The objective is more focused on showcasing your unique value as a candidate and defining your dreams and ambitions. Think about highlighting how this current opportunity would answer your career vision. Also, about how you could help your potential employers grow. The objective matches the needs of less experienced candidates, who need to prove their skill set and, in particular, their soft skills.
Still not sure about how to write your CV opening statement? Use some best industry examples as inspiration:
CV summaries for a game developer job:
- Seasoned game developer with over a decade of hands-on experience in AAA game creation, specialising in Unreal Engine and Unity workflows. Key architect behind the critically acclaimed open-world RPG 'Eldoria Chronicles,' which sold over 4 million copies worldwide, showcasing my expertise in compelling storytelling and robust game mechanics.
- Energetic software engineer transitioning into game development, bringing 5 years' experience in high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. Successfully integrated sophisticated AI algorithms into the indie game 'MindMaze,' lauded for its innovative gameplay, highlighting my ability to merge technical skills with creative game design.
- Dynamic graphic designer eager to pivot into game development, equipped with 6 years of experience crafting immersive visual content. Winner of the 'Visionary Design' award in 2021, I now aim to leverage my proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite to engineer stunning visual experiences for the next generation of video games.
- Dedicated professional with over 8 years of experience in project management, looking to harness my strong leadership abilities and strategic planning skills to produce pioneering games that resonate with a diverse audience and enhance their gaming experience through interactive gameplay and rich narratives.
- As a recent graduate with a BSc in Computer Science and a passion for gaming culture, I am driven to begin my journey as a game developer. My objective is to contribute fresh ideas and technical prowess in programming to create games that offer not just entertainment but also innovative experiences.
- With freshly acquired skills in C# and Unity from an intensive coding bootcamp, I am enthusiastic about starting my career in game development. Eager to apply my problem-solving abilities and knowledge of game design principles to create memorable and engaging games that thrill and inspire players worldwide.
The best formula for your game developer CV experience section
The CV experience section is the space where many candidates go wrong by merely listing their work history and duties. Don't do that. Instead, use the job description to better understand what matters most for the role and integrate these keywords across your CV. Thus, you should focus on:
- showcasing your accomplishments to hint that you're results-oriented;
- highlighting your skill set by integrating job keywords, technologies, and transferrable skills in your experience bullets;
- listing your roles in reverse chronological order, starting with the latest and most senior, to hint at how you have grown your career;
- featuring metrics, in the form of percentage, numbers, etc. to make your success more tangible.
When writing each experience bullet, start with a strong, actionable verb, then follow it up with a skill, accomplishment, or metric. Use these professional examples to perfect your CV experience section:
Best practices for your CV's work experience section
- Detail your involvement in game development projects, specifying your role, the project's scope, and the technologies used. Highlight any innovative game mechanics or systems you were instrumental in creating.
- Quantify your achievements, such as any increases in user engagement or performance improvements that you contributed towards. Use metrics to illustrate the impact of your work wherever possible.
- Include any experience with game development engines and tools such as Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot, or similar software, specifying the extent of your proficiency. Mention any certifications or courses completed that are relevant to these tools.
- Outline your expertise in programming languages pertinent to game development, such as C++, C#, or Java, and provide examples of how you have applied them in your projects. Explain any complex algorithms or systems you have developed.
- Mention your experience with version control systems, like Git or SVN, as they are essential for collaborative game development projects. Describe how you've managed your codebase and collaborated with other team members using these tools.
- Discuss any involvement in the design and balancing of game economies, artificial intelligence behaviours, or physics simulations if applicable. Provide specific instances where your input or oversight significantly improved the game experience.
- Note any experience with mobile game development, including platform-specific knowledge for iOS, Android, or cross-platform frameworks. Describe your understanding of the nuances of mobile game optimisation and user interface design.
- Detail your experience with multiplayer game development, including network code, server management, and ensuring latency and cheat prevention measures. Illustrate your ability to solve complex problems with real-time data transmission and concurrency.
- If you have worked in a team leadership or management capacity, describe your approach to mentoring junior developers, coordinating cross-disciplinary teams, and managing the software development lifecycle. Highlight any successful projects delivered under your supervision.
- Led the development of a mobile RPG on Unity, managing a team of 5 developers, resulting in a 30% increase in daily active users after the second release update.
- Implemented advanced physics and realistic character animations that enhanced the overall game experience, which was praised in 50+ reviews on the gaming forums.
- Optimized game performance for low-end devices, which contributed to a 15% increase in the game's market reach within the first year.
- Oversaw the development of a high-fidelity action-adventure game, supervising a cross-functional team of 20, and shipped the game 2 months ahead of the schedule.
- Pioneered the use of a new AI-driven behavior tree system for Non-Playable Characters that dramatically increased in-game engagement by 40%.
- Directed the successful integration of real-time multiplayer features that supported up to 64 players, boosting the game's online community by over 200,000 users.
- Crafted unique game mechanics for an indie platformer which were highlighted as 'Innovative' by PC Gamer magazine, increasing game visibility and sales.
- Developed an adaptive difficulty system that scaled based on player performance, maintaining player retention rates above 85% throughout gameplay.
- Implemented a series of successful post-launch content updates, which extended the average player lifecycle by 3 months.
- Coordinated with artists and designers to deliver 'Best Mobile Game' as voted in the TIGA Games Industry Awards, achieving over 1 million downloads in the first quarter post-launch.
- Streamlined the game development process by introducing agile methodologies, which cut down production time by 20% without compromising on quality.
- Authored a dynamic content generation engine, leading to a 25% decrease in content-related support tickets.
- Instrumental in the creation of an award-winning VR puzzle game, which received the 'Innovative VR Game of the Year' award from VR Awards.
- Developed VR interaction systems that significantly lowered the learning curve for new players, contributing to a user base growth of over 150% in the first six months.
- Spearheaded the adoption of continuous integration pipelines, slashing bug rates by 35% during pre-launch testing phases.
- Leading the development of a next-gen open-world game on PS5, focusing on leveraging the console's hardware to deliver unprecedented detail and immersion.
- Conducting research and development on cutting-edge procedural generation techniques to create expansive and dynamic worlds, aiming to set a new industry standard for open-world games.
- Collaborating closely with story writers and motion capture artists to deliver a narrative-driven gaming experience that bridges the gap between movies and interactive entertainment.
- Revolutionized the in-game AI pathfinding system to allow for more complex enemy strategies, contributing to a 50% increase in game difficulty ratings and wider acclaim in gaming communities.
- Designed and implemented a modular AI system for easy scaling and iteration, which the company later adapted for use in multiple subsequent gaming titles, hence reducing development costs by 15%.
- Pioneered a behavioral analytics tool that tracked player engagement, helping the design team refine gameplay mechanics for future updates.
- Developed robust multiplayer server frameworks that supported simultaneous connections for over 10,000 players, elevating the company's profile in the MMO space.
- Implemented unique in-game microtransaction systems that boosted revenue by 150% within the six months following their rollout.
- Championed the use of cloud-based services for game deployment which increased uptime to 99.99%, leading to a notable increase in player satisfaction scores.
- Enhanced the game engine's graphics pipeline, allowing for a 60% increase in rendering efficiency on mid-range GPUs.
- Optimized shaders and lighting effects to provide high-fidelity visuals while maintaining an optimal frame rate for a smooth gaming experience.
- Collaborated with the QA team to establish performance benchmarks which became standard for future development projects.
- Created a suite of game development tools that streamlined asset creation and integration, reducing average content implementation time by 25%.
- Developed an in-house debugging tool that enabled developers to isolate and correct issues more efficiently, dropping the average bug resolution time by 30%.
- Ran workshops for the development team on best practices for tool usage, significantly enhancing overall productivity and team synergy.
Lacking professional expertise: how to write your CV to highlight your best talents
Don't count on your lucky stars when you're applying for a role, where you happen to have less (or almost none) professional experience. Recruiters sometimes do hire inexperienced candidates if they're able to present their unique value from the get-go. So, instead of opting for the traditional, CV experience section:
- List any applicable expertise you happen to have - no matter if it's a part-time job, internship, or volunteer work. This would hint to recruiters that your profile is relevant;
- Focus your CV on your transferrable skills or talents you've obtained thanks to your whole life and work experience. In effect, you'll be spotlighting your value as a candidate;
- Separate more space for your applicable academic background and certificates to show you have the technical know-how;
- Ensure that within your objective, you've defined why you'll like the job and how you'll be the perfect match for it. Always ensure you've tailored your CV to individual applications.
Looking for more good examples for your first job? We'll show you how other candidates, with less professional experience, have created their job-winning CVs.
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Include examples of how you adapted to new tools, environments, or work cultures, showing your flexibility.
Describing your unique skill set using both hard skills and soft skills
Your game developer CV provides you with the perfect opportunity to spotlight your talents, and at the same time - to pass any form of assessment. Focusing on your skill set across different CV sections is the way to go, as this would provide you with an opportunity to quantify your achievements and successes. There's one common, very simple mistake, which candidates tend to make at this stage. Short on time, they tend to hurry and mess up the spelling of some of the key technologies, skills, and keywords. Copy and paste the particular skill directly from the job requirement to your CV to pass the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment. Now, your CV skills are divided into:
- Technical or hard skills, describing your comfort level with technologies (software and hardware). List your aptitude by curating your certifications, on the work success in the experience section, and technical projects. Use the dedicated skills section to provide recruiters with up to twelve technologies, that match the job requirements, and you're capable of using.
- People or soft skills provide you with an excellent background to communicate, work within a team, solve problems. Don't just copy-paste that you're a "leader" or excel at "analysis". Instead, provide tangible metrics that define your success inusing the particular skill within the strengths, achievements, summary/ objective sections.
Top skills for your game developer CV:
Programming Languages (C++, C#, Java, Python)
Game Engines (Unity, Unreal Engine)
Graphics Development (OpenGL, DirectX, Vulkan)
Artificial Intelligence
Physics Simulation
Graphic Design
Audio Development
Networking and Multiplayer Game Development
VR and AR Development
Mobile Game Development
Problem-Solving
Creativity
Teamwork
Attention to Detail
Communication
Project Management
Adaptability
Critical Thinking
Passion for Gaming
Time Management
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Use mini case studies or success stories in your CV to demonstrate how your skills have positively impacted previous roles or projects.
Further professional qualifications for your game developer CV: education and certificates
As you're nearing the end of your game developer CV, you may wonder what else will be relevant to the role. Recruiters are keen on understanding your academic background, as it teaches you an array of hard and soft skills. Create a dedicated education section that lists your:
- applicable higher education diplomas or ones that are at a postgraduate level;
- diploma, followed up with your higher education institution and start-graduation dates;
- extracurricular activities and honours, only if you deem that recruiters will find them impressive.
Follow a similar logic when presenting your certificates. Always select ones that will support your niche expertise and hint at what it's like to work with you. Balance both technical certification with soft skills courses to answer job requirements and company values. Wondering what the most sought out certificates are for the industry? Look no further:
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Focus on describing skills in the context of the outcomes they’ve helped you achieve, linking them directly to tangible results or successes in your career.
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Key takeaways
Here are five things you need to remember about writing your game developer CV for success:
- Sort your experience based on the reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent career items, to showcase how you've grown your career;
- Include within your CV header your relevant contact details, a headline that could spotlight your unique value, and a photo - if you're applying for roles outside the UK or US;
- Decide to use the CV summary, if you happen to have more professional experience, and an objective, if you want to showcase your career goals;
- Within the experience section, write your bullets using action verbs, skills, and success, instead of just merely listing your on-the-job responsibilities;
- Prove your technical skills, using your education and certificates, and your soft skills, with your achievements and strengths sections.
