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@Reds: Question about employment opportunities, for us "jack-of-all-trades" types.

ModThe Djinn·8/12/2014, 7:30:56 AM·1 votes·653 views

Hello Riot (in general) & assorted Reds!

I'm The Djinn, and I've got a problem that I imagine many would-be Riot employees have: I'm a very quick learner with a wide range of talents and interests, but I lack the depth of experience to really specialize in any one of those interests. I was wondering if any Rioters could give me (and those in a similar position) a bit of advice about the application process in such a situation, or just a bit of industry advice in general.

A bit about my specific situation:

I'm a college graduate with a BS in Computer Science and a minor in Graphic Design. As far as that particular field goes I'm proficient (but not excellent) in C++ and C# programming, as well as standard web code (HTML, CSS3), and my main area of design interest is UI/UX design (specifically usability and simplicity), although I prefer high-level UX analysis to actually visually designing the interfaces.

I'm also an avid self-taught student of psychology, which feeds into my love of UX: I'm fascinated by the way that a design and layout can influence an individual user's actions and even their emotional state, and I feel that UX design in general should really take behavioral psychology a bit more to heart than I think many designers do.

I thrive on analysis and logic: I have a love of statistics, and prefer to approach problems through a combination of creative thinking and heavy analytics.

Finally, I've got over a decade of experience analyzing the relative strengths and weaknesses of game systems (typically pen & paper RPGs) and creating prize-winning content (as judged by the communities of some of the larger sites for said material) for those systems.

My issue is that I have spread myself and my talents so broadly that I am having trouble in an industry that seems to value specialization so highly. I've browsed the Riot careers many times, and am having trouble finding job openings that can showcase my abilities, which appear rather meager when condensed into a resume (due to the aforementioned lack of depth of experience). It's here I hope you can help me (and others in similar situations).

It seems that the following positions might benefit from a multi-faceted individual who is quick to pick up new knowledge and/or hone existing talents:

  • Technical Game Designer
  • Fraud Investigator
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Risk Investigator
  • Researcher
  • User Experience Coordinator
  • Analyst
  • Knowledge Curator

Do any of these positions seems like they might be a good match for a man of many talents? Are there more I may have missed? And, perhaps most importantly, can you offer any resume/cover letter advice with regards to convincing Riot that, despite my lack of experience on paper, I might be someone worth calling up to talk to?

From me and everyone other would-be Rioter with a similar issue: Thanks in advance!

-The Djinn

3 Comments

ploki1228/12/2014, 4:00:49 PM1 votes

First of all, I feel like "jack-of-all-trades" is simply a kinder rewording of "confused kids". Heck, right now I'm a confused kid, being 1.5 years into my B.Sc. in Computer Science and thinking of maybe going for a Math B.Sc. instead. People seldom have interests for everything, and even more rarely proficiency in it. Being able to do something is handy, but whatemployers are looking for is someone who can do that thing better than the average constantly.

Looking back onto what you said, you have a College diploma in CS, with experience mixed back-end(C#/C++) front-end(HTML and other web stuff). You said that what you like the most is UI/UX though (which is nice, since it can exist both front-end and back-end). Then, as a hobby you study Psychology on the side, because you think that it ties in extremely well with UX, obviously, but also UI.

Lastly, you've got a bit of experience in UX (I would guess) by designing contest-winning stuff for DnDs on some websites aimed at those.

If your passion and main field of study isn't obvious, god knows what is... You're obviously attracted to UI and/or UX.

Onto experience, cover letter and resume. Depending on what you're applying for, strict studies may be required. In that case, telling them you do have those is pretty much obviously required (that's in the resume, since applying implies you got the requirements).

Then, you've got the competence-based fields, where specific studies aren't a requirement but you should have the basic understanding of standard concepts before applying. I believe things like Fraud (need to know about legislations and stuff like that), Technical Designer or Security Technician (needs some deep programming knowledge), NOC (needs networking), or even simply ambassadors (needs second languages).

At last, you have what I consider wit-based fields, where about half the fields of study or experience would easily qualify your for the task and the other half can be justified. Imo, those are portions like Champion designers, eCommerce (I may be wrong there), Community Administrator, and many others. As long as you'Re passionate for what you do, and that the background you have can let them think you'll be able to do a good job, you have a shot at bein hired. If I'm a rocket scientist (I can't remember who, but there's at least 1 rocket scientist at Riot Games) and that it offered me a different approach to stuff, I could probably be a project/team manager as long as I'm able to justify my qualifications.

In every cases, it's all about the passion. Riot Games (and many other studios or standard workplaces) will only higher passionate people, people who enjoy what they do. Those kind of people not only yields better results (because they go the extra mile) but they make for a much much smoother workplace environment.

You should be able to guess that I'm hinting you toward UI/UX positions :P. If you want more details, I believe NeuroCat, RiotBergmeister (chances of me writing this one correctly is NaN) and Davin are all in UX and could probably help you decide if it's a field for you.

General Esdeath 7/31/2017, 8:31:16 AM1 votes

And so the legend began!