Alright #gamedev friends, let's talk about some advice I have for folks after doing a big hiring push. Before I jump into the advice, some information about me and the team for context: 1/x

I'm the design lead for League Labs, the team of teams that house League's game modes work, TFT, and some secret stuff. Most of my job is managing folks, setting some high level direction, and lately, a ton of staffing and hiring.

We needed folks to grow out a number of the teams, and I've seen a bajillion resumes, design tests, and interviewed folks at a bunch of different levels. I wanted to start by covering a few mistakes that were surprisingly common. 3/x (yes I forgot 2/x, twitter is hard)

Let's start with application stuff. Your application needs to make you stand out, and help the hiring manager be excited about you. Write your cover letter with that in mind, and customize your resume to that goal as well. I cannot stress how big the pools can be. 4/x

If you are given the option to write a cover letter, write one. This is your best chance to tell us who you are, and why you're great! The number of folks that didn't submit one was staggering. This is extra true of folks trying to break into their first design gig. 5/x

Review your application a few times. Ensure your portfolio link works. Address the right studio in your opening and try to be generally free of typos. A tiny mistake won't be too rough, but if you address another game studio, or your letter is hard to follow, it's a bad look. 6/x

If you're going to look up the hiring manager's name to address them directly, make sure you look for other details. If they have preferred pronouns or titles for example, use those. I didn't disqualify anyone for "Mr. Graylock" but it sure didn't make my job any happier. 7/x

In your cover letter, stick to talking yourself up and a generally positive tone. If you use that space to tell me all the terrible mistakes we're making in our games, and that you alone understand them well enough to fix them, it's not very convincing. 8/x

One of the fastest ways to expose a lack of understanding of game development is to assume we don't see the problems in our games, and have no idea how to fix them. That's almost never the blocker to a better game experience. 9/x

Finally, don't sell yourself short! Maybe you don't have a shipped game or dev experience. Do you have a black belt? Were you a team captain, or a raid leader? Did you tutor folks? Where you a shift lead at your summer job? These are all hype! 10/x

Design involves a lot of leadership, sharing knowledge, and general dedication and responsibility. We know it's hard to get in the door, so help us see where you've demonstrated these qualities outside of game development. 11/x

Last note: No game experience is too small. Game jams! Hell Yes! Home brew TTRPG setting? Hell Yes! Mods or community content! Triple Hell Yes! If you make game stuff, people tell you what's good, and you make it better, you're doing game design and I want to hear about it. 12/12