Surviving a game industry layoff

Layoffs happen. In the video game industry they happen a lot. Generally, there’s no way to prevent a layoff as an employee and there’s really no “safe” company (as last year showed). There are three things you can know and act on immediately to deal with a layoff before it occurs, or once it happens to you.

One. You can make sure you’re keeping your profile and network up-to-date, even when you’re not job searching. Constantly keep in touch with colleagues, read trade publications, network at conferences or local IGDA chapter meetings, and find online places where other industry people hang out. Keep your resume up-to-date (this also helps you remember achievements when performance reviews come around!) both in the normal Word/PDF formats but also online in places like LinkedIn.

Two. “Look” for jobs when you’re not even really looking for a job. Put your resume into recruitment databases to get notifications of new jobs, look at job boards (like Mary-Margaret Network’s job board) to see who’s currently hiring and for what, and don’t just delete those emails from your friends without reading. Staying on top of whose hiring and for what keeps you abreast of industry trends. The key is to use them to figure out where you may need to be in the future. For example, if you are a programmer who suddenly notices a lot of programming jobs calling for experience with C++, you will want to spend some of your free time polishing up your C++ skills. This way, if the unexpected happens, you’ll be more prepared to fit into the roles others are hiring for right away.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via Three important things to know about layoffs » Mary-Margaret Network: Executive Search and Mission-Critical Recruiting in the Game Industry.