Today’s Video Game Tester Jobs

Finding video game tester jobs should be simple. I should be easy. Game companies need testers and you want to test games, a win/win, no? And yet for some reason, it isn’t quite “just that simple”.

Well, don’t fret. If you want to get one of the many video game tester jobs that always need to be filled, then read on. I’ll fill you in on where to look and what you should consider.

Are All Game Testing Jobs The Same?

Each game and testing company is unique, but there are some similarities that always apply. You should think about what the best fit is for you. Even though you will be testing games, keep in mind that this is a game testing job.

Working at a large game company means that you will (in the grand scheme) just be a number. You will have your own group within which to spend your time, but you are QA and you are a number. Many of these positions are seasonal. Meaning you will be hired as a temp for a preset length of time (generally ~3-6 months) or for the length of a project. If you have a choice, probably should go for the latter since projects are always completing behind schedule.

You may be a number, but you will have access to a large number of contacts. You have a better chance of testing one of the top game franchises. You can pretty much count on the company staying in business (at least until the end of your project). And you can be pretty sure that any project you are hired to test will be completed and released (by the time they get around to hiring temp testers, the project should have the green light).

Although generally filling the majority of their video game tester jobs by hiring temps, these companies may convert you to a full-time “regular” employee. You usually need to survive a couple of “seasons” of game releases before they will convert you, but it can happen. It helps to be in the right place at the right time, but not enough can be said for standing out by being the best tester in the room.

This may sound daunting, but since these companies staff their testing departments with temps that are just “gamers”, standing out might be easier than it sounds. “Gamers” don’t take their testing seriously – that’s why they’re gamers and not testers. If you want to get converted, you should learn to be the best – position yourself to succeed in one of the many video game tester jobs.

Working for a smaller game company will allow you more insight into the development process. Although you may be hired on a temporary (or per-project) basis, you should have a chance to learn more in a shorter period of time than at a larger company.

Smaller companies cannot afford to keep you around if you don’t produce. This means that you should be ready to hit the ground running when you arrive. You should know the basics and learn as much as you can as fast as you can. Companies don’t have too much difficulty finding people like you who are looking for video game tester jobs. Where their challenge lies is in finding real game testing professionals that are worth keeping around.

At a smaller company you have more of an opportunity to shine or visibly fail. Either way, what you do will be noticed. There is nowhere for you to hide, and they don’t have the money to keep you around if you can’t cut it.

On the other hand, they may not be able to keep you around even if you can cut it. Sad but true, the small game company can usually only handle a small core of regular employees. This means that even if you are an elite tester, they may not have the money to keep you around – no matter how much they might want to.

Then there is the third party testing company. This is a Quality Assurance company that does not develop the games itself, but is responsible for some or all of the testing effort. A job at these companies is historically not all that difficult to secure due to the high turnover rate – and they are really not a bad place to start.

You may still be hired on a per-project basis, but these companies do their best to retain top-quality testers and QA Leads. These companies need the best they can find – especially the smaller ones.

These third party testing houses can’t offer design or programming positions once you have outgrown your game tester job. They have testing positions…and that’s just about it. A nice side benefit of this is that they usually pay their game testers more than the large gaming companies will – and that’s not all bad.

If you are definitely looking for video game tester jobs then the third party testing company does have, potentially, one major drawback; their testing needs may not entail games (at least for now). Third party testing houses generally have the ability to test a number of different types of software, and sometimes, hardware.

Will they need your testing for a game, or for a website, microscope, educational software, etc.? They might need you to test a game, and if they do, that’s great. You were looking for a game tester job, and you found it. But…what game do they need you to test? Is it something that you really want to test? When you’re psyched to test Call of Duty 10 and are tasked with the latest improvements in Pokemon…well, let’s just say it’s not the same.

Think About It...

Is the title of the game itself what is most important to you?

Is being able to make a visible contribution and be recognized for it more important?

Or are you really interested in a career in quality assurance beyond game testing?

As you look at these companies, follow their job application rules, and interview with them, think about whether or not the company will be a good fit for you. You are the main person responsible for positioning yourself for success – find a company where you will have a chance to succeed.

If you are driven to finding video game tester jobs because you think it would just be the coolest thing ever to get paid to play video games, then you should consider what games you like. There are so many thousands of games available to test that you should consider carefully if this is what motivates you.

The type of game(s) you want to test should help you narrow down what companies you will want to work for. Not every company works on every kind of game. If you want to work on a large variety of games, you should focus your job search on one of the larger game companies; EA, Sony, etc.

If there is a specific game franchise (Halo, Madden, Guitar Hero) that you want to test, you should focus your job search on the companies that own the rights to those games. It won’t guarantee that you will get to work on those games right away, but if you are working somewhere else the odds of you working on those games are far longer.

Where Are They Hiding?

Very few video game tester jobs are posted on the big job boards anymore. Those that are, hide amongst listings for test engineers, automation specialists, and other non-video game related software testing jobs. If you want a game testing job, you will generally be better served searching elsewhere.

One of the places to search for video game tester jobs is on the website of a company whose games you want to test. Although many companies have difficulty keeping their open positions up to date, it is a good starting point. You can find out about positions that have been open, do some research about the company, and get a better idea if you really want to test the games that they develop.

Submitting your resume or completing a job application online with one of these companies is not the most high-yield endeavor, but again, it is a start. Apply in whatever format they request. This is not the place to get fancy and make up your own way of applying for a position. You are on their site – follow their requests…then move on.

But to where..? Where do you find these jobs?

Due to the sheer number of applicants, positions, and fluctuating project schedules, in the software industry, many companies have come to rely on outsourcing their applicant gathering. They want someone else to spend the time finding out if an applicant is even worth talking to. And so this is where you want to look.

Check out the staffing agencies. Go to the website of a staffing agency and browse their tester jobs. Check “test”, “tester”, “game tester”, and or “QA”. You most likely will find several listings in the gaming arena. You’ve hit gold!

A good staffing agency will help you tailor your resume toward the company you’ll be applying to. They should have a very clear idea of the position that you’ve be applying for. And they will already have a working relationship with the company that you’ll be applying to. They do the introduction. You just go and impress them with how amazing you are!

Which staffing agencies should you try? Honestly – probably all of them. Just because you’re using an agency doesn’t mean that you have remedied this “numbers game”. The gaming companies get thousands of applications, the staffing agencies handle thousands of applicants – in and amongst all of that is…you.

This does not mean you can’t stand out. Quite the contrary, the higher the number of “Average Joes” the more differentiated you can be. Give yourself a boost up by learning what you need to know for the interview. Ensure your success by learning how to impress from Day One!

So, which agencies? I have had success as an applicant through and have hired from a few different agencies. The quality of staff can vary from office to office, but the first three I would contact are:
• Robert Half Technologies (a division of RHI)
• Nelson Staffing
• Modis

Look them up online. Do a little Google dance and check out their sites. Find an office near you. Get your resume together and contact them. Then go down and find out in person what video game tester jobs they have available.

There are always video game tester jobs available. Demand varies from season to season and depending whether or not it is the “on” or offseason – but game tester jobs always need to be filled.

Two more tidbits for you to know…

One: None of the staffing agencies need to know that you are shopping your services to another agency. If asked, don’t lie about it – tell them the truth. But this is not information that you need to volunteer.

If they assume you are not shopping around for the best position for you, then there is no reason to confuse them. If they think that you are contacting only their agency in hope of landing one of the many video game tester jobs, no need to trouble their naïve existences with today’s reality. But trust me…they know. You just don’t need to volunteer it.

And Two: Please, for the love of Pete, keep track of where you apply. If you talk to an agency, note who you talked to, when, and what about. Keep this information somewhere that is easy for you to find. When you interview at a company, again, make the same sort of note.

Why? Because one of the quickest ways to not get a job is to be the loser that doesn’t know who their talking to, or why, or for what position. When someone calls you to discuss a job opening – be able to reference who they are. If it’s not important enough for you to know which video game tester jobs you have applied for then why should someone bother to give you one of their open positions?

Demonstrate that you can handle these simple details and maybe one of the coveted video game tester jobs will be yours. Be someone who cares enough to make a difference. Video game testing techniques require just as much detail tracking as any other types of testing. If you are not enough of a priority to yourself, why should anyone assume that their product will be a priority to you?

Attend the Details and Prepare to Succeed