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Interview: Dr Gary Ushaw

We interviewed senior games lecturer, and former Director of Business and Engagement for the School of Computing, Dr Gary Ushaw, about what you can do to improve your employability.

Sum up your role in 10 words or less 

 Career opportunities for Computing students (especially games) 

What are your official job responsibilities? 

As part of my role as Director of Business and Engagement for the School of Computing, I had an overview of all career, employability and placement activities for our students. 

What are your unofficial job responsibilities? 

As a part of Game Lab, I have a lot of successful links with the game development industry. My term as Director of Business has recently come to an end, so I am reverting to focusing on the games industry. However, I remain more than happy to talk to students about careers and placements across the digital sector. 

Why do you have strong links to industry? 

I worked in the video game industry for many years (lead programmer and engineering manager with Ubisoft, BBC, Sony, Rockstar, Atari) so I have an extensive network of contacts in that industry, which has widened across the entire UK game development sector due to the success of our graduates from the MSc and MComp in Game Engineering. 

What companies do you work with? 

We work with every major game development studio in the UK (Activision, Rebellion, Ubisoft, Epic, Nvidia, Sony, Rockstar, Warner Bros, Microsoft, Sega, Sumo, etc, etc) as well as the independent game developers around the northeast and further afield, and international developers around the world. They all employ graduates from our MSc/MComp, provide industry talks, and advise on the course content, because they know the high quality of our graduates. 

How would you say you help students improve their employability? 

The key word here is “opportunity”.  As a school, we provide a lot of opportunities for students to meet potential employers from across the digital sector and beyond. We also provide opportunity for improving your interview skills, CV feedback, etc. We are currently ranked third equal in the country for employability of our undergraduates in Computer Science, which is due to our fantastic students seizing opportunities. 

What areas do you think students need to improve on when it comes to employability, and how can they improve those areas? 

Different companies focus on different areas, many will be interested in technical skills, but all are interested in the ability to communicate and work well with others. If there is one area I would highlight, it is the team project. Employers do not want to hire so-called hero programmers, who do all of the work themselves. They want to hire team players who can forge meaningful and productive relationships with their peers. Our team project in Stage 2 is designed to provide that experience and opportunity. 

In what order would you rank the following things in terms of importance from an applicant (first most important, last least important) 

CV, Cover Letter, Portfolio, Interview, Code Interview 

They are all equally important, with some sectors focusing more on some stages (portfolio for example). The key is to remember that each of those elements listed is a mechanism to get you to the next stage of the process. CV and portfolio get you to the interview and technical test stage. The other thing to remember is that interviews are a two-way process – you are finding out about the company, and whether you want to work with them. 

If there was one piece of advice you want students to take away from this interview, what would it be? 

Seize the opportunities. 

Can students contact you for advice, and if so, what is the best way to contact you? 

Yes, absolutely. Email me, or just come to my office. 

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Tell us how we should be helping your employability

Please fill out one of the following forms, the one relevant to your current stage, to give us some insight as to what areas of employability we should be improving to help you.

Stage 1

https://forms.office.com/r/WjRGbbdw1n

Stage 2

https://forms.office.com/r/ijaQG9LSyx

Stage 3

https://forms.office.com/r/34dayVgatM

By filling out one of these surveys, we can get a better idea of what content and resources we should be creating to help you as students.

Your help is much appreciated!

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Breaking up your employability journey – Stage 3

For most, university is about gaining the necessary skills and knowledge to enter a certain field or industry. It is this reason why a lot of people quite easily fall down the rabbit hole and assume they must have their whole university time planned, with placement along the way before concluding in the perfect graduate role.  

Especially for those who are just starting, the untapped potential you have at your fingertips over the next few years can be really overwhelming and you can’t help but try to plan everything as soon as possible (I know I did). This isn’t sustainable and will likely lead to early burnout.  

To hopefully help you with the process, the following article lays out a method of breaking down how you can improve your employability over the course of your university career. This is just a rough guide; some stuff will work for others that doesn’t work for you. And that’s okay.  

If there is one thing you do learn though, it is that you do not need to do everything straight away and even the smallest step is important. 

This is the third article of three, focusing on what stage three students could be doing in this final part of their degrees. If you are interested in any other stage, Stage 1 or Stage 2 please click the respective link. 

Semester 1 

Polish and Self Promotion 

Whether you are returning from a placement, or have just finished your second year, congratulations on making it this far. Regardless of what grades you’ve received, the fact that you’ve already committed this much time to your degree is impressive and won’t go amiss by employers. 

For many, this year is a big one. You get to specialize and focus on a certain field by picking modules, a dissertation and the looming threat of securing a job for when you’re done. It can be a lot, and it can be stressful. But remember, you already have two years of knowledge and skill to show off, so be sure to do just that. 

To avoid the stress of trying to sort out your CV and portfolio, applying for jobs and doing a dissertation all at the same time. Be sure to try and break them up. I recommend starting with your CV and portfolio. 

In the previous articles, I kept mentioning that you should be improving and iterating on your portfolio to the point that you are probably sick of the word. But it really is that important! By now you should hopefully have a nice-sized portfolio of work, including things like your team project. Take some time to fine-tune and make your portfolio something you can really be proud of. Check out this article for some more tips. As the year progresses and you work on more specific projects for your chosen career, be sure to include them in your portfolio and maybe even do a few shameless promotions on LinkedIn! 

Semester 2 

Apex of Applications 

Except for some roles at larger companies like Google and Microsoft, the window for most of your applications will be within your second semester. And there is no point beating around the bush, it will be a stressful period.  

However, if you have a portfolio and cv ready before you even start applying, it will mean you have one less thing to juggle. Having a “generic” cv is a great starting point for any application but be sure to take the time to specialise it for the role you are applying for, much like how you would do with a cover letter. 

Keep a spreadsheet of roles you have applied for, as well as how far along the application pipeline you are, with the relevant cover letters and CVs for each role. This means that if you progress to the next stage, you don’t have to scramble around to figure out what you said in your application. 

If you start to notice trends in your applications with either no responses or immediate rejections, be sure to reflect on why this is happening and actively change your applications. Use the Careers Service to help with this! 

Semester 3 

Securing Those Graduate Roles 

Hopefully, between semesters 1 and 2, you will receive responses from the various companies you have applied for. If they like your application, you might have progressed to the next stage in their application process. It varies from company to company what the next step might be, but it could include any of the following: 

  • Assessment Centre 
  • Coding Interview 
  • Classic Interview (1-1) 
  • Group Interview 
  • Presentation 
  • Personality Test 

Any of these can be nerve-racking to attend but all you can do is try your best. Remember, you are already on good footing because they liked your application. They want to fill their open roles! 

Don’t get disheartened if you aren’t successful with your first, second or third application. The job hunt is an iterative process. After each one, reflect on what went well and what didn’t. Where you can, ask for feedback from those who conducted the interview or managed the application process then apply what you have learned the next time. 

And again, please make use of the Careers Service. It is there to make your life easier and has the main responsibility of helping you get a job.  

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Breaking up your employability journey – Stage 2

For most, university is about gaining the necessary skills and knowledge to enter a certain field or industry. It is this reason why a lot of people quite easily fall down the rabbit hole and assume they must have their whole university time planned, with placement along the way before concluding in the perfect graduate role.  

Especially for those who are just starting, the untapped potential you have at your fingertips over the next few years can be really overwhelming and you can’t help but try to plan everything as soon as possible (I know I did). This isn’t sustainable and will likely lead to early burnout.  

To hopefully help you with the process, the following article lays out a method of breaking down how you can improve your employability over the course of your university career. This is just a rough guide; some stuff will work for others that doesn’t work for you. And that’s okay.  

If there is one thing you do learn though, it is that you do not need to do everything straight away and even the smallest step is important. 

This is the second article of three, focusing on what stage two students could be doing at this next stage of their employment journey. If you are interested in any other stage, Stage 1 or Stage 3, please click the respective link. 

Semester 1 

Securing Placements 

Stage One done! Congratulations on completing your first year. Regardless of how it went, don’t dwell on the past, because from here things truly begin to ramp up. While in first year I recommended maybe spending about half an hour working on your employability, now you should probably start ramping up a little bit. Especially if you want to get a placement. 

For many, you may be thinking that you have plenty of time to secure placements for third year, but they can be extremely competitive to get so the sooner you start the better. This is even more important for larger companies like Microsoft and Google who tend to search and hire earlier in the year.  

Be sure to make use of the careers service to help improve your CVs and Cover Letters before you start applying, as they will be able to spot any weaknesses in your applications that could cost you an interview. It might take some time for companies to get back to you about applications but in the meantime, you will be confident in the fact you have applied for roles in a calm and collective manner rather than rushing to send applications off later in the year while juggling assignments. 

For some students, a placement year might not be the thing for you (I know it wasn’t for me). That is perfectly fine, but it doesn’t mean you’ll have nothing to do. It just means you have more time to fine-tune your portfolio! Working on extra projects is a fantastic way to get companies to hire you. And you may also want to consider applying for shorter roles you can either do alongside your studies, or over the summer between stages 2 and 3 (The MyCareers page is great for this as it advertises roles done with the University). 

Semester 2 

Networking and Interviews  

After that initial rush of applying for placements, be sure to try and catch up with your studies. It can be a difficult thing to juggle both your degree and employment, so don’t feel bad if you drop slightly behind!  

Hopefully, you will start receiving responses to applications at some point during semester 2, or even semester 1, and if they like what they see, you may be in with an interview. In a post covid world, a lot of interviews might be over video, but there are some cases where they may ask you to come to their offices. This might mean that you must miss some lessons but if you let your personal tutor and module leader know, it should be fine. The Careers Service also has resources to help you prepare for interviews and assessment centers so that you can really shine out to employers.  

Regardless of if you are going on a placement or not, there is something you must start doing. Networking. Certainly not the happiest word in the English language, networking can fill you with existential dread, but it does work. Whether it’s talking to other people at an interview or attending a short conference, just talking to people will help down the line, especially if you manage to get some LinkedIn connections! 

Semester 3 

Portfolio Progression 

Hopefully by now, if you tried to secure one, you have a placement for next year. Fantastic! What now? You might think you can put your feet up for the rest of the year and to a certain extent you can. But there are other things you can be getting up to. At around this time of year, you might be working on your team project, which is something great to include in your portfolio. But what else should you include?  

If you haven’t been working on anything outside of your degree, you might have a solid portfolio of work, but it will look exactly like everyone else’s. Spending time working on your own projects, be it a mobile game, recreation of a piece of software or just something fun you made in your spare time, is a great way to stand out. If you want more tips on how to improve your portfolio, check out this article. 

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Breaking up your employability journey – Stage 1

For most, university is about gaining the necessary skills and knowledge to enter a certain field or industry. It is this reason why a lot of people quite easily fall down the rabbit hole and assume they must have their whole university time planned, with placement along the way before concluding in the perfect graduate role.  

Especially for those who are just starting, the untapped potential you have at your fingertips over the next few years can be really overwhelming and you can’t help but try to plan everything as soon as possible (I know I did). This isn’t sustainable and will likely lead to early burnout.  

To hopefully help you with the process, the following article lays out a method of breaking down how you can improve your employability over the course of your university career. This is just a rough guide; some stuff will work for others that doesn’t work for you. And that’s okay.  

If there is one thing you do learn though, it is that you do not need to do everything straight away and even the smallest step is important. 

This is the first article of three, focusing on what stage one students could be doing to get their employability journey underway. If you are interested in any other stage, Stage 2 or Stage 3 please click the respective link. 

Semester 1 

Settling in 

For many, this is your first time away from home, living in a brand-new city, and sometimes even a brand-new country. It can be a lot to process, which is why thinking too far into the future so soon will not be beneficial. 

Just take the first semester to get the lay of the land, settle into a routine with your degree and try and make some friends. Joining a few societies at the start is a terrific way to get integrated with university life and looks great on your CV later down the road. 

Semester 2 

Setting up 

Now that you’ve had the chance to settle into your degree and university, now might be a good time to start looking a little bit into the future. I should emphasise that you do not have to get started now if you don’t think you’re ready to.  

If you are feeling up to it, try and spend 30 minutes every week working on your employability. This could be by improving your CV, practicing writing cover letters, online courses or attending sessions hosted by the careers service. But at this stage, spending more than 30 minutes a week might not be necessary so be sure not to spend all your time doing this. Doing something as simple as setting up a LinkedIn account is a great way to get started. 

Semester 3 

Looking back and looking forward 

In the final part of first year, chances are you will be swamped with deadlines galore so don’t worry if you can’t spend much time working on your employability. But after the deadline season is finished and you have a nice long summer break ahead of you, there are a few things you could be getting up to. 

You’ve just finished your first year of university, congratulations! Now is a great time to reflect on what you have done in the past year. What modules did you enjoy more than others? What topics did you find harder to grasp? Asking yourself questions like this might already give you an indication of what field you might want to go into as well as what topics to work on outside of university to gain more confidence for next year.  

If you already have an idea of what field you want to go into (you absolutely do not have to know this yet though), this could be a prime opportunity to start looking into companies in that field that could take you on for placements after your second year. There is no point applying quite yet but getting an idea of what companies are out there will be a huge help down the line. 

Where you can, try to work on your portfolio. By working on projects in your own time, that aren’t related to university, it not only shows your work ethic but also your initiative. There is also the advantage of keeping the skills you’ve learned up to now sharp and ready for stage 2. 

While there are many things you can get up to in the summer, be sure to take time for yourself and have a break. Try not to burn yourself out and rest so that by the time stage 2 comes around, you can come in swinging.