GDS3 Prep: Final Words of Essay Advice

Tomorrow's when the first trial of GDS3 drops! Here are a few non-Magic-specific words of advice from me on writing good job application essays.

Sell yourself. There will be any conceivable "correct" answers to the given essay prompts, and which one you come up with is not that important. What matters is more is how you react to the question: can you think critically about game design? Can you defend an opinion with evidence? Can you stick to a coherent thesis? Can you evaluate strengths and weaknesses within your own position? If you can consistently come across as a competent and insightful thinker, it won't matter if your essays aren't the textbook answers R&D expects.

Proofread. Your first draft may contain tangents, misstatements, or straight up errors in spelling or grammar. Clean, polished prose is one of the easiest ways to communicate professionalism and care for detail. Once you've edited each individual essay, consider them as a whole- do they combine to paint a good picture of you as a designer? Or are there unintended omissions or overlaps?

Show them your humanity. They're looking for a coworker, not an emotionless designbot- a human person whom they'll have to deal with on a daily basis. Let your personality shine through in your writing via humor, passion, and candor. Avoid anything that could give the impression of pretension, arrogance, obsequiousness, or general dickishness.

Stick to the word limits.

Good luck, friends! I'll see you all at the multiple-choice test.