Recruiter Hot Seat: nDreams

What differentiates your studio from other developers?
nDreams is focused on virtual reality and has been since 2013. We’re looking to make innovative, commercial VR titles and we have a major focus on early prototyping and encouraging ideas from anywhere in the company. We pride ourselves on not hiring people who are political (we like everyone to be honest and open) and believe we’ve built a studio where people work together rather than being siloed into independent departments and also have a healthy work/life balance.

Just be honest and show us who you really are

Tamsin O’Luanaigh, talent director, nDreams

What perks are available working at your studio?
nDreams have competitive salaries and a good pension scheme, childcare vouchers and season ticket loans. We try and accommodate work/life balance as much as possible so the team works core hours 10:00-5:00. In addition to holiday, we offer two duvet days and you get your birthday off. We also provide a free counselling service for all staff. In the studio, there is always access to free fruit and there is a subsidised tuck shop, along with ‘Bacon Mondays’ (once a month) and ‘Beer Fridays’ (also once a month). We try and arrange occasional bowling/cinema trips and we always have a summer and Christmas party. We support Video Games Ambassador membership (VGAs) and allow time off for events. We subsidise membership of BAFTA Crew for any of our staff who wish to apply.

What should aspiring devs do with their CV to get an interview?
Your CV needs to stand out and show your passion for your skills and the job we are hiring for. Your portfolio needs to be up to date. Don’t fill it with everything you have ever done, make sure the quality stands out. Make it easy for us to see who you are.

What advice would you give for a successful interview at your studio?
If you are having an interview, then we have already seen your potential in your CV. Now we are looking at how you might fit in with our team? What potential do you have for the future? Can you fill existing gaps? How passionate are you about VR or your technical area? How do you resolve problems? Just be honest and show us who you really are. Who is the best interviewee you have ever had and how did they impress you? The best interviewees are those who are truly honest about their capabilities and don’t try and be something they aren’t. In VR we are all learning new skills and facing new tech and challenges. We want people who can work with our teams and find solutions together. We have taken a lot of people on this year and they have been people who have been impressed us in different ways – everyone has their own strengths and unique area of talent.

And who was the worst?
Fortunately, our selection process is pretty good so it is rare for us to have really poor interview experiences. Occasionally we find that candidate expectation is different to our own but we make every effort to ask challenging questions early on in the process so that no one experiences any wasted time.

If you have recruited internationally what is the process like?
We have a lot of European staff working in our studio. The recruitment process itself within nDreams is quite established and is similar wherever the applicants come from. We have helped a few staff relocate here and as with anyone moving to the area, our HR department helps with the transition.

How have recruitment needs changed at your studio?
Recruitment has evolved hugely in the studio in the last couple of years. We have transitioned from taking on staff referrals or phoning up an agency two or three times a year, to setting up a formalised in-house multi-sourcing recruitment strategy. We combine agency sourcing, staff referrals and direct advertising for permanent, freelance and contract roles. It really depends on the project we are working on and the type of roles and skills we might need at any given time. We take great pride in building a core team of talented development staff. The types of roles we hire for tend to be predominantly development – art, code, design, production, QA – and they are determined by the projects and lifecycles at any given time.

CURRENTLY HIRING

Company: nDreams
Location: Farnborough, UK
Currently hiring: Artists, programmers and designers
Where to apply:http://www. ndreams.com/company-info/jobs