Featured image: Microsoft Copilot
Esports continues to make its case as not only a growing industry for developers, publishers and athletes but also a venture that can accommodate more departments and jumpstart worthwhile careers for the sustenance of gaming communities across the world; an ecosystem to thrive and benefit from. Esports just like every other industry requires the expertise from personnel to help grow and maintain it, and there are some tips one may want to consider when entering the world of esports in 2024:
- Hone skills related to your core strengths: A lot of companies in the esports industry are startups with low budgets, and are quite conservative about their hiring budgets, even with some of the established organizations in the scene. And for this reason esports jobs may require candidates to handle multiple roles because there may not be enough employees to assign to those roles. So if you make enough preparations for these instances you stand a chance at staying in the esports scene long term. Say a company needs a graphic designer for visual identity and motion graphics for their videos, if you are filling solely the graphic design role, your skill may be less valuable to someone who may have motion graphics in their arsenal. There is also another way to go by this which is improving on your skills after you have identified your core strengths so that it raises the chances of you meeting or exceeding requirements from esports jobs.
Photo Credit: Microsoft Copliot
- Attend events: There is a steady return with live events after the mishap that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are opportunities to make new connections with esports professionals. These gatherings lead to career prospects and possible referrals to organizations and some relevant unrelated connections. When there are events close to you, do consider strongly to attend them, and if you can, print out some business cards to hand over to the professionals you may get in contact with. Follow up accordingly via the platform of their choosing, and be patient as these connections take time to be established fully.
- Explore opportunities near you: By doing research into esports/gaming companies near you, you can make some entry into these spaces. Through classifieds online via LinkedIn, Indeed and on socials, you can reach out to companies to inquire about what capacity you can help out with what they are involved in. Tell them about your passion, and see what stems from there, and if there are no companies near you, you can pick up experience from a gaming company because of transfer of knowledge. Explain your skills and what areas you can excel in when you contact esports companies, and remember to not bother people repeatedly as their inboxes can be very busy.
- Work on your resume and cover letters: The esports industry is a niche space and is coveted as there are many people wanting to work in the space. Jobs can have an astounding amount of applications and as such you would want to leave an impression on your potential employer with your resume and cover letter. Find or create a stylish design for your resumes, especially if they are for creative or marketing jobs, and thoroughly go through to check for misspellings and other errors.
Photo Credit: Microsoft Copilot
- Use social media: For someone looking to enter into esports there are some platforms to check out with their communities posting job applications and other relevant information in esports. X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and Discord are some of places to start from as they provide help on taking esports seriously — LinkedIn especially, since it is more professional and cuts out all the extra nonsense on other platforms, and for Discord too, where you can join servers that relate to your interest, be active and connect with some cool people who can link you to more esports opportunities.
- Be motivated during your leisure time: Doing things to set yourself apart from other candidates can help greatly to break into the esports scene; designing, writing blogs, and YouTube videos on esports and sharing on socials (say X, Instagram) can have professionals and hiring managers can get in touch through these projects, and they can make for valuable points in your resumes and cover letters.
Conclusion
Focus on quality over quantity, put your all into the applications and do not get carried away by everything you see.
Esports has helped create jobs for lots of people. Interested in knowing about the business side of esports? Listen to the Gamers Change Lives Podcast! We get experienced guests from all around the world featuring.
Written by Jeffrey Osei-Agyeman
