Asta Baumöller describes herself as a hunter and gatherer. She is actually a human resources and management consultant. Your company MELT.MEDIA RECRUITMENT places skilled workers in media jobs and the creative industries, including the games industry. That's why she'll be in Cologne on August 6th and will take part in the gamescom congress as part of the world's largest trade fair for digital games. Together with Dr. Stephan Brunow (Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research), Andrej Maibaum (Blue Byte) and Achim Quinke (Quinke Networks) will discuss the topic “Games skills shortage reloaded: New ways in recruiting & further training”. We previously spoke to Asta Baumöller about the shortage of skilled workers, entry opportunities and job prospects in the games industry.
Ms. Baumöller, what does the job market in the games industry look like?
On the one hand, the games industry is growing rapidly, which in turn means that an incredible number of jobs are being created and there are many open positions. However, the industry has problems finding and retaining suitable skilled workers and young talent. On the other hand, there are many young people who would like to work in this area - but apparently don't have the right profile (yet) or make mistakes when applying.
That sounds ideal at first: lots of open positions and lots of interested parties. Why doesn't this come together?
The reasons for this lie on both sides – the employers and the interested parties. The main reason is certainly that the industry is young and - even from an international perspective - there is generally not a lot of specialized staff available. The games industry also seems very closed to me, as an outside personnel consultant. I have the impression that decision-makers in the games industry want to sense very early on in an applicant that they are dealing with a person with a passion for games who has demonstrably already had contact with the topic. This is usually reflected in certain points in the cover letter, CV or portfolio - for example through an internship, further training or in-depth knowledge of the industry and a demonstrably high personal interest in the topic.
And on the applicant side?
In my opinion, most interested parties approach an application too naively. Many people simply want to work in the industry and apply to several companies with the same application. This shotgun approach is usually doomed to failure. It is better to think about what added value you can bring to a company as an applicant, what exactly your profile looks like and what you are actually looking for - what fits together before you apply. I think it is important to put yourself in the shoes of the potential employer and read the job advertisement carefully. You shouldn't be put off if skills are required that you may not yet have in full. An application makes sense if you meet around 70% of the desired requirements - but the application should then also be designed in a targeted manner, building on these abilities and skills. This also applies to applications in other industries.
How can employers and applicants find each other better? Which of the two should rethink this?
In my opinion, it would be good for the games industry to become a little more open. Normally there is no shortage of incoming applications - many receive laundry baskets full of applications, two thirds of which do not fit at all. Nevertheless, in my opinion, applicants who do not meet all the requirements should not be categorically sorted out as quickly as is currently the case. It could be helpful to invite more candidates who you think have a good personal fit to an interview to determine whether they are running on the same fuel, whether they have the right motivation, whether the creative approach is right and whether there is a willingness to incorporate new topics.
Does the games industry differ from other industries in this entrenched search for skilled workers?
I wouldn't say that. My general feeling: the more technological knowledge required for a position, the greater the uncertainty when assessing a profile. Which probably has a little to do with the fact that there are generally no technologists in human resources departments around the world. This means that the HR manager has to assess applicants' competencies in which they themselves are not really specialized. It is therefore important that HR managers obtain the appropriate knowledge from the respective departments and work closely with specialist departments. In my experience, when it comes to a technological job, people are unfortunately more likely to look at whether the applicant can adequately demonstrate at least eight of the ten required tech skills and rarely look for suitable soft skills, good motivation or cultural fit, because then you feel confident in the assessment.
Is the games industry just for IT people?
No. There should be an affinity for the topic, but graphic artists, designers, sound designers, authors, people for marketing, etc. are also needed in the games industry. There is no typical job for the games sector.
Would you generally describe the industry as an attractive employer?
I do believe that you can see the industry itself as an interesting employer where you can work on innovations. Companies usually go to great lengths to retain their employees, with feel-good managers, all sorts of features in the offices and workplaces, incredible flexibility, and so on. The working conditions are very luxurious, especially compared to other industries. But on the other hand, due to the general shortage of skilled workers, teams are often understaffed, which can lead to the work being distributed from five people to just two.
At the moment there are hardly any universities that offer courses in the games sector. Is the games industry therefore an industry for career changers?
I believe that the industry was a career changer industry, especially in the beginning, but it is no longer that way. There are now also some private schools that provide training in this area. And the more people there are on the market who have had such training, the higher the industry's expectations of applicants may be. I really hope that state education will follow suit in the next few years. It would be appropriate if the state education system paid more attention to the topic of games. After all, the industry is also an incredibly important economic factor with many job vacancies. I also believe that trained gamers are not only interesting for the games industry.
Do you mean the topic of gamification?
Exactly. In my work, I'm noticing more and more that experienced professionals from the games industry are also becoming more interesting for other industries. For example, for agencies or companies that want to conceptually optimize an extremely dry, digital product and make it more exciting. People from the games industry, with their insights and data resulting from gaming behavior and the conception of games, are particularly well suited to such tasks.
At the gamescom congress you will discuss exactly these topics with representatives from the industry. What do you hope to achieve from it?
I am very excited to see what answers will come when it comes to the issue of a shortage of skilled workers. Some companies have had hundreds of positions advertised for years that are still not filled. As an outsider, I ask myself how this is possible: Isn't it important to fill the positions promptly? Are the decision-makers or HR departments taking the wrong approach? Or is the number of suitable applicants really that small? I'm already very excited about the insights from the industry.
Further information about the gamescom congress and the complete lecture program are available online. Tickets for the congress only cost 49 euros and are available here .
Asta Baumöller describes herself as a hunter and gatherer. She is actually a human resources and management consultant. Your company MELT.MEDIA RECRUITMENT places skilled workers in media jobs and the creative industries, including the games industry. That's why she'll be in Cologne on August 6th and will take part in the gamescom congress as part of the world's largest trade fair for digital games. Together with Dr. Stephan Brunow (Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research), Andrej Maibaum (Blue Byte) and Achim Quinke (Quinke Networks) will discuss the topic “Games skills shortage reloaded: New ways in recruiting & further training”. We previously spoke to Asta Baumöller about the shortage of skilled workers, entry opportunities and job prospects in the games industry.
