Guest Lecturer: Nicholas Rathbone (Codemasters)

A successful graduate from the University of Bolton. He is now currently a games designer for Codemasters UK, specialising in the creation of driving games, he has a very respectable career path so far. He has previously worked on Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and is now a designer on the Colin McRae games. With such a good work C.V. and being a graduate from the university he was now guest speaking at, the advice he shared with the class proved to be invaluable for preparing to go into the industry.

As assumed the lecture was very informative for me considering I finish in January, he told us crucial tips on how to stand out with our job applications. He stated the importance for the C.V.'s quality and always reminded us that it was our "sales pitch" to the employers. Things like cover letters accompanying the C.V. when applying for a position; were really good pointers that gives the applicants a chance to express a desire to work there. In the C.V. we were told to show relevant experience in the position applied for; as well as to not to waffle to much and drown out any important information.

Nick warned against the dangers of applying through some agencies as he mentioned that some can send your C.V. to irrelevant positions or take a percentage of your salary; the best way is to go direct to a company. After getting recognised comes the interview, with a combination of positivity and advanced preparation an interview can be a breeze. We were informed to "be prepared to be tested" by interviewers as the want to know what makes you tick and why you think you'd be good for the company, ultimately sell yourself. Having prepared questions after the interview is another bonus to aiding a successful application

I identified with him a lot when he was at University studying along with balancing a job which is my current situation at the moment. During the Q/A session I asked him about the difficulty along with the benefits as my aim is to save up so I can afford to move to a preferred job. That was also his plan and how he managed to get his first job which was a critical confidence boost.

Overall a lot of food for thought given to the entire class, we were told to be individual in everything we do as uniqueness gets recognised which has made me re think my website plan and start a fresh based on what was said today