“You Got The Gig” is a Q&A style interview with students and alumni about their job hunt strategies. If you’re a student or alumni who’d like to contribute your own tips & experience, email Toni for more info!
Kailin Zhu (MFA ’16)
Senior Designer at ustwo New York
Is this your first job/internship?
No.
How did you approach your search for a job/internship?
Know what you want – organizations, roles, type of projects, etc.
Present your best works – presentation is as important as the work itself.
Be honest and open – show humanity and willing to be flexible.
What did you do to find positions you are interested in?
I know ustwo since they released Monument Valley and some other their product design work, so it sorta always on my radar. (I did know the difference between ustwo studios and ustwo games)
What kinds of positions did you apply to, and how many places did you apply to before getting this position?
Senior designer. This was the only position I applied to at that point.
What materials did you submit as part of your application?
Portfolio and CV, maybe also a cover letter.
Was there a specific game/project in your portfolio you tried to showcase? (Tell us about it/link to it!)
For this role, I tried to show the range – not just games, but also experiential works and traditional UX/UI
Do you have any tips for preparing application materials?
Portfolio – Present your context, rationale, and process behind your decisions, not just the end result. Make sure whatever you show is organized and comprehensive.
CV – Prioritize most relevant experience and projects.
Tell us a bit about the application and interview process:
When I was interviewing ustwo, I got 3 rounds of interviews – 1 round Hiring manager, two rounds with peer panels (design and XFN), each one takes ~1hr, all onsite.
The first round was like a casual check-in. The hiring manager talked to me about the role and showed me some past projects. I talked about my experience and some work. He gave me some suggestions on how to present work. The 2nd and 3rd rounds were a presentation of my past works and Q&A from the team. They asked some questions about my process (in the context of projects I presented), and some behavioral questions about collaborations. In general, I think they were mostly just looking for a culture fit once they recognized my capabilities.
Did you have to do any sort of skills test/project as part of your interview?
No.
What advice do you have for other students looking for a job/internship?
Know what you want – You don’t need to show/apply a lot, but you want to be on top of what you are showing/applying to.
Don’t be shy – It’s totally ok to reach out to people via LinkedIn (or other social media), don’t worry about if they will reply to you, it doesn’t hurt to ask!
Don’t give up – Some of my friends took 6-8 months (or even longer) to land on their first job. I think luck is a big factor, but you will get there as long as you don’t give up
Did you hit any roadblocks during the job search?
Visa? I could’ve been more flexible during job searching if I’m not limited by my visa type (in terms of legally what kind of job I can take).
Where can people find your work?
My website is kailinzhu.com. Epitaph also just came out on Switch. At ustwo I’ve worked on GoGoBots.