Why Audio Directors Avoid You

A few months ago one of you emailed me various questions about networking. I think it was around GDC-time, so you can imagine the usual crop of questions. One, paraphrased below, stood out:

“I really want to work in AAA so I imagine I need to meet Audio Directors, right? They always seem incredibly busy or don’t want to engage in conversation. How do I get in front of them and get their attention so I can get them to notice/hire me?!”

My typical answer for this question is something along the lines of this –

You don’t.

Instead, you go do forward-thinking, incredible work on your own that gets noticed and pulls people towards you instead of having to jump in front of them.

It’s a longer game, so most people don’t want to play it despite the much higher success rate if you stick with the program.

I’ve spelled that kind of thing out for you all plenty – so today I want to talk about why the success rate is higher and why many Directors/Leads avoid you like the plague, if at all possible.

Because, with an empathetic perspective, hopefully you’ll build those relationships you actually want so much.

I Don’t Have Time

Recently, I took on a new position at a new (to me, kind of) company. I’m not contracting anymore, and I’m in a role with leadership responsibilities and requirements.

The details of that don’t matter and I’m not going to share them here – the only reason it’s remotely relevant is that I want to share the perspective I’m engaging you with now. Instead of being a Technical Sound Designer alone, I’m having to spend a lot of time forward-thinking for a large swath of a product’s development.

In short that means, where I thought I was strapped for time and mental energy before (ie: a few weeks ago) – I’m really strapped for time and mental energy now.

Part of this is my absolutely insane life choices – working, doing school, running multiple side businesses, and being engaged and available with my spouse takes a lot of time when it’s all combined.

But part of this is what I imagine many in Director/Lead/Head positions face – you have to become so engaged with good decision making and your people that it leaves very little space for anyone outside that bubble. It also makes it extremely easy to become work-obsessed and never turn off because you’re very personally invested in your team.

Imagine you’ve agreed to assume leadership aboard a large ship with numerous crew members. It doesn’t matter if you’re the captain of the ship, or some other lead officer – just that you’ve got to make the best decisions you can, and people are relying on your for health, safety, and sanity.

Also imagine this ship is hauling at top speed across the ocean, in unstable water, and you somehow helicoptered in while the ship is crossing the ocean.

That is what assuming leadership in game development is like.

I’m sure I have a skewed perspective, to an extent – but I’ve also never joined a studio you could consider to be “running smoothly”. It’s almost always a good crew in rough waters.

When using that metaphor, it’s understandable you’d have a lot going on as a captain or lead officer. You’re constantly assessing that your people are safe, that your crew is executing well and working as a team with others, and that you’re providing good information while charting a correct course.

So, while you’re imagining yourself doing that – also imagine that someone manages to paddle nearby your ship in a small inflatable raft.

(Physics of this metaphor be damned, okay?)

The person in the raft then asks you if you’d like to get coffee and look at their resume in consideration for a job, or reference, or lead, or to look at their maritime demo reel and give them feedback. They’re trying to be accommodating to you, so they ask you to pick a place and time.

What’s your response?

Again, imagine you’re barely reigning in near utter chaos – remember that it’s a near miracle that any game in existence ships.

It makes a lot more sense why you’re getting the cold shoulder and why lots of audio people in management positions come off distant or just don’t appear at networking events at all – right?

I’m not saying every Director is difficult – but I can name numerous companies locally with people I’ve never met. I’ve been around for years now, and I don’t blame them if I never do meet them.

The ship metaphor hopefully makes sense, and is why I will always tell you not to “sell” yourself. It’s also why short, courteous, to-the-point, emails where you offer dates and times work way better for people you admire and perceive “have influence” than trying to be nice and not get in the way. If it’s part of your job to be making lots of decisions – the last thing you want to do is be faced with another one that’s incredibly broad.

So, to sum it all up:

Studio Directors/Leads/Heads aren’t jerks who avoid you because they don’t want to hire you, they’ve just got a lot on their plate
When interacting with someone in leadership that you’d like to build a relationship with, take as much of the small effort (ie: scheduling and unimportant decisions) off their plate as possible by providing limited options
Don’t “sell yourself” – go do something cool, that you enjoy, and share it. If you’re doing it right, you’ll inherently attract attention when you’re not seeking it

Hope that helps!

(And, of course, you’re all still free to email me any questions/thoughts. I read everything. If you’re local, I’m building a reputation of buying you lunch if you ask for coffee and are relatively cool/chill…)