Fitzgerald Lewis (LastPadawan)

This is your very first encounter with a “professional” (so-called). You want to put your best foot forward & leave a good impression - otherwise you’ll just make them annoyed. The game industry is a casual one, yes, but that term is *relative.*

I’m often dismayed at how few individuals put thought and effort into what they write... TBH, I find it insulting. Why should I spend my time writing something long and helpful, I think, when they dashed their email off in 30 seconds?

If you don’t present yourself as a professional, employers will pass you over in favor of other individuals, ones who have demonstrated – in their email alone – some modicum of patience, professionalism and attention to detail. Here are some tips/guidelines:

1. Spellcheck. Spellcheck, and then proofread several times over. If you can’t take the time to make sure you spelled everything correctly, you are demonstrating – with great eloquence, ironically – that you are lazy & that you do sloppy work.

2. Introduce yourself! You’d be shocked at how often people forget to include their very name in an email. This isn’t Instant Messenger (oh boy, I’ve dated myself with that ond), and my inbox is teaming. WHO DIS??

3. Explain in a sentence or two why you are writing *this particular dev*, as opposed to just telling them that you have a homework assignment to contact one. This lets the Dev know that you researched them, & that you are *listening*.

4. Ask specific questions with specific answers. Everyone hates being asked “How did you get started?” & ”what is the industry like?” (In doing so, you’re asking for a novel) Figure out, truly, what you *really* want to learn from them. They will *feel* your passion & curiosity!

5. Thank them for their time! In this working world of game development, *time is money,* & you’re asking this developer to spend valuable *money* on their response to you. Acknowledge this, & let them know how much you appreciate it.