There is a very specific type of frustration that comes with reading a CV that says, in essence, “I worked on some stuff. It went fine.” I have lost count of the number of conversations where I find myself gently, and then not so gently, saying: you are allowed to sell yourself. A list of your accurate work history is not bragging. It is factual. It happened. You were there.
Somehow, we have collectively decided that explaining our impact feels arrogant. Meanwhile, studios are rejecting CVs because they “lack depth” or “do not clearly show impact.” The irony is painful. Yes, being bold about your work is tiring. Yes, it feels vulnerable. Yes, it can feel scary to put your achievements front and centre. But if you want the job, you have to win the race. And the race is rarely won by the quietest person in the room.
CV
Underselling usually starts here. Instead of using something close to an Action, Method, Achievement structure, candidates list responsibilities. “Worked on combat systems.” “Supported art production.” “Assisted with optimisation.” That tells me what your job description said. It does not tell me what you actually did. What action did you take? What method did you use? What changed because you were there?
Specificity is everything. What games did you work on? What was your direct input? Did you improve pipeline efficiency by 20 percent? Did you reduce bug counts? Did you implement a new workflow? I regularly speak to candidates who avoid including this depth because they do not want to sound braggy. The simple truth is that if you do not include it, someone else will. And that person, even if they are less experienced than you, may get the call ahead of you because they made their impact easier to see.
Portfolio
Your portfolio is physical evidence that you can operate at a studio’s level. It is your proof. It is the single best opportunity you have to impress people who actually understand what you do on a technical level. So why would you keep it minimal?
Show your working. Show your iteration. Show the ugly early versions and the refined final output. If you are an artist or animator, this is your strongest selling point, yet I am constantly surprised by how rarely portfolios are updated. If you no longer have access to a project but it is public, include trailers with timestamps, include screenshots from gameplay videos, explain exactly what was yours. The more clearly you define your contribution, the easier it is for someone to picture you doing that work for them.
Interview
This is where it becomes hardest. In interviews, you need to be expansive, but rooted in facts. Not waffle. Not vague generalisations. Data. Detail. Ownership. If you work in sales, talk numbers. Revenue growth, client retention, conversion rates. If you work in technical art, explain the efficiencies your work introduced. Reduced draw calls. Faster iteration times. Smoother integration between departments.
The most common piece of feedback we receive after interviews is painfully simple: “We couldn’t really get an answer out of them.” That usually does not mean the candidate lacked experience. It means they did not fully articulate it. Preparation matters. Rehearse talking about your achievements out loud. It feels unnatural at first, but confidence often comes from familiarity. Do not be shy about what you have done. If you do not take ownership of your achievements, nobody else in that room will do it for you.
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There is a difference between arrogance and clarity. Clarity wins jobs. Studios are not looking for the most humble person in the pile. They are looking for the person who can solve their problems and demonstrate that they have done it before. Being big and bold about your experience does not mean exaggerating. It means explaining. It means owning your contribution. It means making it easy for someone to say yes.
If you have done the work, say so. If you delivered impact, quantify it. And if it feels uncomfortable, that probably means you are finally pushing past the habit of underselling yourself.
Jay McDougall is a Principal Recruiter at Skillsearch, a leading global games, XR and immersive technology recruitment company, specialising in game art talent.
