Andreessen Horowitz

Joining a16z to support the newly found Games Fund One, focused on helping our portfolio companies maximize access to high capability talent. 

Please reach out if you're interested in exploring opportunities!

Head of Talent, Games

Riot Games

I was accountable for delivering the following for all of Riot's teams and operations throughout the world:

- HR Operations (transactions, data management, onboarding, offboarding, etc.)
- HR Technology & Systems
- HR Analytics
- Contingent Workforce Staffing / Vendor Management
- In-HR budget, program and initiative planning & tracking (internal PMO)

The goal for our team: be the concierge for Rioters so they can focus on what they do best: making games.

Sr. Director, Global HR Shared Services

- Led HR team global re-org strategy process
- Led HR team annual planning / budget process
- Acted as overall execution lead for Riot's domestic-US COVID-response efforts (compliance, contact tracing, return to work efforts, etc.)

Director, HR

I was responsible for the Talent Acquisition teams that staffed all of Riot's game and non-game product groups...

- Led a team that produced >1000 annual hires
- Managed employment brand efforts
- Restructured Riot's interviewing / hiring approach in the post-Kotaku aftermath
- Delivered Riot's first accurate headcount forecasts

Director, Talent Acquisition

I was responsible for managing the teams that staffed all domestic (US-based) Software/Infrastructure/Security Engineering teams at Riot on both the game and non-game sides of the business.

Recruiting Manager

I was responsible for hiring all Engineering talent for fledgling/R&D products at Riot.

Sr. Technical Recruiter

Scopely

Helped take Scopely from ~15 ---> ~125. Owned reporting, strategy, execution, overall recruiting goals, and stakeholder management for engineering, publishing and shared services headcount growth.

Lead Recruiter

Amazon

Technical Recruiter

Prodigy Resources

CRL Associates, Inc.

- Prepared research reports
- Attended city council meetings
- Participated in municipal lobbying process

Legislative Researcher (Internship)

Action Quest

- Navigated, fueled, repaired and took care of a 35 foot powerboat
- Assisted in scuba diving and sailing lessons
- Ate lots of peanuts

Conquerer of Seas/Leviathans

University of Colorado at Boulder

Fixed computers, deleted malware, learned dos command line, system admin work. Devoured chicken tenders (and sometimes a salad), went to class once in awhile, came back to fix more computers and play WOW.

Computer Fixer/Professional Chicken Tender Consumer

I'm here to:

  --> Help turn ambitious employees into founders
  --> Share insights about how game companies can be funded
  --> And connect world-class talent <<>> world-class founders and teams

My journey to get here

 --> Joined Scopely during their seed stage, built teams from nothing 
 --> Worked at two VC-backed gaming unicorns (Scopely, Riot)
 --> Led Recruiting at Riot for several years during their growth stage (managing teams of >50+)

You should send me a message if you want to work at a gaming or game-adjacent startup (eg: game technology etc), are thinking about founding, or already founded and are seeking funding. 

>> My email is: jmazer@a16z.com <<

Most companies don't pay to post on LinkedIn. Here's how to easily find their jobs <<<<

---> Go to Google

---> type "site:boards.greenhouse.io" 

---> Add titles, locations, or keywords. 

** Google supports boolean searching - here's an example **

site:boards.greenhouse.io ("gameplay engineer" OR "gameplay engineering") AND "remote"

or...

site:boards.greenhouse.io ("UX designer" OR "UI designer" OR "UX/UI designer" OR "user experience designer" OR "user interface designer" OR "UX researcher" OR "UI developer" OR "product designer") AND "remote"

---> you can also do this for the other major ATS platforms

 - jobs.lever.co
 - jobs.smartrecruiters.com
 - wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
 - jobs.bamboohr.com
 - jobs.jobvite.com
 - careers.icims.com
 - apply.jazz.co
 - careers.workable.com

------------------------

Best part? Less competition for these roles!

(and you can always sign up at www.gamejobs.gg for even more jobs!!)

Jordan Mazer

🕹️ A16Z GAMES (ex-Riot / Scopely / Amazon)

Stop lusting over employed talent. Hire someone who wants to work for you. There's an ocean of hyper-capable talent on the market. 

Do not...

Do not ignore your applications.
Do not ignore inbound messages.
Do not adversely judge green banners.
Do not write off active talent as "less capable."

Do: hire incredibly talented people who want to work for you!!!

I'm soft launching a new website... >> gamejobs.gg << 

First (of many) weekly jobs digest post(s) here: https://lnkd.in/g2fBzmyc

Also, for those that don't know me personally, that's my most precious dog Bacon in the logo. She deserves your comments, likes, and shares because she's the goodest girl 🙏

Andrew Chen

I've received job offers from Amazon, Google, Facebook, Airbnb, Riot, Scopely, and Andreessen Horowitz, without the "credentials" my colleagues had. 

Here are 6 common interview questions people struggle with, and my suggestions for how to navigate them:

1️⃣ Why do you want to work here?

 - Speak to their mission
 - Speak to the competitive advantages
 - Focus on why you want the IMMEDIATE role (no stepping stone)

2️⃣ Tell me about a mistake you made at work...

 - Use a real mistake
 - Use a mistake YOU made
 - Don't use a catastrophic mistake
 - Explain how you fixed it, and avoided it in the future

3️⃣ What're your greatest strengths?

 - Use strengths that match the job's needs
 - Provide tangible examples of the strength generating impact
 - Provide a mixture of hard & soft skills

4️⃣ What's your biggest weakness?

 - Avoid toxicity, anger, or "red flag" weaknesses
 - Use a weakness you've managed to overcome 
 - Explain how you identified and overcame the issue

5️⃣ What's your plan for your first 90 days here?

- Highlight a desire to get to know the team and it's needs
- Say that you'd want to find a burning problem the team has & wants solved, and doesn't have an owner for - then to deal with that problem
- And that you'd use the insights from the team and the first project to produce a plan for the next year in the role

6️⃣ Tell me about a time you had a disagreement with a colleague or manager.

- Pick an example that ended amicably / with a productive outcome
- Highlight that you believe people generally have good intentions
- Do not ever denigrate the other party, only tell a story that exhibits your respect for the colleague or manager

💰 2024 is your year to get that bag. Try some of these approaches and get the dream job you've always wished for. 

👍 / ♻️ / 💬 - help get this to folks who are struggling or new to interviewing!

I'm hiring a talent Strategy Analyst for the team here at A16Z GAMES.

Link + details below. 

I need someone who...

 - REALLY knows games
 - Loves to unearth + organize hard to find information
 - Can help us rank talent prospects

Previous recruiting / talent experience is neither required nor desired. 

Think Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) from Moneyball. Or Nate Silver of forecasting superfame. I want people who will bring an entirely different (and woefully needed) approach to talent. 

MBAs. Researchers. Statisticians. Economists. Engineers. Scientists. I'd love to see all sorts of backgrounds.

One note: this is a 12 month contract - so it's likely a fit for someone recently graduated or who is in a career transition moment!!

APPLY HERE >> https://lnkd.in/gNrYTiu5  <<

>> WE WANT TO HELP YOU FIND A JOB IN GAMING <<
All studios + teams below are hiring (most remote!)
Plz like + share!!!

GAME STUDIOS
🙏 The Believer Company (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/prayj0b
🚀 Odyssey Interactive (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/odYsseYi
🔥 Bonfire Studios (SoCal / OC) - https://bit.ly/3TQVUww
⛰️ Mountaintop Studios (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/mtntopjobs
🧱 Omni Creator Products (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/ocpjobs
🐢 Super Evil Megacorp (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/semcjobs
🔬 Theorycraft Games (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/4aDjYby
🧙‍♀️ Cult of the North (Stockholm) - https://bit.ly/3SWMkWY
🏠 Closing Theory Studios (Austin) - https://bit.ly/ctsj0bz
🔺 Series Inc. (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/srsAIj0b
⚜️ Azra Games (San Jose) - https://bit.ly/4zr4j0b
⚙️ Clockwork Labs (US Remote)- https://bit.ly/clkj0bz
🦝 Rascal Games (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/rsclj0bz
🏀 Gym Class VR (US Remote)- https://bit.ly/gymj0bz
🌍 Carry1st (EMEA Remote) - https://bit.ly/3SAeqXZ
🔁 Core Loop (EMEA Remote) - https://bit.ly/crej0bz
🪐 Raid Base Inc (US Remote)- https://bit.ly/r4idj0b
🌸 Pahdo Labs (NYC) - https://lnkd.in/gYaAq7t8
🦄 Salt AI (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/plaij0b
🌱 Loftia (Remote) - https://bit.ly/3WNipEe
🔈 Soundmap (NY) - https://bit.ly/3ysaLoT

AI x GAMING
🤖 Regression Games (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/3PNFfY6
🌹 Rosebud AI (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/rosej0bz
⛏️ Altera (Menlo Park) - https://bit.ly/ALTERAjobs
📦 Kaedim (SF City) - https://bit.ly/3wI8q9f

TOOLS / UGC / B2B GAMING
👩‍🚀 Ready Player Me (EMEA Remote) - https://bit.ly/rDyj0bz
🐺 Overwolf (US / MENA Remote) - https://bit.ly/OvrJ0bz
🎒 k-ID (US / APAC Remote) - https://bit.ly/3IMAqan
📚 Intangible (US Remote) - https://intangible.ai/
🛡️ Quago (Isreal) - https://bit.ly/3zbQvbm

CONSUMER WEB
😴 Sleeper (US Remote) - https://bit.ly/slpj0bz

IN-PERSON VR
🏖️ Sandbox VR - https://bit.ly/sndb0x

GAMING AGGREGATORS / COMPANY LISTS
⚡️ Hitmarker | Gaming Jobs: https://hitmarker.net/jobs
⚡️ GameIndustry.Biz: https://lnkd.in/gprU_GmU 
⚡️ Work With Indies: https://lnkd.in/gF2PT5Nv
⚡️ gamedevmap: https://lnkd.in/gEmXzEMM
⚡️ GrackleHQ: https://gracklehq.com/jobs
⚡️ ArtStation: https://lnkd.in/gMUKNXQk
⚡️ Amir Satvat: https://amirsatvat.com/
⚡️ Dribbble: https://dribbble.com/jobs
⚡️ GameJobs: https://gamejobs.co/

NON-GAMING AGGREGATORS
⚡️ PowerToFly - https://powertofly.com/
⚡️ RemoteOK - https://remoteok.com/
⚡️ Wellfound - https://wellfound.com/
⚡️ Remotive - https://remotive.com/
⚡️ Toptal - https://lnkd.in/dSUrrJs3
⚡️ Remote.co - https://remote.co/

JOIN THE A16Z TALENT NETWORKK

>>> https://bit.ly/3XysFP5 <<<

Biased interview feedback 101: "not a culture fit" = "I have no good reason to reject this person, but I am anyway!"

You all seemed to like the Google boolean job search tips - so I made some "prebuilt" boolean searches 👇👇

Click these to find lots of "hidden" jobs that aren't posted in LinkedIn!

Concept Artist - https://lnkd.in/gzQ4UmJe
VFX Artist - https://lnkd.in/gEATnFvV
Narrative Designer - https://lnkd.in/gMHDqpiF
Combat Designer - https://lnkd.in/gisHja_A

Check out my newest www.gamejobs.gg post for the rest...

Game Designer 
Production
Game Producer
Executive Producer
Quality Assurance
Gameplay Engineer
Engineering Manager

https://lnkd.in/gtQZirYQ

The reward for doing a great job? More work. 

It's. Always. More. Work. 

There are two ways to look at this phenomenon. 

Option 1: be frustrated that your laudable contributions only seem to invite more required effort, feel work life isn't fair.

Option 2: recognize that...

 - Work is endless (if it weren't, we'd be out of work)
 - More work is a sign that you are trusted, which is a good thing!
 - You can leverage that trust to request resources, increase scope, or manage expectations

I'll never forget a discussion I had with my boss Eric Danker - maybe 9ish months into him managing me. I'd catch every "work boulder" he'd toss my way. But I was starting to struggle, and one day he gave me another boulder and it was too much. 

I was in mindset #1 - "This sucks - this isn't fair. I keep working hard and getting punished." I told him I was struggling and I felt he didn't realize what he was asking out of me. Eric is a great boss, though - he patiently listened to me and just asked directly "Why haven't you told me you are overloaded? What do you need to make this work?"

His simple question really changed things for me. I remember going back and writing a proposal for what I needed. Which, as it turns out, was a team and a budget. Eric worked with me to get that team and budget, and suddenly I was responsible for a greater scope, stepped into management, and began moving down an entirely different path of my career.

Not all managers will be as supportive or understanding as Eric was to me (thnx Danker, you da best.) 

BUT... most managers WILL know that you are an overachiever. Most will recognize your impact. Use that image to keep your work load manageable - either by moderating expectations or gaining leverage by accumulating resources (or dropping other less important responsibilities).

""You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

 - Wayne Gretzky"
  
     - Michael Scott"

         -Jordan Mazer

See picture for 3 examples of resume cardinal sin. 

Do not put a giant chunk of text between your name and your experience. Even if alphabet soup keyword inclusion pushes this resume up to the top for review, the chance of this converting to an interview are very small. 

Do not write a list of soft skills. No one will read that list. 

Do not write a list of responsibilities. It creates a perception that you focus on "doing" rather than making an impact. 

I've seen this resume format tens of thousands of times. It needs to end.

I unabashedly love team standups.

Does some time get wasted? Of course.

Do we always have enough content to justify the meeting? Nope. Not always.

Could some of the content be an email? Uh huh.

I still think they are extremely valuable. Meetings with explicit agendas and purpose are, of course, very valuable. 

But so are scheduled “non-agenda” times that give opportunity to tackle emergent issues that might otherwise go unaddressed due to scheduling conflict. 

I’ve always taken a very light weight approach to these meetings:

 - typically do 2-3 per week, scheduled for 30 but often done in 10-15
 - we keep a running doc from the meeting
 - anyone on the team can add agenda items
 - if we join and there’s nothing to be discussed, free time for all
 - if we meander, no worries - it’s a good way to improve team connectivity

Long live the standup.

Do you think team standup meetings improve team performance?

I'll die on this hill: HR isn't for self-identified "people people." 

If you identify as a "people-person," you likely...

 - Are highly gregarious
 - Seek to please others
 - Desire to be liked 

If you're interested in getting into HR, you need to know that you WILL be brought into the most difficult people issues. The kinds where no one is winning. 

In HR, you can be certain that you will be seen as a villain by some (and sometimes most) parties involved. You will be the butt of many jokes. Your discipline will be openly denigrated by many. Everyone knows HR sucks, right?

So if you're interviewing for an HR position and they ask why you're interested or your core strengths, consider not saying something like "I'm a people person!"

I've taken two very large compensation hits in my career when changing employers (>50%). In both cases, I did it because I thought focusing on other factors of the opportunity would ultimately lead to better outcomes both personally (job satisfaction, etc) and financially.

The first time I chose to leave a much higher paying job for a much lower paying job, I had to...

 - move to a new apartment
 - live with several roommates
 - sell my car 

I acknowledge that my ability to rapidly change my financial outlay was supported by being both single and childless, so I recognize that was a privileged scenario (if you can call it that?). Even still, it was a big choice for me. 

My thinking was...

 - I believe in this company more than my current company
 - I'm more strongly aligned with their mission, and so I'll be more motivated to do great work
 - As a result, I have a good chance of accruing responsibility, which will also generate pay increases and exposure to equity appreciation

I'm beyond happy I chose to bite the bullet and take those pay cuts. They were the best financial decisions I've made in my life, bar none.

Which do you consider MOST IMPORTANT when considering a new opportunity?

Ladders ran an eye-tracking study and found recruiters spend only 7.4 seconds reviewing a resume. They also figured out what works best for resumes ⤵️⤵️⤵️

 - Use a simple layout, with clear formatting elements
 - Job titles and employers should always be bolded
 - Use "F" or "E" patterns (Bold header + sub bullets)
 - Ensure you have lots of whitespace (eg, no paragraph)
 - Do not have a keyword section - use keywords in context
 - Critical info must be on page 1 of your resume 

Remember: recruiters review tens of thousands of resumes. They have processing habits. You need to FIT INTO those habits. Any departure from regular format leads to a huge risk of being overlooked. 

Do not optimize for being "sorted into the review profile." Optimize for getting an interview. That's the real conversion outcome you need to exhibit your skills and experience.

Recruiter Eye Tracking Study

Looking for referrals / recommendations for a regional Asia GM (pref: Philippines)

Quick details👇

 - Pre-seed, inbound to our upcoming accelerator cohort
 - Will be one of the first non-founder hires
 - Product is focused on gamified dating (post launch)
 - Profiles need to have mixture GM + marketing + customer support
 - Profiles must have significant experience operating products throughout Asia

I wish I could give more details. All I'll say is that this particular pitch got our team absurdly hyped - it's a really novel concept with extremely passionate founders.

Feel free to ping me or drop recommendations!!!

Calendaring dynamics... seemingly mundane, but sometimes they are the reason a deal is won or lost, a candidate responds or doesn't, etc. 

Calendly (or similar) users - have any stories of people reacting poorly to you sending a link?

Someone sends you a calendly link to schedule a call: what's your reaction?

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