Nadia Nadeem

Nadia landed a placement with well-known, Microsoft games studio, Rare. Her gaming passion along with her degree, created a platform for her to take that first step into her dream career of joining an AAA studio as a games developer.

Describe your placement role and what you will be doing.

During my placement, I will have the opportunity to work with two game development teams within Rare. The first team is the Gameplay Team, which involves me working on gameplay mechanics within Rare’s games. The second team I will be working with is the Game Engine team. This role is more focused on the optimisation of the game, rather than the game itself.

Why did you decide to do a placement?

I decided to do a placement to boost my CV and portfolio. It is very common for companies to want people with experience, even for starter positions. With no experience in the industry, I thought that gaining a placement would give me a good foundation to build from. An added bonus for me is that my placement is with a reputable company so, it will really stand out on my CV. 

What was the application process like?

It started off with a simple application form with general questions. Then I received an email saying I had been selected for an interview. My interview consisted of a general chat about what course I was studying at university, my current life, and of course, what games I play! A few days later, I was invited to the next stage which was an all-day interview. This was more in-depth and technical about what programming knowledge I had as well as testing my ability to problem-solve. I was then informed that I was successful and had got the placement!

How did the university help you find your placement?

The BSc (Hons) Computer Games Technology course has a good community feel and we often receive notifications about placement opportunities, so I kept an eye on them. When I applied and got the interview, my lecturers, helped so much in easing my nerves for my interview as well as giving me learning materials to prepare.

What are your future career plans and how will your placement affect this?

This placement will give me a great starting point due to the experience I will gain from it. Plus, it is at a company that I admire. I hope that when I finish my degree, I will be able to go back there, but if not, I will still have that experience under my belt and it will make me a great candidate when applying for jobs.

What advantages will your placement give you?

My placement will give me access to industry professionals that I can speak to on a daily basis, the amount of knowledge I will have available to me is huge! The hands-on experience of working in such a large team will be amazing too and allow me to get some great industry experience. In addition to this, the interview process and preparation I’ve had to do, has been a good experience for future roles.

What Placement advice would you have for students?

I would say take a chance and apply to anything that interests you. You never know when you'll get an opportunity you weren’t expecting. Preparation is key for an interview! Also, be confident, It is the best feeling in the world when you are successful in gaining a placement! I will never forget answering that phone call.