Yakoob on 29/2/2008 at 03:56
So I'm a college sophomore looking for internships in game programming and sending my portfolio around. I figured it my be a good idea to get some feedback on it, even if from the good old grouchy TTLGers :)
So the link is: (
http://www.koobazaur.com/portfolio/)
I appreciate any feedback, no matter how negative it is. Thanks!
Minion21g on 29/2/2008 at 04:24
If you plan to send employers your portfolio, I would alter things on your resume. A lot of the information listed isn't going to matter to a recruiter IMO. Your AP exam scores, for example, recruiters usually dont know what scoring a 5 means or care for that matter. They would rather hear about your proficiency in the material you covered on those exams.
I would keep your awards, but seperate personal experiences from work related ones. List an objective/goal at the top too. For example, "To acquire a co-op or internship in the field of Computer Sciences and Engineering". Honestly, I wouldn't seperate the tables with borders but that's up to you.
Otherwise, the website is well built. You list many different interesting projects that you've done over the past few years. I was impressed by the KTBS just by looking at the thumbnail. Good job so far.
Thief13x on 29/2/2008 at 04:34
nice gpa. One of the final projects for my Assembly Language class last semester was a pong game in it. Screw that!
I would suggest going to your career services office and having them look over your resume and make suggestions. Your resume is what will initially seperate you from the other 2000 applicants and keep you in the running long enough for them to see your projects. To be honest, it looks good as an overview but as for an official resume I would definatly stick to a word document. In general, especially at this time in our lives, it's important that it is no longer than one page, and that it look as professional as possible.
I have to agree with minion...it's important to keep potential irrelevant material out. Any highlight of highschool academic achievement should be done cautiously as it is usually a nono.
Yakoob on 29/2/2008 at 04:50
Thanks for the quick response, keep em coming!
As for the AP stuff, I put it in there as it covers my math/physics requirements (I am not taking calc at my uni for that reason).
Also
Quote Posted by Minion21g
List an objective/goal at the top too. For example, "To acquire a co-op or internship in the field of Computer Sciences and Engineering".
Problem is that I am also using this portfolio for other non-game jobs, such as moviemaking (hence my movies up there). That's why I didn't want to put a specific goal and included experiences in both areas.
Quote:
Otherwise, the website is well built. You list many different interesting projects that you've done over the past few years. I was impressed by the KTBS just by looking at the thumbnail. Good job so far.
Thanks :D I made the KTBS like 7 years ago too, hehe...
caringiscreepy on 29/2/2008 at 08:01
The problem with only having one resume is that it limits you to a shotgun approach if you want to go for different job types. You'll tend to be more successful in applications if you tie your resume to the job/internship you're applying for.
I would suggest having your website as a supplement to the resume (a hard copy) so you can alter it for your different focuses.
just my opinion, but it all looks rather good!
Yakoob on 29/2/2008 at 08:54
Quote Posted by caringiscreepy
I would suggest having your website as a supplement to the resume (a hard copy) so you can alter it for your different focuses.
Yup, it already is. Whenever I email I usually tailor my resume and my email to the specific position (I even name the company to give them a fuzzy warm feeling!) I just kept one website as I think having 10 different portfolio would be too fragmented, and the division of sections is pretty clear.
Starrfall on 29/2/2008 at 16:21
I don't think the website works. It looks like it belongs to a college student. I realize that's what you are, but you should be aspiring to present yourself as professionally as possible. Especially if this is going to be a big job-seeking tool for you.
I would at least change the background color (probably to something darker), the frame style (thinner, probably no texture), and the font you're using in the header (something that looks sleek instead of cartoony)
I'd also keep your portfolio site separate from your other site. As it is now, a potential employer looking at your portfolio has a ready link to you complaining about greyhound and donating blood. You may be 100% right in your rants, but the employer doesn't need to see it.
At this point in time, you can't change anything about the quality of your work and how it stacks up (it's not my business, so I couldn't judge it anyways) What you do have complete control over is how you present yourself and your work.
Part of that also includes creating an actual resume instead of just listing things on the site. (edit: I mean put the actual resume on the site instead of having it just set in frames with a link to a word doc, or at least make it look less like Frames For Beginners) This will have the benefit of 1) looking less like a student site and 2) forcing you to cut things down to the right size (one page).
piano-sam on 29/2/2008 at 22:56
In the interest of appearing professional, I would tell you to completely redo your site graphics. They are lame. Look around at other porfolio sites, preferably belonging to guys and/or womanfolk working in the industry.
If it was my portfolio, I would keep it clean, simple, and very readable. Be sure to have a few impressive logic trees laying around too. Going to school for it, I was told thats what industry recruiters would be looking at for programmers.
Yakoob on 1/3/2008 at 03:29
Quote Posted by Starrfall
Part of that also includes creating an actual resume instead of just listing things on the site. (edit: I mean put the actual resume on the site instead of having it just set in frames with a link to a word doc, or at least make it look less like Frames For Beginners)
uuuh that is exactly what my resume looks like. and what do you mean by - the "actual resume" is "on the site." And what do you mean by "frames for beginners?"
Starrfall on 1/3/2008 at 04:28
Yeah, and it's not good. Two pages in word is too long, and I don't think the boxes work very well. Your formatting isn't very consistent and I don't think your computer skills section is organized well. piano-sam has a good idea with looking at other portfolios, but you can also try to find other good looking resumes to work from as well.