How to Get a Job as a Community Manager in Video Games

Let me preface this with one thing, I’m by no means an expert. I’m simply passing on the things that helped me break into the industry, and some tips along the way.

You Don’t Need a Marketing Degree

OK, so I have a degree — but it’s in Computer Games Technology, not marketing, not social media, not anything like that. Sure, my degree is video game related, but that’s not what landed me a job in community management. I’d always recommend you go to university if you want to experience the lifestyle, but for our particular field, it’s not necessary. So what is necessary?

Experience

You need it. I’m sure you’ve seen on pretty much every ‘junior’ role that you apply for — ‘2+ years experience required’. Don’t let this dishearten you. I’m assuming if you’re interested in community management that you’re currently active on social media. You might also be a member of a variety of communities for games you’re a fan of. If you’re a mod, even better. All of the above can be experience if you have nothing else.

Experience does not always need to be at a professional level, if you can show you can perform the tasks required of a Community Manager without even being paid for it, that could be even better in some employer’s eyes.

Here are a few things I had going, which I talked about wherever I applied:

📺 YouTube — Reviews, Video Essays, Let’s Plays

🎮 Twitch — Group Streams, Charity Streams

🎙️ Podcast — Hosting and editing a video game related podcast.

✍️ Writing — I had a bunch of articles on my own personal website.

📱 Social Media — I’ve grown multiple non-personal Twitter accounts.

I got paid for none of this. I did this all because I enjoyed it. But all of it is relevant and useful in community management, and your employers will see that. Your potential employers want to see that you can… wait for it… manage a community, or at least that you have the potential to. So start your own, or contribute to one you’re passionate about.

You don’t need to have a lot of followers. People are interested in your work ethic, and your passion. Sure, having a lot of followers is nice, and if you do have them, shout from the rooftops during your application, as long as you can explain how you grew and maintained the community. So don’t buy followers and apply for a job as Lead Community Manager. You’ll need to back up your stats.

Going Pro

As well as doing those things in my spare time, I decided I needed to at least break into the social media industry and build up some relevant professional experience too. While I don’t think it’s mandatory, especially if you’re having success on your own, it really can’t hurt.

I moved four hours away from home, to take a job as a Junior Social Media Manager for a window shutter company — believe it or not, window shutters aren’t my passion, but boy I could tell you everything you need to know about them now, from louvre size to the best material for your window. Basically, I just took a job which would allow me to grow and learn from somebody already well-versed in the world of social media. Just like my current role, my work outside of work, is what really counted on my CV.

Spend some time honing your skills in social media, just practise. If you do get a professional job, don’t stop your side-hustle. Use the experience you get in your job, to improve your own passion projects, and soon you’ll have an awesome portfolio to show to potential employers.

Finding the Job

This is pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. I used LinkedIn. More specifically, I went through a video game specialised recruitment agency, who advertised the job on LinkedIn. This wasn’t the first time I’d spoken to the recruiters there either, I was on friendly terms after a previously unsuccessful application at a studio. It’s worth giving a recruiter a call, explaining your situation, your experience, and what you’re looking for. It’s in their best interests to help you get a job.

Otherwise, you want to be checking out your typical job listing sites, and sometimes employers in the games industry will just list jobs on their website in order to weed out the lazy, so keep checking your favourites.

What You Should Be Good At

Being a Community Manager is sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating. What you need is a lot of different skills, you’re almost a jack of all trades. Depending on the company, you may be required to do more than just engage with the community. It might be your job to write all social copy, blog posts, etc. Community Manager’s are probably one of the most versatile roles in the industry.

Here’s what I think you should have some know-how on:

• Social Media trends (as many platforms as possible)

• Basic Graphic Design

• Content Creation

• Streaming

• Customer Service

• Love of data (you’re going to be looking at a lot of analytics)

• A sense of humour

• A cool head (people will get under your skin sometimes)

  
  

Be a Visionary

When you land your interview, have a little cheer, and then get to work. This is your time to prove yourself. The best thing you can do is research. Look at the current community, look at the socials, make notes of what you think could be changed or improved.

When you arrive at the interview, make sure to tell your employer everything you know, and even better, bring along some work, or a presentation, that you’ve already done. You can quite literally sit there and tell them how you propose to do the job. Look at the job description, and nail everything they’re looking for.

Rejection will come, unless you’re lucky, or amazing. Go you. I got rejected plenty of times, I’ve had interviews for jobs I really wanted, and didn’t get them. You have to keep going, ask for feedback, improve, apply again. What I wouldn’t recommend is continuing to apply to the same company if you haven’t done anything to better yourself in the mean time.

Finding Your Feet

So you’ve got yourself a job as a Community Manager, time to jump in the deep end right? Wrong. Spend a bit of time talking to everyone in the company, get a feel for the message and voice of your brand. This can differ massively depending on who you’re working for. Rice Digital are more than happy to publish cheeky articles, and so, our social media voice is very cheeky.

But this is my first Community Manager job. I didn’t get it right straight away. It takes time to really nail the voice that fits your brand, and resonates with your community. This is before you even start engaging with the community as you.

It’s likely your company will have some kind of community Discord or Reddit if they’re in the video game industry. The key in these communities, is to be a part of them. You aren’t an overlord. Yes, you can keep things in order, and dispatch idiots at the touch of a button, but you’re also there to communicate with these people who have decided to be a part of what you’re trying to do. Just have a chat sometimes. Build a rapport. The best way to get an idea of your brand, is to listen to the people who engage with it daily. The members of your Discord or Reddit, are your greatest allies, or potentially enemies, and it’s your job to make sure it’s the former.

I’ve Talked Enough!

I am not the fountain of knowledge. I’m learning every day. What I can do though, is share my experience, and what worked for me. This is the sort of thing I was looking for when I was trying to get a job as a Community Manager, and now I’m here, it’s worth taking a bit of time to help everybody else trying to do the same thing. Hopefully you find at least one useful nugget in here, that you can use to push yourself to that next level. Believe in the heart of the cards.

~ Zac