How to get gigs as a FREELANCER!💸

This is probably one of the toughest topics to write about. The games industry is a volatile market with record breaking profits while simultaneously having record breaking layoffs. Despite the title (sorry playing the SEO game), I am not trying to sell you ‘HOW TO GET GIGS’, rather, I want to share tips to increase the chances of landing a gig. No guarantees, no shoe fits all, no one can give you that. So here is what I’m going to cover:

• Get your work ready

• Network to your strength

• Importance of Quality and Integrity

• What to do no when no gigs? :(

Get You Work Ready✅

This might be obvious to some of you but you NEED a solid portfolio. This usually requires your own website and an up-to date CV. If you have a (mildly professional) social media presence, your website and/or email should be easily accessible from there too. You don’t want to be caught off-guard when someone reaches out randomly or when you see your dream job posting. You’d be surprised how long it takes to edit CVs and even worse, video trailers of your work (there’s so much in-game capture to do!).

Pity the sorting crew

If your portfolio isn’t easily accessible, you are greatly ruining your chances at even getting an interview. From a hiring person’s perspective, they often go through HUNDREDS of applications for a single job (yes even for indie positions). When you’re sorting through such a high volume of information in a limited amount of time, your patience wears down. You don’t have time for a video with a 3sec logo intro, dead links or a convoluted website. Keep in mind the person who is sorting through all that and make your work easy to read and accessible for them.

For my game audio folks out there who want to learn how to make a solid portfolio and/or website, I HIGHLY recommend watching a couple of Reel Talk videos. It is a GOLDMINE of knowledge and I think we’re so lucky to have this so accessible.

But having a backlog of solid work is unfortunately not enough. You also need to make sure that people actually get to see it. Now comes the scary world of Networking

Network to your strength😨

“Welp, I have a solid portfolio but I don’t know HOW to find gigs!!” WHERE ARE THEY!? Welp, you’re probably going to have to network so let’s talk about that.

Find the types of events that you enjoy:

When I first started out, I loved events that were more conference/presentation like because I felt safer. Everyone in that room was there because they were interested in a specific subject. If I felt my anxiety rising, I could just quietly sit in my chair. If I felt gutsy, I could strike up a conversation with someone sitting beside me. But not matter what, I knew I was going to have a good time, there was something to learn even if I didn’t talk to anyone. No time wasted!

For other people, they might enjoy online events. Talking to people from the comfort of your home or being active on online forums/groups can be an easier to start meeting people. This might sound ridiculous to some, but when you’re filled with anxiety, forming words becomes genuinely difficult

Other events include: Gamejams, showcases, playtesting, forums, discord groups, actual networking events and more! Look up what local events there are near you!

My tip is to first attend the event that is the least scary to you. Then you can build yourself up to try attending other types of events. Networking is like a muscle you work on. On a personal note, I can attest to the muscle building because here I am writing a blog to the public and not too long ago, I was unable to post single tweet on twitter. I had next to no online presence (never used insta, never even took a selfie and don’t even get me started on snap). However, I was told (years ago) that Twitter(RIP), was a great place for indie devs. So I was a long time lurker!

I have a more in depth talk about networking as an introvert so shameless plug here:

I also have a lot of friends in the industry that have gotten gigs with more formal approaches, like attending Meet2Matches at industry events, reaching out to studios with a pitchdeck and basically a more professional business mindset. I’m really proud and happy for them that they made it work. Perhaps one day in my life I’ll try it out, but my approach as unorthodox as it is, has been more organic and unofficial meetings. So basically, I don’t have any comments on ‘Should I sign up for the B2B part of this conference??” I don’t know, I’ve never done it.

Integrity and Kindness❤️

This is a convoluted, sensitive and difficult to explain topic to put my thoughts on, but I wish to do so anyways so bear with me. I feel like in the hustle and bustle of life, integrity and kindness often get thrown out, without one even realizing. When you’re trying to get a gig, you’re not just selling your professional services but also your soft skills. Here’s an example

There’s been a few times at conferences where I can feel that a person is hungry to climb the social ladder. I can see them eyeing me to see whether I’m a person useful enough to network with. Over multiple years, I’ve seen individuals literally turn their heads and backs away from me because I was just an entry level newbie. This type of behaviour doesn’t just happen to newbies btw! It just happens on a different scale. I call these people the ‘hungry’ folks because it feels like the only way to satisfy their needs is for them to get access to people they consider as useful. When I think of hiring someone or wanting to collaborate, my first thought is who do I enjoy working with. Yes skills matter, obviously, but there’s SO much talent out there. I want to work with people that make me comfortable, that I have fun with AND that are competent. Soft skills matter.

This sense of kindness and integrity is something I learnt from the game audio community. Acts of kindness such as: Opening up the circle to include someone new, asking questions to that person, showing an interest etc. Trying to integrate them in the group talk, inviting them to events, just something as simple as showing genuine interest in them. It makes all the difference. I will never forget the nicest but also the rudest people I have encountered.

Side Note: I’m not here judging every person that turns their back on me! I get it, especially at conferences where sleep is low and emotions are high, sometimes you don’t even realize what you’re doing. But there’s a difference between accidental aloof and consistent bad encounters, people notice it…

The Waiting Game🩻

Ok so now you have a sick portfolio, you go out to events regularly and you even found yourself a small community. You think “Welp it’s about time for it to be raining gigs”. Instead you’re in a drought, not even crickets. It really sucks, I feel you, I still go through it. You’d be surprised how even the seemingly ‘successful’ freelancers are worried about their next gig, despite past successes. So how do you deal with the downtime? What can you do to survive? Should you say ‘yes’ to any gig that comes your way? Let’s get into that.

I’m a strong advocate of quality over quantity. It is better to have less contracts of higher quality than then opposite. I think you’re better off having no gigs than exploitative ones. Studios that pay you a fair rate, that listen to feedback and are open to negotiations are themselves part of a community of other studios that think alike. This means that you have a higher chance of being recommended to other studios that are willing to treat your fairly. By working with ethical studios, you in turn slowly have access to other folks that will treat you with respect. What I’ve noticed with the opposite (working on sites like Fiverr, low pay studios etc..) is that nothing that good comes out of it in the long term. You might have a sense of loyalty towards them, but they will not have it for you. The people hiring you don’t actually care for your well being, they don’t care to promote you and simply want the job to be done in the cheapest way possible. That is the bottom line of it.

It’s okay to say no, even if you don’t have any gigs! It’s okay to have ‘nothing’, no gigs is better than being sick. Because that’s what exploitative contracts do to you. That is the invisible and delayed cost of accepting bad contracts. They make you sick, mentally and financially. You might not realize it in the moment, but when it does hit it’ll be quick and heavy. Being burnout and sick doesn’t just affect you, it affects those around you as well.

Be very careful, even if the studio has great ‘uWu’ presence online and treat their employees great, it doesn’t mean that they’ll pay their contractors fairly. It’s scary because in those situations, you might be willing to accept their low pay thinking ‘oh but they’ll hire me again! Ooh I’ll get visibility! ‘It’s okay to give away my Steam OST royalty money, I’ll get more gigs with them later!”. Spoiler alert: It probably won’t happen. It’ll be a one time low paying gig and that’s it. Don’t be fooled by any wholesome persona or online popularity, it’s a marketing tool. Freelancing sustainably means you need to know your worth and find ways to have it be respected. I’m writing this in the context of staying healthy in the games industry for years to come. I think it’s worth saying ‘no’ to exploitative gigs so that you preserve your long-term mental and financial health. That’s why in my last newsletter, I said that it’s okay, hell encouraged, to have another stable job. Freelancing cannot immediately become a full time stable career. Your health matters more and that should be the priority when negotiating pay for your next gig.

Oof that ended up a bit dark but heh, maybe it’s a decent representation of the rollercoaster that is freelancing in the land of indie games. I want to share the goods, the bads, the in-betweens and just be transparent and honest about my views. I hope this was somewhat insightful!! Also this part is a little awkward but: Running this newsletter is costing me more than I had expected. Or rather, I had no expectation and didn’t realize there would be an interest😅. This will newsletter will forever stay free but if you want to help chip in a little, here’s my Ko-Fi: