Company Offers Beer, $10,000 Cash and More for New Employees
This has to be one of the most unusual and generous recruiting ploys we've ever seen. Hipster, a marketing/social networking start-up in San Francisco, is not only offering $10,000 to new employees or those who refer them, but all the accoutrement you'll need to fit right in. This includes a striped bow-tie, worn brown boots and, we kid you not, a year's supply of Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR), which is apparently the drink of choice for true hipsters these days.Mustaches and bicycles seem to be "in" now, as well, since the incentive package also includes 'stache grooming services and a florescent, fixed gear bike. But wait -- there's more! They'll also throw in a pair of skinny jeans, and some big, black, horn-rimmed Buddy Holly glasses.
Of course, they also have more traditional employee incentives. According to their website, "We're offering a competitive salary with fantastic stock options, as well as great medical and dental benefits. We're in a prime location in the heart of SOMA, right across from the Caltrain station."
So what is Hipster and what exactly does it do? Unless you're into this type of thing, it's a little difficult to figure out. "Hipster is building a fun way to uncover the vast amount of information about real-world locations that isn't yet available online," says the website. "Based in SOMA, San Francisco, and founded in 2010 by Doug Ludlow, Ethan Czahor and Steffen Hoffman, Hipster is tackling a really large problem in a really large market in a really unique way."
Jenna Wortham, a blogger for The New York Times describes their business this way: Hipster "lets people post queries and answers to others in their geographic area using the Web and a mobile phone."
If that sounds a little squishy, know they're backed by some major powerhouses, including Google Ventures, Lightbank, Kapor Capitol, Ludlow Ventures and many more. That's how they're funding all the new employee perks.
What kinds of positions are they trying to fill? "We want entrepreneurs, not employees" their website states. "We're looking for individuals who are self-motivated and eager to learn; the type that would rather start their own business than work for someone else. This is an opportunity to be autonomous, important, and have substantial decision-making power."
Their ideal employees, however, are highly skilled and specialized. To be specific, they're seeking:
And you don't even have to submit a resume to apply to Hipster! All you have to do is fill out a very short online application, provide a link to your LinkedIn profile, and write a few sentences about why you would be the right candidate. It's as simple as that.Mobile Engineers
- with extensive experience creating fun and useful mobile applications for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry platforms
- with expertise in Objective C, Java and appropriate mobile APIs/SDKs
- a BS, MS or PhD in Computer Science, or equivalent work experience
Ruby Engineers
- with extensive experience building awesome Ruby-based web applications
- with expertise in several areas of a typical Rails stack, from the data layer (MongoDB, PostgreSQL) all way on up (Varnish, Memcached, and more)
- a BS, MS or PhD in Computer Science, or equivalent work experience
Hey, if you know any good Ruby or mobile-app engineers, you could go ahead and submit their names yourself. If they're hired on your recommendation, the cash and the hipster kit are yours. What have you got to lose, besides that seriously unhip reputation?
Next: Companies Hiring
If you want to be a game tester, you need to be where the game makers are. That means cities like Dallas, Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Montreal and Redmond, Washington. If there aren't a large number of developers and/or publishers around you, you're going to have a hard time being a full-time game tester. You might find occasional work in other big cities - like Atlanta, Chicago and New York -- but it will be, at best, supplemental income.
Full-time tester jobs are exceedingly rare. Typically, game makers (and third-party testing houses like VMC Consulting and Babel Media) hire testers on a contract basis. When the test cycle ends for a product, the testing team is laid off -- and the search for a new gig begins (thus the reason to live in a developer/publisher-rich city). Michael Weber, director of central development at Gearbox Software, says, "In a lot of cases, a tester can go from product to product at company to company." He adds, "If you want to do this as your livelihood... you need to put yourself in a position where you can move from studio to studio when the products ship."
You don't need a degree to be a game tester. In many cases, a GED is good enough. But, if your personality and emotional maturity don't mesh with the rest of the team, you'll never make it. Game companies say these are the most important qualities in a candidate. If you're a loner, or slip into a rage when you lose a game, you're looking at the wrong career. Testers work long hours -- and they don't need unnecessary disruptions.
It probably goes without saying that when you're trying to get a job to assure the quality of a game, you need a good eye for detail. Finding bugs in the early stage of testing is simple. Anyone can do it. But when developers have polished products, it gets a bit harder. 
Once you find an error, you'll need to let the development team know exactly what went wrong and how you made it occur. If you're unable to do so, it doesn't matter how good you are at finding mistakes. To test for good communications skills, Gearbox asks people to describe their favorite game and what they like about it. If a candidate can't do so clearly and enthusiastically, they likely don't have what it takes for the job.
Merely having enthusiasm for video games isn't enough for testers. An obsession is mandatory. Testers play and replay the same small part of a game again and again and again -- for eight hours or more per day. If you're unable to maintain focus and energy over that amount of time, you'll burn out quickly, and ruin one of your favorite hobbies in the process.
As you research where to work, you may find services that guarantee you a game tester position for a nominal fee. These are the video game equivalent of those "Work from home: Make $100,000" signs you see thumb tacked to telephone polls at intersections. If you're looking for a job, never pay to get it.
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