My top 5: Hiring qualities

Written by Colleen

Someone sent me this question in email last night, so I thought I'd share the answer with anyone else who's interested:

Can you describe the qualities you look for, when selecting writers and artists?

I've been involved with recruiting at Okashi Studios since we first started looking for help beyond our circle of friends and co-workers, back in the spring of 2005. Having the right skills and talents for the job is probably the most obvious thing to be considered, but as it turns out, it's just one piece of the puzzle.

Admittedly, we do keep pretty high standards here, but that's how we ensure that the final product will be high in quality and something we can all be proud of. It's important that our core team can stay focused yet agile, and that everyone is able to do their part independently as well as collaboratively.

So here's a list of top 5 things that I personally look for:

• Skills and talent
  Simply put, does this person draw or write well, and in a style that would be compatible with ours? Consistency throughout the project is very important, so we need writers and artists who are flexible enough to match the style of our existing work. Also, they should be proficient in the tools that we use, and have some familiarity with anime/manga (ren'ai games or other types of games, even better).
   
• Good work ethics
  Can this person work independently and turn things in on time, without a lot of prodding or hand-holding? Will they take the initiative to find things they can work on, and at the same time, are they realistic about how much they can handle (even when faced with ouside commitments)? Is this person consistently conscientious about the quality of their work?
   
• Good communication/collaboration skills
  We look for people who can communicate well, and who have a good grasp of the English language (especially writers, of course), since dealing with problems arising from miscommunications can be costly and demoralizing. It also helps to have people who are forthcoming with their ideas and opinions, and always willing to share their work in progress.
   
• Good attitude :)
  Does this person take pride in their work; are they passionate about what they do? How well do they respond to constructive criticism? Do they give up easily when faced with a challenge? Will they be enthusiastic about working on our project?
   
• Compatibility with current team
  It's important to find people who will fit in both in terms of skills as well as culture. Someone could be really good at what they do, but if their skills are not needed in the current project (or if everyone feels uncomfortable when they're around), then it wouldn't be worthwhile (for both us and them) to try to work with them.

Now, we don't expect anyone to be perfect in all those areas... but so far, it seems that the closer someone comes to meeting all of those, the more likely they will work out in the long run. So in some ways, that was more of a list of qualities of a "successful" [1] writer or artist, rather than a list of hiring criteria, as was asked for (sorry!). ( [1] "Success" being a subjective quality, and only referring to this particular group/project.)

Of course, after saying all that, this leads to the question, is Okashi Studios currently hiring? And if so, how do I apply?

The general answer is yes, we are always looking for bright, talented people to help us on Shira Oka (or future projects). One of these days, I'll put up a "Jobs" section to our website, with more specific instructions on applying... but for now, anyone who wants to apply for work should simply send an email to jobs @ okashistudios .com with some background information and links (preferred) or attachments of some sample work, and maybe your favorite joke or something else to impress us. ;P

< Prev		Next >