Videogame firm continues to challenge new recruits

With the ambitious goal of increasing the workforce at its Montreal and Québec City studios by more than 1,000 employees by 2013, videogame designer Ubisoft has launched the second, and improved, edition of its TooMuchImagination.ca interactive recruitment challenge. This year's goal? To recruit 150 new talented designers, artists and programmers for its two Québec studios. "There's definitely a challenge right now in the industry," says Cédric Orvoine, director of external communications at Ubisoft Montreal. "Every gaming company is growing right now so everybody's kind of fighting for the talent. And at the same time there are not enough young graduates on a yearly basis. So that's why we're trying to create a different approach than the typical ‘Ubisoft is hiring' type of advertising."Instead, the Too Much Imagination (TMI) campaign assess applicants' skills through a series of interactive challenges testing logic, creative thinking and memory. "We're talking to Generation Y, and it's a very specific crowd," says Orvoine. "They don't act, react or make their choices the same way that previous generations did, so we have to talk to them in a different way and that's the approach behind the initiative." Given the results of last year's inaugural TMI campaign, it seems Ubisoft has hit on a winning strategy. Orvoine says TMI '06 was a success in every possible way. During the three months of the challenge the TMI website received 50,000 unique visitors and traffic on the careers section of the Ubisoft website tripled. The campaign also paved the way for more than 350 new hires by the game design firm between September 2006 and June 2007, and Orvoine says TMI was the foundation for all of the company's recruiting last year. But in spite of its success, Ubisoft saw a need to improve the campaign. The original TMI challenge featured only one in-depth, 28-question test - 25 multiple choice questions and three longer-form developmental questions. While the test proved a great way to identify the cream of the eligible crop, it was too difficult for industry neophytes, which Orvoine says prevented Ubisoft from making meaningful contact with potential future employees. This year, the TMI site has been redesigned with the goal of reaching and communicating with as many people as possible. The new site features challenges in four different sections: memory; logic; creativity; and ‘AAA.' While the last is billed as "3 videos and 20 questions for industry pros," the first three are for all who may be interested in a career in videogame design."This year the approach was to make it a little more casual, a little more open to more people," says Orvoine. "Instead of just having a linear questionnaire, we have more interactive features. We want people to also have fun when they are taking the challenge."The improvements seem to be paying off; the ‘07 campaign has been underway only three weeks and participation has almost reached the levels from all of last year's challenge. As well, Ubisoft has expanded TMI from being simply a drive-to-Web initiative to what Orvoine calls a "drive-to-shake-your-hand" programme. A recruitment tour, which runs until January 15, will see Ubisoft visit more than 35 different schools across the country that offer related programs such as animation or software engineering. The campaign will also have a presence at upcoming industry events like the ARCADIA Festival, the Montreal International Game Summit and the Toronto Independent Game Developers Conference. But the centre of the whole campaign is the website, and it's something Orvoine says he hasn't seen from any other industry player. While potential applicants can spend anywhere from five minutes to two hours on the site, it certainly offers a unique alternative to the traditional practice of banging on doors and dropping off resumes. Says Orvoine: "One thing that's working well with this whole campaign is the challenge aspect. When you get challenged people have the natural reaction to go and give it a try."

Videogame firm continues to challenge new recruits

Broadcast | October 10, 2007

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