Ed Tlegenov from Autodesk 

We had an opportunity to have two learning sessions with Dr. Ed Tlegenov, Principal Research Manager at Autodesk Research for the Mapping Virtual Practice unit this term. 

The first one was focused on applying for a job or internship in immersive technologies, while the second was an interactive workshop where, as a group, we worked on developing an idea for a VR game. 

Both sessions were interesting and helpful in terms of understanding the process of applying for work in industry, especially in big corporations or through recruiting agencies, where the algorithms determine our chances of success.

Ed talked to us about how important a well-built resume is. CV should contain key words (there are CV scanners online: Jobscan, Targeted Resume and SkillSyncer), be saved in the correct file format– doc and docx are better than pdf – and be easy to scan (left to right, top to bottom). Resumes that are read by the algorithm do not have to have a quirky design. 

LinkedIn and its importance were the second points of the lecture. We all should have a professional profile there by now, and more importantly, we should have filled them in 100%. Ed gave us a few tasks to polish off our profiles: to complete 100% if we have not done it yet; to write a catchy headline including personal quality and role sought, qualifications and achievements; to use the right for our industry keywords (AR, VR, XR, Immersive); to broaden our location – to write London, UK instead of a specific area of the city; to customize our URL and to network, grow, learn, and post on LinkedIn in aid of our professional development. 

Applying for positions was the topic we discussed next. Ed gave us tips to apply for positions from various angles, to find open positions on companies’ websites, LinkedIn, Indeed profiles and other job portals, but also to enquire about upcoming not advertised yet positions via LinkedIn, email, Twitter etc, and to search for opportunities within our own networks – friends, mentors, events, social media etc.

Next, we moved to the interview process and were given advice of what to do and not to do. Interview should be an open-ended discussion with no single answer. We should be able to demonstrate that we have the knowledge and skill the employer is looking for. Breaking up the problem into smaller pieces and presenting our problem-solving process are crucial.  

We then worked together on a little task before we moved on to negotiations as an important element of the recruiting process. Negotiations between the employer and the employee are not only about financial compensation, but they can also refer to flexible hours, remote working, title, team responsibilities, work projects and many more.  

Ed also gave us an assignment. For the second session with him, in April, he wanted us to apply for several job positions – advertised and not, using various connections and ways of contacting the company we wanted to work with. We also had to update our resumes and LinkedIn profiles to attract future employers.  

During the second session with Ed, we briefly discussed our progress with updating our profiles and internship/job hunting. Next, we worked as a group on a task – how to develop a scalable VR game with accessible environmental integration and cross-platform play. We have spent a good amount of time working on individual little tasks before moving as a group on the whole project. It was a brainstorming session showing us how the ideas can be developed during real-life collaboration. It was an interesting workshop where my course colleagues and I had a chance to work together towards one goal.  

Both sessions with Ed were valuable and brought several new thoughts and ideas important in presenting your qualities as a professional, networking and job hunting.