Finding new talent:how the companies reach out to find new employees for game industry:a comparative analysis of three game companies in Oulu region

The aim of this study is to recognize recruiting methods, tools and practices in game development industry in Oulu region. This study tries to discover how game companies recruit new personnel and are there similarities between companies. The study tries to answer five questions: Where does the game industry recruit new employees? Is it common to use social media in recruitment in the game industry? How has the recruitment process changed over the years? Is there a change from traditional recruitment methods to new, modern social networking and virtual recruitment? What are the most popular and efficient recruiting sources in the game industry? This study is a qualitative study. The study includes introduction to previous recruitment theories and discussion about relevant findings of the previous studies in the field of recruiting. Empirical study was conducted in Oulu region by interviewing three game companies. Companies involved had to employ at least 10 full-time employees. Interviews were semi-structured interviews. During this study, it was found out that some recruitment activities were similar among the interviewed companies. To further elaborate this, the study categorizes recruitment sources into four separate recruitment channels. Four recruitment channels are internal exploration, external exploration, external attraction and internal education. Preference to which channel the company uses is highly dependent on the age and surroundings of the company. Companies use social media for various recruitment activities. As there are variations in social media platforms, game companies have chosen to use platforms which they find most useful for their activities. Game development industry has utilized virtual recruitment tools in their recruitment processes. They update tools frequently, in order to improve their processes. More traditional ways of recruiting is less used. Social networking and recruiting through it is highlighted. The findings of this study can be generalized to Oulu region and other medium sized regions of game development industry in Finland. This study provides recruitment viewpoints for small businesses and especially startups in the game industry. It can be used when deciding where to start looking for potential employees