Gaming jobs at About.com

Damn, that would be an awesome job. Too bad I'm not 18 and don't live in any of the required cities...


EDIT: I read it again a couple more times, and it seems you don't have to live anywhere special. It also doesn't say an age requirement, though I'm sure there is one--could anyone confirm that you don't have to live in a big city and don't have to be 18 or older to apply?
 
Sorry. I just have a habit of keeping my hopes up too high and so, naturally, I'm very excited about this.
 
[quote name='merkman']Frankly, it sounds like a scam to me. :([/quote]
Scam? Not sure why you would think this. I wouldn't have posted it if it wasn't legit.

XboxMaster, I'm pretty sure they will be looking for someone over 18.
 
[quote name='CheapyD'][quote name='merkman']Frankly, it sounds like a scam to me. :([/quote]
Scam? Not sure why you would think this. I wouldn't have posted it if it wasn't legit.

XboxMaster, I'm pretty sure they will be looking for someone over 18.[/quote]


Yeah, probably, but I could always give it a try...
 
from what i understand of this job, it sounds like you'll be setting up your own website about the specific platform and its games. so it's more indepenent than writing articles for them.
 
That would be one sweet job, and I am going to be 18 next month. I dont think that I would have the time to do it during the school year though.
 
No ones memtioned what About.com is. I'm pretty fuzzy on it, but isn't this where people email questions "about" anything and experts answer them? I feel I qualify as a Nintendo expert so I'm applying.
 
You can check out the general video game section of about if you want to get a feel for what they may be looking for:

http://videogames.about.com/

Seems like a lot of work, but for someone that really wants to get into the vidgame media this would be an excellent job. (Might be hard to get if you have no experience, would depend on the pool of applicants they get I suppose.)
 
I'm having a hard time applying, but it sounds like a fun part time job to earn a little extra money. What the hell, why not apply and see what happens?
 
Man I hope you don't have to be as accomlished as current guy. Looks like he taught in Japan for 3 years and is a graduate instructor of Communicatons and New Media at U. of Utah. If they are looking for everyone to be accomplished like that I'm screwed.
 
I just applied for fun, but I did send in a resume which seemed to be requested to apply. Here is my cover letter that I wrote quickly, I think it was ok. Let me know what you think.

To whom it may concern,

I recently learned about the opening that About.com has for a Nintendo game enthusiast and fell that I would be a great fit for the postion.

In addition to the qualifications listed on my resume, I have been playing video games for over twenty years. I have owned and played every Nintendo system produced, and currently own every major system that Nintendo has produced. In addition, my work experience as an Account Executive at local television stations has refined my writing and communication skills.

If you have any questions about any of the information I have provided, please contact me either by phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.
 
I would try to clean up some of the grammatical errors in it before I sent it in.

Here, I cleaned it up a little bit. Just a few mistakes. But considering you're applying for a journalism position, you might want to make it all correct.

To whom it may concern,

I recently learned about the opening About.com has for an Nintendo game enthusiast and felt I would be a great fit for the postion.

In addition to the qualifications listed on my resume, I have been playing video games for more than 20 years. I have owned and played every Nintendo system produced and currently own every major system that Nintendo has produced. In addition, my work experience as an Account Executive at local television stations has refined my writing and communication skills.

If you have any questions about any of the information I have provided, please contact me either by phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.
 
I wrote it fast, but I don't really see any big grammatical errors. It could have been written a little better, but grammatically it seems fine. Keep in mind that I don't really care if I get the job. I have a much higher paying job that I would keep anyway. This would just be for fun.
 
I just glanced over these real quick...the hooker in the contract is "independent contractor". Which means you will have to buy all your own stuff and equipment. And work an unspecified amount of hours.

Now we gamers are used to buying our own games and consoles, but at a measly $500-1000 a month for god knows how many hours of work you will have to put in just doesn't sound like that good of a deal. It wouldn't be too bad if they supplied you with free stuff to review...like consoles and games. Plus for a website you need a decent PC as well. If you have to buy your own stuff, that $500-1000 per month to review games and consoles isn't really going to be that much. (Will they give you stuff to review? I didn't see a mention in the ad, but like I said I read it real quick, I might have missed that part).

And it also states you have to bring in increasing web traffic. What happens if you don't? They stop paying you? Cut your pay? Hire someone else?

Don't get me wrong, this could be a great part time job for someone who wants part time work. It depends on how much time the person has to really put into the job. This would also be great for a part time college student in journalism, graphic design, or any video game field. Think of it like a paid internship that would look good on a future resume. I wouldn't try to take it on for full time employment though.
 
Keep in mind if you get the job you will now be able to claim press credentials at any gaming event like E3 or GDC. Additionally you can expect some success in getting on the review list for newly released titles. Getting on Microsoft's review list is not at all difficult if your connected to a legit organization like about.com in a Xbox oriented capacity.

So your costs will be much lower than you might expect. Also, this is nothing like a full time job if you're a fast writer. You can engage in plenty of other moneymaking activity while doing this.

Getting in the reviewer lists will change your life. I used to do articles for Byte.com and still contribute to a column. At least once a month computer products show up at my house completely unsolicited. About 25% of my large Xbox library comes from Microsoft via a friend who doesn't have any interest in console games and just hands me all the ones his kid doesn't like.
 
Sorry to bump an old thread, but I'm just wondering if any other CAG's got accepted.

I got my acceptance letter the beginning of July and have been doing Orientation and Training (basically building my site) for the last couple of weeks. Monday is my first due date (they'll review my site) and then in August is my final due date where they pick the best site out of ten or so applicants.

So I'm just wondering if any other CAG's are working on this too.

Edit: I was accepted for the Xbox site.

I figure I"ll have a good shot as long as it is better than About's current videogame site, videogames.about.com , which I don't think will be hard to top at all.
 
[quote name='GF_Eric']Sorry to bump an old thread, but I'm just wondering if any other CAG's got accepted.

I got my acceptance letter the beginning of July and have been doing Orientation and Training (basically building my site) for the last couple of weeks. Monday is my first due date (they'll review my site) and then in August is my final due date where they pick the best site out of ten or so applicants.

So I'm just wondering if any other CAG's are working on this too.

Edit: I was accepted for the Xbox site.

I figure I"ll have a good shot as long as it is better than About's current videogame site, videogames.about.com , which I don't think will be hard to top at all.[/quote]

No man, I never got an email back from them at all. Damn bastards. I only registered for the Cube one, though.
 
[quote name='GF_Eric']Sorry to bump an old thread, but I'm just wondering if any other CAG's got accepted.

I got my acceptance letter the beginning of July and have been doing Orientation and Training (basically building my site) for the last couple of weeks. Monday is my first due date (they'll review my site) and then in August is my final due date where they pick the best site out of ten or so applicants.

So I'm just wondering if any other CAG's are working on this too.

Edit: I was accepted for the Xbox site.

I figure I"ll have a good shot as long as it is better than About's current videogame site, videogames.about.com , which I don't think will be hard to top at all.[/quote]

Congrats, man! That is really awesome.
Feel feel to ask for suggestions/assistance from myself and fellow CAGs.
 
I got accepted as well, but a back injury that I've been suffering from just didn't allow me to do much since I can't sit for an extended period. I didn't want to, but I had to back out.

However, GF_eric, should you make it, you've got a reviewer on board. I E-mailed Jacci and she said to drop the person a line once they got up and running. Good luck!

Also, whoever asked about pay, if your site does not increase in traffic from the previous year of the same month, your pay is cut in half.
 
Hey ~ I'm a lazy college student who's on the net all too often and loves the XBox. I'm majoring in English. I'm perfect for this! I applied. Thanks for the heads up.
 
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