Video game testing is the holy grail of all video gaming jobs. Full time game tester jobs are few and far between, but when one is found, it's likely to be highly contested, sought by dozens of applicants, all qualified for the position. When interviewing for a position as an in-house video game tester, you'll want to be fully prepared and ready for any questions they might throw at you.
Research
Game
Full-time game testing is harder than many tout it to be. Not only are you responsible for daily to weekly builds of a game, with very carefully detailed note taking and repetitive replays through broken levels, but you're likely to spend long hours meeting your deadlines, and a lot of that time writing up reports rather than playing video games.
For any video game tester jobs you apply for you'll want to do a lot of research before you go to your interview. Know exactly what kind of games the company you're applying for makes, what their budgets and development schedules are, and how many people they employ.
When they ask you questions about your availability and dedication you'll be able to give specific answers regarding the hours and duties you'll be stuck with.
Rehearsing
Like any job, you should be ready for any and all anticipated questions. If you feel like your video game testing interview might involve questions of which games you play and why, have good answers ready. Don't offer the typical response you'd give your five buddies on a road trip, such as "I dig fighting games".
Talk about the details in game design, and mechanics that draw you to that genre. It helps if you tailor this answer to the kinds of games the company you're interviewing with makes. Also, you'll want to be completely prepared for the actual work involved in this job. Rehearse answers to questions about details orientation.
Have examples ready of when you were exceptional at keeping track of a lot of small things at once. Don't relate every question they ask back to video gaming. You're applying for a game tester job, but it is still a job, with multiple duties.
During the Interview
Like any other interview, you need to look good, be prepared, and try your hardest to relax. Keep in mind that most game testing jobs are not extremely high paying, but you are still combating dozens of other interested applicants. Carefully balance your responses like any job interview, not speaking negatively of old jobs, but not dwelling on the video game aspect of your potential job.
The Job
Full time video game testing, as I've mentioned, is a hard job. It's a great job for those truly interested in video games, but you will be playing the same game, in broken modes for weeks if not months, uncovering bugs, taking meticulous notes and getting revised editions with almost the same details weekly. It's a great job for those in love with the industry though, so when you interview, make sure to follow all of the standard interview rules while keeping in mind the complexity of a game testing job.
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