Blizzard's GM Recruitment

Ooh, ooh! Me! Me!

I applied... in 2004...

Look at me now!

Being a GM has it's pros and it's cons like any job. Without going into too much detail, you would be:

Working shifts which change on a regular basis- it's a 24 hour support service, so full teams of people have to be working at all times of all days. This sounds pretty taxing on paper, but you will generally be assigned to the same shift as your particular team and I can guarantee that you will bond really well with your immediate teammates. This means that no matter what shift or weekend you have, you will have people to hang out with and talk to.

Earning a decent wage- ok, so it's entry level. However you have to consider the cost of living. In general, you will earn more per month than you spend on living. As long as you didn't start with too much debt back home that needs paying off, you will have enough solvent cash to have a good social life; and France is a great place to be sociable in (weather, culture, people...)

Gaining valuable experience- this is a biggy that most people overlook. There isn't much out there that rivals what we do here. I'm not saying that egotistically, but support services are generally via email or telephone; not live interaction with the customer inside the product itself. You will learn how communicate efficiently via text alone which isn't as easy as it sounds, because sarcasm relies heavily on body language and facial expression (trust me, I'm the most sarcastic person I know IRL!)

At the end of the day, this is Blizzard. Working for Blizzard in any capacity has to be a good thing even if you only want to say that you have done it.

I'll admit that I was doubtful about coming across at first and didn't expect to stay long, but here I am. More than 2 years, and a number of different internal positions later, I'm still enjoying coming to work in the morning.

Sorry for the long-winded rant, got a bit carried away.

Blizz fanboi for life! :)

The language thing is a boundary, for sure.

When I moved across I hadn't spoken French since high school, and even then I only had the compulsory basic lessons. Bottom line is: you don't -need- it to get by. You'll pick up on the key phrases you need and any documents you need translated can be done by any of your friendly French colleagues.

If you are interested in learning the language, we have an excellent in-house teacher who provides lessons outside of your working hours to all levels of proficiency. And on top of that, if you really want to learn, just go out and start speaking to people. Immerse yourself.

I'm far from fluent after 2 years. My 'restaurant French' is pretty good and I can order Dominos pizza like a demon, but if they something I hadn't prepared for I get totally lost!


And @ Luzzu: there are always people working, but late shifts will traditionally have less people and it's kinda normal to be a bit more lethargic in an empty office when it's dark outside. It really just depends on the ticket queue for how long you have to wait, and if your issue needs to be escalated for investigation it will take longer again.

I'm not entirely sure what the process for the interviews is now, it's been a long time and a lot has changed since I had mine.

For example, I applied three times (the email address for applications kept getting changed and I wanted to make sure they got my CV). I got an email saying they would call me on X date at X time and I had my phone interview. A day or so later I got another email saying the phone interview was good and would I be able to come for a live interview. I believe that there is no longer an initial email warning you of the incoming phone interview, so if you send an application, be prepared!

You would have to come for a live interview if your phone interview was good enough but you would get to choose your own date for that in order to suit flight times and costs.

Gender ratio in the GM department is heavily male, but there are quite a few females at this time and some of the other departments compensate by being more readily staffed by female employees (I believe the Billing team are still a majority female department) and they are in the same building.

Going back to the language briefly, I'd say it's not likely to be a deciding factor in your interview or application process but you would definitely have an advantage when it comes to social networking and experiencing the French lifestyle.

For Bokkie, I can't really give specifics about the salary but I would say that based on the GM salary alone, you won't be buying a house in the area.

Most GMs live in single room apartments and for me personally, with internet, gas, electric, a mobile phone, and my car, I pay out roughly two thirds of what I earn each month- this includes basic groceries. I'd compare it most readily to student living: you won't run out of money unless you go mad spending it.

I didn't really expect to get drawn into this so deeply, I guess I should have known better. :)

@ Thecowking: the GM department is probably one of the easiest to get into and, because of that, you will have to shine above the rest if you apply for an internally advertised position- I think a lot of people join under the impression that it will be easy to get advancement.

@ Fodácio: the bachelors degree thing isn't really something I can comment on because I'm not in any way affiliated with the recruitment process, so I simply don't know. I will tell you though, that I do not have a degree and I believe a large factor in me getting the job was my previous customer support experience. If you can illustrate that you know how to treat and deal with clients in a professional and clear manner, you should be fine no matter what you have done before.

From a personal perspective, I was really scared about moving to France. I didn't speak the language, I didn't know anyone here, and I was leaving behind all my friends and family. No one I knew had ever done anything like it so I couldn't get any tips or pointers. Despite that, I went ahead with it and I don't regret it.

So, do it for yourself. Do it to make your parents proud, or your friends jealous. Do it just to see if you would be offered the job, or do it with the intention of doing it forever. If you think you might have wanted to apply, just go ahead and do it. You've nothing to lose.

It's a great company, with a great game, full of great people and it's not showing any signs of stopping. So hop on our bandwagon and let's bring this beast to the masses!
(I -so- should have been a motivational speaker :P)

Ok, a little update for you guys:

Since this thread got a bit more attention than I expected I decided to extricate myself before I put my foot in my mouth.

However, due to the apparent interest I did a little probing and we're going to get an updated recruitment FAQ out to you soonâ„¢.

So I won't be answering too many more questions about this at this time, but watch this space for updates.

And good luck to anyone who has applied or plans to apply!

Necro-oh-no-no!