Interview

How to get a job at Ruzzle developer MAG Interactive

HR Manager Ida Wate shares insights

How to get a job at Ruzzle developer MAG Interactive

MAG Interactive has been quietly going about its business of racking up downloads in the casual and word gaming space since the launch of its 2012 hit, Ruzzle.

Indeed, in June it celebrated the milestone of 100 million downloads across its catalogue, all with a focus on word-of-mouth virality and a target audience of non-gamers.

The MAG family now goes beyond Sweden, too, following the acquisition of Brighton studio Delinquent back in 2015.

But it's back at the Stockholm base that the firm is looking to add to its ranks, with vacancies in a number of areas.

To learn more about these roles, tips for applying and company culture, we reached out to HR Manager Ida Wate.

PocketGamer.biz: What's your role at MAG Interactive?

Ida Waite: Since 2013, when I started at MAG, I have been in charge of building and streamlining the HR function as well as integrating recruitment.

That includes basically everything and anything within the personnel area - such as ensuring that we have a healthy work environment, professional development, talent management, labour law, relocation of new employees, employment branding, performance and salary reviews, etc.

What specific areas/disciplines are you currently hiring in?

Currently we're looking to hire:

  • Tech/Game Developers
  • Marketing
  • Senior Developers

But anyone is welcome to send in an open application.

As you're overseeing recruitment at MAG Interactive, what do you look for in candidates?

A good spirit and the "right" culture fit.

You need to be a team player since everything we do is set up that way.
Ida Wate

At MAG, you need to be a team player since everything we do is set up that way. Even in roles like mine where you do not belong to a specific team, you interact daily with multiple teams and people.

That means that beside being good at your field of work, you need to have social skills and a helpful approach. We all depend on each others work to keep the success and future development.

Why do you think MAG Interactive/Stockholm is a good place to work? How will you be trying to encourage a strong company culture?

I believe that MAG's way of working in many ways are groundbreaking, at least in Sweden.

For example, all our teams are autonomous which means that they are in charge of their game/product from start to finish.

That may not sound groundbreaking to begin with, but this includes being in charge for real. We don't have any managers checking up on you or telling you what to do.

You set the plan, execute it, and are also responsible for delivery. To share and learn from each other we all demo our projects' status each week with everyone in the company.

Transparency is very important to keep the trust between us.
Ida Wate

We work continuously with our company culture and try to make sure it's a living process more then text on a paper. In real life, that means reviewing it via workshops and employee surveys.

If we see anything that resembles dissatisfaction, the management team and I are responsible to present proposals for action and deliver on those.

Transparency is very important to keep the trust between us and the open culture we have today.

What advice would you have for someone trying to get into the games industry?

It always differs depending on your experience and what you are applying for, of course, but what I find to be true after many years of recruiting for all kinds of roles, is that the very most important thing is to be real.

Have a positive attitude and just be you. If you lack skills or experience, try to present a picture to the recruiter on how you plan to acquire that knowledge.

The MAG Interactive team

That could be signing up for a course, or to try somehow educating yourself or learning from others. If you are a developer, send in examples of projects your have done and if possible some code.

What you want to see as a recruiter is the spirit and willingness to develop more then a super hero. A smile and humility will take you a long way!

For a full list of vacancies, you can visit MAG Interactive's careers page.

Features Editor

Matt is really bad at playing games, but hopefully a little better at writing about them. He's Features Editor for PocketGamer.biz, and has also written for lesser publications such as IGN, VICE, and Paste Magazine.