Knife Edge Employment Opportunity

[rubberneck]

In response to the announcement I saw for an employment opportunity at Knife Edge, First off, I was having a little trouble finding the section in your website providing the job description. The discussion forum opens up in a new window and there is no left frame. The main left frame at the index of the site also does not appear to have any description either. Either way, I guess it doesn’t matter. I’ve already found out what I need to know. I have long been an RC enthusiast…racing cars…sinking boats…. and best of all…flying planes. I fly with my buddies whenever I get the chance, but that usually is only every Sunday. I would fly everyday if I could. We all have slow sticks running blushless motors and 3-cell lithium polymer batteries. We dab here and there with the gas and I especially am fond of rebuilding gliders into monsters with motors. Flying here in Phoenix, AZ is fun but kind of hard during the summer. When it gets hot, we often find ourselves out in the middle of a field…. sitting in a car…. waiting for out batteries to charge. We will fly in the most hardcore of conditions. Ever seen “Jackass” on MTV? Just imagine those guys with RC planes…that’s a good description of my buddies and me. Sometimes we like to fly into signs and things just so we can celebrate at the explosion of parts. Anyway…we’re not that bad. When I heard about the job opening at Knife Edge, I couldn’t believe my eyes. At the time, I wasn’t even looking for a job. I recently graduated from school gaining bachelors in Video Game Art and Design and have been comfortably working freelance projects since then. I figured I wasn’t really happy with some of the art I had made during school since my experience there was mostly crowded with projects that didn’t really suit what I wanted to do and thus…took up a lot of time. I figured I would work freelance 3d stuff for 6-8 months or so until I could have some better art to show off………..but then I came across this position at Knife-edge. I immediately dropped everything I was doing and contacted Jim Bourke. After writing my cover letter and revising my resume….bla bla bla…..sending that off….I started to think that I may be wasting my time. I felt kind of stupid for not having my stuff ready to go…like I said…..I was not in the market for a job….but I felt like this was an opportunity I could not pass up. I could not help but think of how great it would be to have a job like this. After a few days, I made a phone call to Mr. Bourke and inquired about the job again. I was kind of nervous because I do not want to waste this mans…or any mans time…I was always told though….if you want the job…you have to ask for it. My website had been taken down a few weeks earlier because I simply did not have the time to mess with it. After speaking with Mr. Bourke, I immediately threw some stuff together and put it back on the Internet and contacted him again through email. At this time, I was half inclined to call him again…but I really don’t want to keep bothering him…but I will if that’s what it takes. Overall…what I'm trying to say…is that I am completely ecstatic about this opportunity and I want this job more then I could ever describe. To this minute…. I feel like I have done everything in my power to convey this. But here I am…(with work that I should be doing)…. and I’m still looking for other ways that I might “grease the wheels”. My reason for posting….is that I'm hoping to find….an insider? Someone who could casually tell me what Knife Edge is looking for and how I could further my chances of possibly getting this job. Of course, an interview would be great….but I’m not expecting that unless I could prove myself first. All I’m really looking for is THAT chance…an art test. Im very familiar with 3dmax, photoshop and I’ve had lots of experience with other applications as well. Is there anyone out there who could give me some advice…. a breath of hope? I actually have a lot of things I should be doing right now, but I can’t help but sit here and dream about this job. I am willing to do ANYTHING. I’m not a nut…. well maybe a little…I’m just nuts about RC and I’m nuts about finding a job in which I really feel I can contribute to. If it required me to be in Oregon tomorrow…tonight…whatever…I would be there…..ANY art test?…no problem….. this is the only job I’m pursuing right now…and I want to give it all I’ve got…I want somebody to realize how serious I am. If there is anybody out there reading this who has any words of advice…. I am all ears. Yea yea…..I’ve heard the….”don’t act too desperate” thing before….and I’m not desperate….just very excited. If there is anyone there (@Knife-Edge) who can help…your words of advice will be solidified in gold and very much appreciated. Thank you for reading this. See you in the air.

Sorry for the long post. :D

[Highflyer]

Learn to get to the point and then shut up. More jobs have been lost due to overtalking than lack of employability. I can't help but wonder what this other work you should be doing is, and why aren't you doing it instead of posting here, and why are you telling a potiential employer how you are posting on the internet insead of doing your work. I hope that you are not being paid for this work. Incase you don't know it employers don't like it when we pay someone to work for us and then we find out that they are spending out time on the internet or playing games on the computer. Come to think about it I remember an employee that I had working for me once and I found out that everytime I left the office for a meeting he was spending most of that time playing games on the computer, a computer that I paid for if I may add but I gave him a chance to do better but he did not take up the slack and I terminated him just 10 days before he was going on a two week vacation and didn't even have to pay him for the vacation. Also when I interview applicants I really hate it when they send me 20 page resume's that go on an on about this and that that really has nothing to do with there applicablity for the position. I don't care what church they go to, or what their hobbies are even if it is in the line they are trying to get a job in. Hobby activities are unregulated activities and seldom show skill level without actually watching the hobbyist in action. I want demonstrated ability and skill. Why would you tell them that you emulate the jackass show when you fly. That doesn't sound like an activity that would do the hobbyor KE very much good. So basically what I'm telling you is that you should always present your best qualities to the employer, but I don't think you post did that. Tighten it up and try again. Goodluck and you did ask for comments.

[rubberneck]

wow. wasn't expecting a response like that....but i appreciate your time. Ill crawl back underneath my rock now.

[hobiewan]

Fagidaboutit.
That's one opinion.
You do have a tendency to write a story.
BUT, press on. Don't have the tendancy to lean towards verbosity. Keep your resume short and to the point.
Crashing R/C aircraft into traffic control devices(signs) shows a willful disregard for public safety and is not career enhancing. :(

I did catch the part about you freelancing. As long as you're doing what you want on your own time, do it.(no more Xtreme stuff!!)

Good luck, don't give up.
hobiewan

[Chopper-4]

Hey Rubberneck, I just found a job for you.
Holding the microphone in a recording studio. Total silence is required.
I also found another one, but I'm not sure you are qualified........
Writing Newspaper headlines.

Glad I could help

[Chopper-4]

Okay, Rubberneck, sorry about kidding you in the previous post, this is for real. I have the inside scoop for you.
KE is looking for someone with extensive writing skills to come up with a title for the next Add-ons disk.
Here's the tip that will get you IN.........Write "6"

When the next disk (currently untitled) is released, I'm looking forward to seeing your name in the credits.
I wish you the best of luck, but don't tell them where you got this information.

Chopper

[rubberneck]

Well here goes. Ive been sitting on this reply for a while, wondering if i should even waste my time or not.....but i figure...why not. Ill try my hardest to keep my spelling in line. The first thing i would like to address is my tendancy to leave a long post. I really seem no harm in this because it gets my point across. I dont have time to post a question and keep checking back in...waiting for someone to respond...responding again...and on we go. I'm too busy to waste time on the internet. With a long post, i say what i need to say, when i have time, and everybody understands. nuff said. If you have such a complaint to a long post....then why are you still reading? Second adress is to "HighFlyer" which at this point im pretty certain your Mr. bourke himself. While I admire your position and statement, i think your (and others) attitude arn't in the best of position. Im not writing this post to knock anybody, but in the sole interest of making good artwork and good games. The games of today suck. Very rarely is a decent one released. What people in your position don't realize is that the market is currently flooded with emplooyees with multiple objectives. People are extremely hot to take a title (or an idea in your case), build it, and sell it as fast as they can. Many are old, and enfatuated with the sole idea of just making money. Time will come and soon a new generation of gamers will take over. This new generation will take gaming to the next step and will inspire a whole new level of creativity and market. The only way anybody, or any company, is ever going to break new ground is by pushing the limits...crossing over the line. In the end, the market will be filled with people like myself, who came out of the womb with a controller in their hand....people who have dedicated their whole life to this work and have not dilly-dallyed in the air force.....jumping from job to job only to land in the video game industry by chance. You mentioned an employee that played on the computer every time you went into a meeting. If I was running that company, that person would have never been hired in the first place. Obviously, someone....somewhere in the line does not have the ability to reqogize someone with a true passion for what they do. A true gamer/artist does this kind of stuff anyways....because its fun to them. In this case, you should be looking for someone who flies rc....someone with a true passion....someone who knows what is fun...and what is not. I appreciate your comments on my resume though. I have decided to work freelance this year and make some stuff worthwhile at the same time eliminating some of the crap on my resume. Why would i be billing for time it takes me to write a post? That doesn't even make since. Do you bill for time on the internet? Obviously, your used to dealing with dishonest employees.......

[rubberneck]

Mr "hobiewan" is a good example of the point i am prooving. Again....i dont think there is a thing wrong with writing a long post.....as demonstrated. Dont you guys like to read? It strengthens the mind. In my opinion hobiewan is a very conservative person. While that is okay to some people, it is boring to me. I dont think hobiewans post was negitive in any way and i appreciate you inspiring comments....and i hope to not upset you but Im not interested in being another employee....im interested in breaking new ground.....pushing the industry a little further....making a difference. I express that in everything that i do. I love attaching rockets to my plane. I love flying my plane from a moving vehicle and flying into signs....which by the way....does not show any disreguard for public safety......it shows disreguard for the sign. Im sure the metal sign will be fine after being hit by my foam plane. I love tying fireworks to the wings, and i love diving my craft only to willfully plow it into the ground....loops...tricks...weaving between trees...video cameras....explosions....that sort of stuff is what keeps me comming back. I'm proud of who i am...and my friends. We know what is fun to us and we do it. We see no reason to conform to the trends of the rest of the old men, in these professions, who like to fly in circles and then land. ".(no more Xtreme stuff!!)-hobiewan" Frankly....that is the worst adivce ive ever heard. Every great idea, every great invention......and thus...every great game has been made by people who have gone extreme....who wernt afraid to try something new. If your not going to do something to your absolute fullest extent.....why do it at all. Lastly.....but probably least is Chopper-4. By no doubt you are probably the real jackass here. Your sarcasm has got you nowhere. Go back to your solitare. After all we all have been through together....you guys have really shown me what kind of company you are and what you are about. I think its safe to say that im not interested in a job opportunity in your firm anymore. I was going through some emotion problems when i first posted....but since i have cleaned myself up....re-shaped my thoughts....and my attitude towards your company and my flying habbits remain the same. I will continue to be extreme. I will continute on my journey. In the end i will get what i want. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed this edition of the rubberneck evening post. Next post will feature want ads...mainly im looking for someone to bend over and stick a sign in their a__ while standing on the corner? Chopper-4?

[Highflyer]

rubberneck, you posted the first time trying to get noticed for a job opening. As an employer myself I just gave you a critique on that effort. If you don't want to take that advice that's your choice. But with all the grammatical errors, spelling errors, and bad typing you will truly be noticed. But not the way you want. Like to read? I love to read but I do have a standard that is above what you write. I think you may know how to type, spell, and put together sentences but you are just very lazy. Or, you do this in an attempt to have a style of your own. Like it or not, you have to make a good impression before you can get your foot in any door. Your programming and game design skills aren't ever going to be seen by anyone of importance otherwise.

[hobiewan]

You presume too much. I'm far from conservative in my hobbies and in my own lifestyle. My hobbies include competitive handgun and longgun shooting. I was flying R/C back when you were still crapping your pants.(maybe still are, just for the extreme reaction you get from people around you) I've had a pilot's license and have had the pleasure of flying aerobatics in real aircraft. I've just recently purchased a "conservative" Harley and plan on taking trips across the country. If you think I'm old, I have the opinion you haven't got a clue.
As far as reading, I prefer it over the majority of crap being produced by hollywood. Probably by people like yourself.
I felt somewhat sorry for you being lambasted by the others but now,frankly, I think you are soooooo full of yourself. Your posts make my eyes water.
BTW, I don't have ANY affiliation with this or any other software company. I HAVE, however, had to deal with employement of people like yourself that think something crazy is OK then that makes it right. Wrong answer. If I hire you to do a job, then do it. If I want you to go over the edge, then it's your choice.
Wait a minute, with ideas like yours, why don't you get some of your freelancers together and start your own company. There ya go. It's easy. Take all that money you're using on destroying things and invest it in your own company.
As far as you getting any sympathy from this board, you're wasting your time. Obviously, no one from Real Flight has even begun to take you seriously. Those are guys with moderator in their sig such as Ryan Douglas.
This is the last you'll hear from me, pal.:mad:

[Ryan Douglas]

I don't want to get dragged too far into this, but there is something I need to make clear: none of the posts so far have been made by Knife Edge employees. If Jim Bourke or any of the rest of us are going to write a post, we'll do it under our own name.

As for the employment opportunity, we simply filled the position, and for whatever reason it was with somebody else. This isn't a veiled hint or anything, just some general advice that always applies: you should try to learn whatever you can from the experience, and put that to work for you the next time you're in a similar situation. The job hunt is typically filled with rejection, so don't take it personally. Going to a company's message board after the fact and posting disparaging messages about that company and its employees is unwise, and in a close-knit industry like the one you're hoping to enter, it can come back to you in unwelcome ways.

Good luck.

[hobiewan]

:) Make that administrator.
BTW Mr. Douglas. I once again apologize for my verbage.
I get carried away sometimes.
HB1

[EvilPopTarts]

I see a guy that really wants the job bad. On the other hand being destructive to public property that my taxes pay for will only eventually wind you up in jail. The long post wouldn't be a problem however theirs really no substance in it that would tell anyone why you should get the job or why they would want you to join they're family of co-workers. I dont really think an employer of any type would be interested in your destructive nature. Having a constructive nature will take you much further. At this point I'm thinking your not a very good citizen. You created that impression in your first post and it would make me think twice before ever wanting you as an employee. Half the the people on the internet are familiar with photoshop.. I myself run a web site and am working on another right now. I created all my own graphics for both sites and I think they are pretty good however I don't think that qualifies me as a professional and unless you've had some kind of professional training that you can add to your resume while your taking all the junk out that says nothing about your qualifications for the job your seeking you can probably forget getting a job in that field. Sorry to be so harsh but I don't think I've sayed anything that I wouldn't say to one of my own kids. Good luck however!

[rubberneck]

Alright. Its time to end all this. I really don’t know how I turned out to be the bad guy here, but I guess it doesn’t matter too much now. I guess maybe I do presume too much. I’m sorry if I offended anybody and I’m sorry if you don’t think I’m a good citizen. That’s not how I look at it in my world. Its one of many instances where I would imagine one would understand if they were there. My only interest in the beginning of all this was to make a friend that shared my enthusiasm. I feel that my objective was in good nature but my overall execution probably should have been thought about more. I’m really not a bad person, and I had no intention of sitting here and starting an argument. I’m sure one can realize that people can get frustrated in their job search and being that I was unable to get online too often, I developed an attitude in which I tried to get everything on my mind out on the table at once. I realized that I burned my bridges here and I do appreciate the things I’ve learned while posting here. Many of the things I posted were said sarcastically, never meant to be taken to the level of seriousness that they were. In conclusion, thank you for the replies. They have taught me a lot about myself. As of now I will continue putting forth my best efforts while keeping my mouth shut. Again. I’m sorry if I offended anybody-- hobiewan. If I could go back in time and repost some things, they would have all been worded different. Rubberneck out.

[hobiewan]

You know the best thing about being young? At least you get more chances:D than us old codgers have left.
You didn't offend me but having raised, reared or brought up a couple of kids myself, I guess my patience get's strained a little more easy. My wife sez I'm an old grouch. THE HECK I AM(BIG GRIN)
Forget about the bridges. Build them. You seem smart enough and you at least have the fortitude to come back here and be a bigger person.
I wish you luck in your endeavors and believe me, you're certainly going to get better if you're willing to do what you've done here.
Good luck to you my friend and I hope you a successful future.
Hobie
......out:) :)