GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Rewriting Your Game Career Love Story (Taylor's Version)
Sonia Michaels (Career Coach/Consultant, Independent)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Indie Games Summit Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Game Career Development
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All
Unwanted career transitions--layoffs, studio closures, reorganizations, and so on--are a lot like breakups. Sometimes, we sense that something isn't quite right long before the end; at other times, we're blindsided by the full impact of a painful decision that we didn't get to make. At first, we feel crushed, even betrayed; eventually, though, we have to do our best to take back control of our own career narratives and reinvent ourselves for the next era of our careers and lives. This talk will address these very serious challenges through the lighthearted lens of Taylor Swift's music. Heartbreakers gonna break, and haters gonna hate, but hopefully this will help you figure out how to take a bad experience and shake it off!
Takeaway
Attendees will gain an improved understanding of how to get through unwanted career transitions, from managing the emotional impact of job loss to figuring out how to reinvent themselves and move forward during challenging times for the game industry. They will also leave the room with an earworm or two!
Intended Audience
This talk will appeal to anyone who has ever lost a job they really didn't want to lose, or who wants to prepare for the possibility/likelihood of having to get through to the other side of layoffs, studio closures, and other unfortunate career events.
