As an embedded systems software engineer who's worked on the Cell (PS3) processor for 3.5 years as a Toshiba employee, I thought I would have an easy entry into Game business -- and so did a lot of my coworkers. I even got references from a Sony engineer to get my name in front of the hiring managers.
Today, I haven't gone anywhere in game business: I've had several phone interviews and even one on site interview but nothing panned out. Interviewing process for game business is different from embedded systems since I'm able to get jobs (have been for the past 18+ years). I was unemployed for one month (Sep'05) as I tried to focus on a game job but I ended up right back into my area of expertise [where I am getting my pay check]. The biggest jolt I got was when I was told I would have to be hired as a mid-level programmer rather than a senior one. All because I wasn't in the game business before?
I see some of the "we're different here" attitude in embedded systems (like knowing certain communications protocols as a requirement for getting hired -- which to me is just as bad as requiring specific, trademarked development tool experience), but in general basic skills are transferable and specific details can always be (and is) learned on the fly. Granted, I haven't done math recently but with my Math B.A. degree (on top of my B.S. and M.A. degrees in C.S.) I didn't think it was a big deal. They also wanted C++ experience which I was rusty in but I had previous experience before (ironically, with my current job, I had no serious problem porting a C++ program from AT&T Standard Component library to C++ Standard (STL) Library -- it wasn't easy but it wasn't impossible either). Now, I won't even bother to apply to game openings and the only way I'd get involved is if I write my own game or game tool [as if I was working on one in my spare time... yeah, right].
Slightly off track but if you haven't read "Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream," I'd highly recommend it. I picked it up while I was unemployed and felt that the author got the right feel of the job hunt process. I don't agree with her proposals on how to fix the system [more government intervention] but she did go into the job hunt process herself far more than I ever had to do [she never did get a white collar job, though].
