It’s not a trade secret that the video game industry is in the middle of a layoff crisis. Thousands of professionals in the industry have lost their jobs as studios and developers restructure and reset financial goals following the pandemic boom. But it’s not all gloom, as the community is taking steps to provide assistance to those who have been laid off. One of the biggest communities providing uplift is on LinkedIn, and one of its most important voices is Amir Satvat.

Satvat is the business development director at Tencent, and he sat down with Devoted Studios’ CEO Ninel Anderson for a fireside chat at GamesBeat Next 2023. Satvat and Anderson spoke about the former’s efforts to help the jobseekers and build a community on LinkedIn. Satvat has been named one of LinkedIn’s Top voices in the games industry, and has built a community of tens of thousands of people amongst his followers. According to Satvat, the community found jobs for 700 people through its collection of resources.

Community, resources and uplift

Satvat said that one of his goals in building his portfolio of resources for those affected by layoffs is simplicity and ease of use. “It can be scary,” he acknowledged. He said, “I always tell people that if you have a profile on LinkedIn — beyond your CV stuff — pick three words that describe you and what your brand is on LinkedIn and ask yourself if everything you do on your page succinctly describe those three things.”

Anderson noted that building relationships with others in the community can be difficult and that visibility and posting frequency can help. “I think it’s very important to be in front of other people’s eyes, because sometimes people just forget.” She added that, “Community supports each other. Isn’t that what we strive for?”

“Resources are kinda sterile things,” said Satvat. “They’re really representative of communities and environments that we create. The thing that I’ve realized — and I think this is the biggest secret to people who’ve had success with our community — is that they feel like they’re part of a positive and supportive community. The way they become part of that is they contribute to it themselves. I think being active on a social media platform and putting things out there is a symbiotic relationship. You’re putting yourself out there and increasing your discoverability, but if you do it in a positive way, you’re also increasing the quality of the dialogue in that community.”