Berni Headd-Williams’ Post

All areas, not just game design

This photo was taken less than 24 hours ago while I was down on a work trip at the Blizzard HQ. Unfortunately I have been affected by the recent Activision Blizzard / Microsoft layoffs along with 2,000 other talented people. This was a lovely past 2 years with the company getting to work on so many great games and getting to help launch #diabloimmortal and #warcraftrumble. I wanted to give a big kudos and thank you to the following people I had the pleasure of working so closely with day to day from so many different teams: My amazing manager: Washington Andrade team #WaWa for life! My amazing team: Tom Sundman Paul Beasley Matt Murphy Dima Mikhailov Sarah Zapata Kathy S. Britton Green Olivia Lee June Lee anahi morales My Call of duty Mobile colleagues: Iain Gayley Eric Hsu Valentine Banor Mari Wood Siying Guo My Warzone Mobile colleagues: Elizabeth Baumann Burr Maya Palmer Ann Pham Aninditya K. David Kramer Ethan Durand Susan Kim Madeline Hashem Claire Wang My Warcraft Rumble colleagues: Austin Walterman Ajay Ravi Ariel H. Iain Sawbridge My Hearthstone colleagues: Cathy Magnien Kurt Ocher Marcella Ziccarelli Nicole Zhou Andrea Ortega Nathan Lyons-Smith My Diablo Immortal colleagues: Peiwen Yao Chase Shi Shannon Williams Lucy Pozniak Scott C. Mauro Agnellini Thank you all for the amazing work we were able to accomplish together over the years. The gaming industry is small so I know we will cross paths again in the future! With that said, I would appreciate any referrals in the gaming industry. I am looking for mid-level #producer, #publishing, #productmarketing, or #merchandising roles. #activisionblizzard #microsoft #xbox #opentowork #layoffs

While browsing through my feed, I find these pair of posts together: An 18 year veteran being laid off from Blizzard, immediately followed by an Activision recruiter talking about the layoffs in the industry, and claiming Activision and Blizzard want to support those affected by layoffs by actively hiring. Am I missing something here? What kind of narrative are these corporate shmucks trying to weave? You literally laid off an 18 year vet with no notice, and go on to claim you are trying to help the industry by hiring? Why not just reassign your talent if you are dropping support for a game? Come to your own conclusions about this, but with Microsoft teetering on the buyout of Activision, something awful is amiss... We desperately need to address this behavior that larger entities are engaging in, and punish companies who are participating in the layoffs that want to share posts that "support those affected during these times, and we are hiring." This is bogus, and this content needs to be called out.

Over the weekend I received my 2-year service stein for working with Blizzard. I ticked over that milestone right as the layoffs occurred, so certainly a little bittersweet receiving it (even though it's cool as hell). The first month post-layoff was certainly a lot of sleepless nights thinking about everything I had done and said and wondering how I ended up in the wrong column, but we're past that... and we're getting to work. I absolutely cherished my time at Blizzard supporting games that I have spent 10,000(s) of hours in (95% of all achievements done 💪). It was definitely a role where my passion for the games intersected with purpose, and I loved being able to extend offers to other passionate candidates excited to work on the games we both loved... and I'd certainly go back if fate allowed it 👀 Many of you have been looking for contacts at Blizzard, and here are a few I'd highly encourage you to interact and connect with if you're hoping for a role at Blizzard: 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 - Jaime Silva & Alex Harrington 𝐀𝐫𝐭 - Jasmine Coppin & Christeen Mackey 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 & 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - Louis Nunez, MS (He/Him/His), Lexie Cole 💙, Jessie Reitz, Rocky Polito SHRM - CP As an update, things are getting a little bit tight, and I'm still on the hunt for my next role. I would very much love to be connected with people who are hiring or if you know anyone hiring for 𝑨𝒕𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂-𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 or 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆 roles in 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘙, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴. I've had some great leads from my network, it's simply been an issue of timing. Additionally, there's some great people in other disciplines who were laid off from Blizzard Talent Acquisition who are absolutely worth a look and I personally vouch for them (I missed many of you, please @ yourself below): 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: ME! 😂 - Tech/Production/Design/Distribution/Manufacturing/Sales/Finance/Any Ted Oh - Design/Production/any; also associate producer roles Richard Phillips - Art/any Marc Boutin, SHRM-CP - Design/Production/Any 𝑶𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔: Cassie Soto 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆/𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: I'm a huge advocate for healthy CEx/Coordination relationships, it's the most valuable relationship a recruiter can make and you cannot overstate the importance of a great CEx team. They keep the lights on, keep the process moving, and keep recruiting sane and free to do their jobs. These are some of the best, and if you take nothing else from this post remember these names and hire them ASAP: Elizabeth Lov - also associate recruiting Michelle Chau Cynthia Castro Caitlin Ou I've certainly missed others, please feel free to @ them below to give them visibility. Feel free to connect with me to chat roles, gaming, recruiting, or really anything. Happy to be a resource as often as I'm able to. (I know I have many messages pending, getting to them as I'm able!)

The news from Riot, and now Blizzard are hitting me hard. Some serious PTSD from my own layoff from Blizzard back in February of 2012. Now that I think of it that was also a leap year, like this one. I've faced other layoffs since Blizzard, but that was my first, and most memorable. For those facing these layoffs for the first time, some advice: 1. Leverage your support network to the best of your ability, but know that others may be reaching out to the same contacts. Show them some patience and grace if they take some time to get back to you. Be considerate how you ask for support. It's incredible how small the gaming/tech industries are. 2. Use the severance (if offered) and time it provides you (if any) to seek something as quickly as you need. Don't rest to long in taking time to find your next role. It's surprised me (to put it lightly) how difficult it's been to find something new in the current job market. 3. Lean on each other. Be there to let friend and collogues vent to you as much as you vent to them. Help each other as you hunt for the next opportunities. 4. Reach out beyond your comfort zone. This is an opportunity to try something new, or something you've always wanted to try. You don't have many opportunities to reinvent yourself. I'm finding myself in a place where I am trying to take the same advice that I just wrote, so - like all unsolicited advice - take it all with a grain of salt. Good hunting to all of us in this position. I'm rooting for us. #layoffs #layoffsupport

Gamers rise up! Brandon Barnes is a great guy and fellow gamer. So if you are also a gamer, consider sharing his posts. That’s what community building means. He builds the worlds we play in. We build the community support infrastructure to help other gamers find jobs. Brandon needs a job right now. He’s an incredibly talented guy. I’ve never worked with him on any projects, but I know you don’t work at a place like Blizzard without talent. Gamers are a huge community comprised of people from every background imaginable. We are brought together by a need to slay dragons, free villagers, stack gold coins, smash brick boxes with our heads, race cars, steal cars, and take out bad guys. We are gamers and that’s what we do. But we also support one another. We’ve attended in game weddings and funerals. We’ve sent each other books and toys when we became parents. We’ve navigated the trauma of watching other gamers in our communities unalive themselves or overdose. And we’ve pulled together to support one another during these difficult times too. That’s what I’m asking you to do today. Share his posts if you have other gaming professionals in your network. This man needs a job and we need new games to play! #Gamers #LinkedIn #GameDesign

Heartbreak Hotel 💔 I've faced a setback on my journey to join the Activision family, as I did not get the role I've been interveiwing for. However, I'm happy and appreciative to have made the top three candidates and this is just a plot twist in my Great Hunt. 🕹️🎭 Undeterred, I've cast my line into the ocean of opportunity again, aiming for another position with Activision (remote this time), a shot with 2K, an alliance with BandaiNamco, as well as exploring all other realms of possibilities. 🚀 I'm reaching out again to this incredible network, to ask that you keep those fingers crossed/vibez coming, and if you happen upon any leads or connections in the gaming universe, please send them my way! I'm not just seeking opportunities for myself; I'm also here to assist anyone in their quests. Should it be in my power to help, just reach out. 🤝💼 Now, a word for those who are openly dismissing the "open to work" banner or job search posts: Shame on you. In a year where ~250k tech workers and counting have faced layoffs, please be less tone deaf. There are hundreds of thousands of people out of work who are both valuable and [potentially] desperate. Being the latter does not negate the former! I've been on this hard road myself for seven long, agonizing, anxious, depressing months. Despite interveiwing endlessly with multiple companies, fate had different plans—hiring freezes, positions closing.. I even had a recruiter get laid off later in the very same day that they contacted me. I thought there was no way I'd go into five different interviews without one offer, but here we are. Compassion goes a long way; let's read the room and support each other instead of disparaging those who are just trying to find their way in these uncharted waters. 🖤 Anyway, as we approach the festive season, here's a little holiday wishlist update (reposted from my birthday last week, lol): If you're thinking of gifts, I wear a size Editorial/Writing/Content/Social/Community role in the video gaming industry. Still searching for that perfect fit! 😅🎮 Let's turn this page together and make the next chapter legendary. ✨ #jobsearch #gamingcommunity #careeradventure #newopportunities #networking #layoffs2023 #vibes #community #videogames #editorial #content #writing #hireme #opentowork #jobseeker

It's been (roughly) one week since I was notified that my role would be impacted by the layoffs at Blizzard. Here's three things I've learned as I've begun searching for new opportunites: 1: Pace yourself! Job Hunting is a marathon, not a sprint, as as much as we all wish it could be true, one cannot simply will job offers into existence. Take it one day at a time. I try to check in with myself often, asking questions like "Am I being too critical of myself?" Or "Am I ignoring my emotional state?". I try and set up one big 'scary' thing to do a day, be that having a phone interview, applying to somewhere new, or spending time revising resumes. The rest of the day can be filled with smaller more enjoyable tasks (eg: working on new demo reel shots, doing tutorials) both as a reward and as a way to decompress from the more stressful aspects of the job search. 2: Reach out to people you know! The games industry is a small community, and effectively leveraging your connections can land you opportunities you never expected. I've asked for advice for resumes and for my demo reel and I've had people I worked closely with reach out to me to offer reccomendations to different studios. The connections you've made in your career are one of your strongest assets in searching for new work. 3: Stay positive! (This is the hardest one) It can be difficult to maintain positivity after something as disruptive as a layoff, but having applied to a handful of places I can tell the difference between those applications i filled out while feeling miserable versus those I felt out while feeling good about myself. If I'm not feeling good, maybe its worth delaying the application a couple of hours. If I'm doing really bad, it might be worth taking a break, or trying again tomorrow. Taking walks, getting out of the house, eating regularly are all opportunities to evaluate your emotional state and regulate it. Wow, that was a long post! As compensation: a picture of my cat.

To everyone at EA about to experience job loss, from those losing roles to those losing members of your team, this community is here for you. We see MANY studios posting open roles right now. If you or someone you know is affected OR if you are a recruiter with open roles please post here. Tag yourself, tag someone laid off, post your open roles, share support for everyone affected, anything that helps people find new roles and/or to feel supported right now. #gaming #gamingjobs #gamingcommunity

Thinking today about my former teammates at Activision Blizzard. I've been gone for a couple of years, but many of the people impacted were folks that I worked with directly. These layoff announcements suck. To my former teammates... I'm thinking about you. As someone who has been laid off myself, I know it's not fun. In fact, it's pretty un-fun. If there's anything that I can do to help, please reach out. I'm open to chat, share a connection, or talk about job search. Now my advice: Don't let others tell you how to process the news. Some are going to tell you to take some time off, to rest, to renew. Others are going to tell you that your full-time job search starts NOW. I say, do what you need to take care of YOU. Jump in, or don't. Rest and relax, or don't. You know best what you need. The silver lining: Today is temporary. This too shall pass. Being laid off will not define you. You are talented and capable. While it may be hard to see right now, even better things are ahead. You've got this! For those who were not impacted... offer a chat, leave a recommendation, and just be a good person. Someday, you might be on the other side of the layoff news (trust me, I know). Be the person that you'd want people to be for you. Keep your head up. We're all in this together.