Despite the industry’s expansion throughout 2016 it remains a challenge to find a job in esports. This is slowly but surely beginning to change however, and in addition to more jobs being created, one reason is the emergence of more industry focused jobs portals. There are esports jobs out there, it’s just a case of knowing where to look.
To save you a job, we’ve compiled a list of the biggest focused platforms here with a word from each of the company’s founders.
TEO Careers (formerly Esports Careers) 
As a part of Esports Observer and parent company esports business solutions, Esports Career has relocated to the TEO site and comes up trumps on Google SEO with search term ‘esports jobs’. Within the past four weeks it has posted jobs from the likes of ESL, Kinguin, WWG and more.
The recently redesigned layout gives you the ability to include voluntary roles, and switch between full-time,part-time and freelance quickly and easily. It’s a strong resource and is backed by esports entrepreneur Jens Hilgers meaning solid connections with the industry endemic companies looking to expand their teams.
Chris Hana, The Esports Observer CEO, said: “Esportscareer.org began life in 2015 as the first dedicated portal which has now merged with the TEO site. This integration offers a business audience to both recruiters and applicants.
“We don’t scrape jobs. Every job posted on TEO Careers is in cooperation with companies or submitted by users. We are proud to have helped to successfully fill several vacancies by matching applicants with employers through our site.”
Backed by SierraMaya360, ReKT launched a two prong approach in esports in the autumn of 2016. This consisted of an esports agency and a comprehensive and professional jobs platform.
It strays a little outside of pure esports and into gaming at times which is no bad thing in our book as it adds a more diverse range of jobs. At the time of writing there are paid roles with Mic., Activision, HyperX, and Supercell with positions ranging from editorial, to illustration, marketing and producer. It’s a smart platform and one anybody wishing to work in esports or gaming should visit.
There are also internships, and Rekt lists its partners as ESL, Riot Games and GameCo amongst others.
Amish Shah, Partner at SierraMaya360, said: “ReKTJobs was created by a founder with 20 years experience in recruiting with startups (msearchllc.com) that has also invested in an esports team and examined the industry to figure out the best way to solve the hiring problem in esports. We have hundreds of jobs, hundreds of companies and will be relaunching a new Rev/Biz model that will make every team, organisation and company that use the platform and continue to be a dominant player in January.
“Our UI/UX is also the best looking and that we have been told experience from a user side has been better than the rest. We have had more traffic and jobs filled in less than 3 months than any other site out there so the proof is in the pudding.
“It also helps that we have rektuniv.com, our sister company, which is aimed at students looking for internships and jobs. In 2017 we will scale and grow and be the go to site for esports careers.”
Jobs in Esports (JiE) 
A solo project from German businessman Patrick Bachmann, Jobs in Esports comes up second with a Google search of ‘esports jobs’. The most recent positions posted are with DreamHack, and it has worked with Fnatic, Kinguin, HyperX, HitBox, MLG and more.
Upon signing up candidates can choose to do so via Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin (or via email) which scores points and will appeal to the vast majority for whom any time saving device in online job hunts is a blessing. The site’s design needs some TLC but with the range of jobs that were posted around late autumn it undoubtedly has the capacity and connections to be a strong and worthwhile portal for those seeking to work in esports.
Patrick Bachmann, Founder of JiE, stated: “JiE is a private project of my own creation. I’m an esports veteran with roots going back to 2001.My hobby is bringing esports to a new level. With JiE my goal is bringing a new and professional HR to esports.”
Esports Force is a start up but despite this has built a dedicated and intuitive platform with Ryan Littlefield at the helm. It posted six roles in December and it’s set to grow in and beyond the new year.
One aspect of the platform we’re particularly fond of is the live chat feature which pops up and asks if you need any help or guidance. This is a nice touch and may reduce the clinical and often dull nature of job hunting online.
Ryan Littlefield, Cofounder and CEO of Esports Force, said: “Where we differentiate ourselves from everyone else is that we are a esports recruitment firm specialising in consultancy and executive search for esports companies. We work with employers to search and recruit the best talent in the esports industry for their company.
“Our platform allows people searching for careers to find the best careers in the industry with a dedicated and passionate recruitment team there to help!”
WASD Jobs is integrated with mainstream jobs boards such as Linkedin and Indeed which will be an attractive feature for employers. Its featured jobs section at the time of writing includes positions with Riot Games, Youtube and WWG.
Its current focus seems to be on positions in the United States. WASD Jobs has an intuitive and simple platform which means it’s easy enough to browse the jobs but it lacks integration with Linkedin or social when registering an account.
Mack O’Neill, Founder of WASD Jobs, said: “I started the website as an easy access point for people interested in the gaming industry. As we all know, esports is a fast growing industry that is still unknown to a lot of individuals. I’ve personally been gaming my entire life and want young individuals, who like myself, can find a career in something that they have a genuine passion for.
“I want young adults to be like “F#ck You Dad, I found a job in the video game industry.” As for employers posting jobs, it is ridiculously expensive across the board. WASD isn’t just a job board. We offer job listing aggregation to all the other top job boards. Post on WASD and it goes to Zip, Indeed, LinkedIn, etc. for half the price it would normally cost you. Nobody else is really doing that which I think sets me apart from the competition.
“My biggest problem right now is companies aren’t offering enough internships. Part of the reason it is so hard to get involved is because the community as a whole is so tight knit. When I talk with potential clients, I always try to get them to at least think of a couple of internship ideas. Whether it’s paid or unpaid, the community can offer so much to esports. I strongly believe companies offering internships will pave the way for the future of esports.
For me, WASD is a way to provide a viable career path for young adults who have a passion for the esports industry.”
Special Mention…
Marc Berthold and the team have created an esports and gaming industry focused social network. This is a move away from Linkedin with a focus on professionals in these areas; should it take off it’ll be an excellent resource to connect with others; both those working and seeking new opportunities. One specification it has is that, in addition to all manner of jobs in esports, it is aimed at players who are looking for teams, and vice versa.
You can read our interview with cofounder Marc here.