Does Jaroslav Beck, co-creator of Beat Saber and founder of CANS, mantra for creativity, business and life resonate with you?
Imagine having an interview where the focus is all on who you are and what your brain can produce. Shouldn’t every creative interview feel like this? We talk to Jaroslav Beck, co-creator of Beat Sabre, to get the low down for hiring future Maverick’s on his team.
If you were hiring someone for your team, does an autism diagnosis matter?
It matters in the sense that I would want to ensure the environment and working conditions were right and respectful for them, but to be honest I would apply that standard to all of my team. As a good boss I want people to be happy and content because that’s when the best work environment and creativity happens.
To be honest, I don’t even consider the diagnosis as relevant for me. The only thing that matters is: do I like your work, are you a good person, will you fit well into the team? It’s literally that simple.
What is the most important thing you look for in a team member?
How they see the world in terms of their passion and what they want to do. I think it’s much less important where you studied, or what your background is. For example: we needed to hire someone for CANS this week. One applicant had the most amazing CV you can imagine – incredible schools and experience. Yet we actually chose to hire someone who has less experience, however she showed us the most creative video. We based our decision on the skills, creativity and vibe of her personality which we know will blend well into our team.
What are you hoping for in a successful interview?
What’s important in an interview is that we share some common ground. I want to see that you could fit in with the team so if we’re having a good discussion and laughing, then it’s going well. We are quite small but I think even the big companies are realising that the only thing that matters is what you do, how good you are at it, and if you are a good person and can fit in with the team.
Any advice for someone leaving education now and trying to stand out?
I remember being in a position at college in the UK where I’d learnt the skills, but I honestly had no idea how to tell the world that I existed. I still remember the feeling and how hopeless you feel, because it’s both weird and stressful. I just said yes to any opportunity and because of the way that I create, I always made sure that every idea was completely original work.
So what I would say is, if you are leaving university or school, always keep learning and create work that you’re proud of and put it out there. It’s important that people see what you do, and even though it doesn’t necessarily need to work first time, just keep pushing and at some point people will notice.
If you need a pep talk:
What keeps you going against all adversities when life gets hard?
The fact that I genuinely love what I do.
Imagine this: if you are doing work because somebody tells you to do it, and it doesn’t work out, you’re more inclined to leave it and never touch it again. Compared to when you’re passionate and have a genuine love for what you do, you will stick with it and at some point you will break through the barrier and achieve success.
Sometimes it takes a long time, sometimes not as long … There will always be a problem at some point or a challenge but do what I do, stop for a day and come back the next day to keep working on it because I love it.
So the crucial element here is to find out what you like to do and do it more.
Don’t be afraid:
– to break the mold
– to fix a problem with a solution
– to try
– to fail quickly and try something new
Crucial information:
Remember: your idea doesn’t need to be perfect before you launch it.
There is no way you can know that your idea is perfect in the first place. You can think it’s perfect, and you can even execute it in a way that you think it’s perfect. But you’re not making it for you, you’re making it for people that you may never even meet so how could you possibly know exactly what would be perfect for them?
Over time I’ve met many people who have thought that their idea is not good enough, and I’ve asked them to share the concept with me and when they did, I thought that it was completely brilliant.
So I think that even today, with artificial intelligence and all the technology which is making tools easier to build, just build something, try it and send it out there.
Don’t worry about any consequences – if it fails, let it fail quickly and learn from it.
Is social media important?
If you put out something which is good and people enjoy, it doesn’t really matter if you have some presence or not. I see it on X every day – great things have tons of exposure. You don’t need to have 1000s of followers to be noticed. If you create something unique, then it’s easier to stand out. [link to other article here]
Where would someone start?
I think the most important thing is passion when you are trying to create a future for yourself. What do you love, what do you think would be good and useful for yourself? When it’s actually useful for you, then there is a slight chance that there will be other people like you, who will use it too.
That’s my bottom line. With Beat Saber, as I mention in the other article, I was a big fan of VR games and at the time, there wasn’t anything I actually wanted to play. When I saw Beat Saber, I wanted to play it every single day, not just try it, show it to my friend and say, ‘wow, that’s cool’, and then throw the headset somewhere else and never touch it again. Your idea doesn’t need to be perfect at all. It’s just important to try it, and if it doesn’t work out, then try again and then again and again and again. And at some point it will work out, and you will see that people are actually enjoying what you created. And that’s the best feeling ever.
So go out there and create your own opportunities …
Yes, if there’s a company you want to work for – contact them with an idea. You’re creative so demonstrate your creativity. Show them how it can help them to grow as a business.
