Develop Awards 2011: The finalists for Recruitment

The ninth annual Develop Industry Excellence Awards is just around the corner, with more than 90 studios competing for top honours at the July 20th event in Brighton.

In the run up to the big night, Develop is running a series of profiles of all the nominees in each category.

We continue here with the finalists for Recruitment. To be eligible a company will need to have provided a consistent recuitment service to the industry since July 2010, that excels in user satisfaction and job finding and retention.

The final choices, chosen by Develop’s editorial team, are found below. The ultimate winner will be decided by a 100-person-strong judging panel of industry pros, and announced at the awards show on July 20th.

To watch the event live, email Kathryn.humprey@intentmedia.co.uk to book your seat.

RECRUITMENT

Amiqus

Already a double Develop Award winner, Amiqus shows no sign of stopping. In the past year it has continued to expand both its headcount and its offering, developing its social recruiting and corporate social networking capabilities in response to the rapidly changing recruitment space. A strategy of focusing on peering consultants’ knowledge and expertise directly to candidates and clients via social platforms has served the outfit’s customers well.

Aardvark Swift

22 years in the business hasn’t stopped Aardvark Swift expanding aggressively. The past year has seen the recruiter introduce a wealth of new offerings, including a dedicated contract recruitment service, new website, interactive Facebook pages, a Twitter notification service, specialist Linked In groups, more consultants, and further expansion of its Canadian recruitment team.

Avatar Games

Avatar has this year established itself as significant contributor to the games industry recruitment market, developing relationships within European, US, Asian and Canadian territories. The recruiter boasts an impressive client portfolio of over 60 studios around the globe, and is continuing to expand its team with a new overseas office based in the Us, and further plans for a Canadian office next year

Datascope

Founded in 1991, Datascope has in the past year expand its already substantial client base and offering. With offices in both the UK and US, Datascope sources jobs in across the world for the likes of Rockstar, Square Enix, Sony, Konami, Eidos and several other big hitters, making it a truly international organisation in an increasingly global space.

MPG Universal

MPG Universal’s constantly evolving recruitment offering continues to bridge the gap between the film and audio industries, specialising in providing bespoke solutions for CGI recruitment requirements. Quickly climbing through the ranks, MPG has now risen to the status of the industry’s most esteemed recruiters, and today stands shoulder-to-should with the big names you see here.

OPM Recruitment

Recruiters are among those most likely to be hit by the recession. Despite this, OPM has not lost a single staff member during the economic time; in fact, it has increased its headcount by 25 per cent, gathering some 17,500 candidates worldwide. Offering consultants supported by full time resourcing team finding those hard to reach candidates, OPM remains one of the most prominent recruiters in the games space today.

Specialmove

Since launching a completely new website last year, Specialmove has gone from strength to strength. Founded in 2005, and primed for the new move of recruiting through social media, the company has over 500 live, open positions on its website and access to over 15,000 candidates globally. From its base in Scotland it deals with international companies and places staff across the US, UK, Europe and Asia.