Careers Zone at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki '25 - Connecting Talent and Opportunities

A busy autumn in Helsinki

This October, Careers Zone returned to Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki, bringing an AI-powered, human-first recruitment hub into the heart of the conference. Over two packed days, job seekers and hiring teams used the Careers Zone platform to:

• Discover relevant roles and candidates in advance
• Book targeted meetings onsite
• Continue conversations online after the show

Hiring managers today face hundreds of CVs per role, and qualified talent often gets lost in the flood. That’s why the Careers Zone doesn’t just offer a job board. It provides AI-powered, curated matches, helping studios and candidates find each other fast - onsite and online.

The Careers Zone has quickly become a trusted space for focused hiring. Even at the previous edition in 2024, the format already proved its value with 200+ applications, over 100 curated attendees and dozens of successful matches and interviews, showing that a curated, matchmaking-first approach works in a turbulent talent market.

One of the studios that has now used Careers Zone more than once is Seepia Games. Their experience from Helsinki 2024 captures what we’re aiming for:

Every new event builds on this foundation. After London 2025 introduced the Talent Board– anonymous candidate profiles that companies could proactively browse – and Barcelona 2025 layered in AI-powered matchmaking, in-platform messaging and structured meeting flows, we took everything we learned into Helsinki.

Now, we’re going one step further.

Why the industry needs something better than “just another job board”

Across the global games industry, we’re seeing the same pain points again and again:

For recruiters

• Job postings attract huge volumes of applicants.
• Time-poor hiring teams struggle to cut through, and mid–senior talent gets lost in the noise.
• Events can be chaotic – lots of meetings, but not always with the right people.

For job seekers

• Generic job boards feel like shouting into the void.
• It’s hard to know which companies are actively hiring and who the real decision-makers are.
• Events can be overwhelming without guidance on where to focus time and energy.

Careers Zone is designed precisely to cut through this noise – at Pocket Gamer Connects events, and beyond.

Candidates who join the Careers Zone as job seekers are more likely to make a lasting impression when engaging face-to-face with employers. Even candidates who weren’t admitted on-site gained a competitive edge by entering the Games Factory Talents pool, positioning themselves for future opportunities.

From event feature to always-on matchmaking portal

Based on feedback from PG Connects Barcelona and the latest Helsinki edition, we’ve taken some big steps forward with the Careers Zone platform.

1.Matchmaking is no longer limited to events only
Previously, matchmaking was tightly tied to a specific conference. Now:

• Your profile keeps working between events
• As new roles are published by studios using the platform, you can continue to receive personalised matches, even when there’s no conference happening that week.
• In practice, Careers Zone becomes an always-on matchmaking portal for anyone in the games industry who wants targeted, relevant roles – not just another static job board.

2. Smarter, more personalised recommendations
We’ve refined our AI models and matching logic using real-world data and feedback from London, Barcelona and Helsinki.

For companies:
Faster visibility of the right profiles for each role
Less manual screening, more targeted conversations

For candidates, this means:
Matches that better reflect your skills, seniority, location preferences and career goals
Fewer irrelevant roles, more “this actually fits me” opportunities

3. Candidates can keep their profile truly up to date
Another key update: you can now update your profile any time to keep it aligned with where you are right now:

• Add new projects, shipped titles or responsibilities
• Highlight updated skills, tools and engines
• Adjust your availability, relocation preferences or remote expectations

The more accurate your profile, the better the matches – and the more signal we can deliver to hiring teams who are looking for someone exactly like you.

4. Still built around real conversations
We’ve kept (and improved) what people love most:

• Direct messaging between companies and talent
• Options to meet online or onsite in the dedicated Careers Zone space at Pocket Gamer Connects
• CV and LinkedIn review slots at selected events, to help you sharpen your profile and stand out

We invite Companies and Candidates to join the Careers Zone portal

Next stop: Careers Zone at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026

The next big milestone is Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026, taking place 19–20 January 2026 at The Brewery and Barbican, London.

Careers Zone will once again be a core part of the conference, bringing together:

• A global pool of job seekers across disciplines and seniority levels
• Hiring studios actively recruiting for roles in mobile, PC, console, AI, XR, web3 and more

You’ll be able to:

• Sign up as a job seeker for Pocket Gamer Connects London
• Receive role recommendations ahead of the conference
• Request and accept meetings with companies you’re matched with
• Meet them at the dedicated Careers Zone space in London or continue online afterwards.