Xiomara Rendon (’18, Economics) is a community manager at Nimble Neuron, a gaming company which has developed games such as Eternal Return and Immortal Soul. Behind the screens of these popular games, Rendon communicates with gaming influencers, reports bug fixes, provides translations, manages social media posts, and more. For the October issue, The Granite Tower  (GT) spoke to the KU graduate about gaming, working, and living in Korea post-graduation.

GT: How would you describe your work to someone who does not know what a “community manager” at a gaming company does?

Xiomara Rendon: As my job title says, I am in charge of the communication between our game developers and our global community. This communication would include bug reports, articles about new aspects of the game or special events, social media management, and translations. It also includes communication with content creators and talent.

GT: What aspect of your work as a community manager do you enjoy the most?

Rendon: There are three main things I love about my job. My team, the community, and the artistic aspect. I’m fortunate enough to work with really open-minded people. They’re all warm, fun, and very supportive. The community members are also a part of the job that makes me feel like I’m doing well and that I’m actually bringing a little bit of joy to people with my work. And finally, I love creating content, so seeing the developers and character designers giving their all to bring this game to life is amazing. They all bring some type of magic that, once it’s finalized, feels like seeing your baby. Right now, for example, we are releasing Season 7 of our project Eternal Return — so far, it’s my favorite season.

GT: How did you find your current position?

Rendon: I was actually applying to 10 or 20 jobs daily at the time. It was when the coronavirus disease pandemic was really hitting hard so there weren’t many options for me, especially as a foreigner. I almost gave up looking for jobs; fortunately, though, I saw an ad on Facebook for this position and I immediately applied. The job looked fun and interesting and was something I had experience in. I remember having like 20,000 Won in my account and using half of it to buy a planner because I was so excited to start.

GT: What do you think makes someone a good gaming influencer?

Rendon: I personally think that what makes a good gaming influencer, or for that matter any type of influencer, is seeing their interest and passion for the game or product they’re advertising. Sure, it’s easy to find someone who’d do the job for a commission, but if they don’t enjoy the game, the community notices that and it can be more detrimental to the game than helpful.

GT: Finally, what advice would you give to current KU students?

Rendon: First of all, if you’re going out to find your first-ever job, do not panic. I think we all struggle at first when looking for our first full-time job and adding stress to it can make this process even worse. Trust your talents and skills and keep developing them so that others can also see them. If you’re confident about what you know and you show that when you make a presentation or do an interview, people will see that confidence and it’ll make the process easier. And secondly, be careful with the places you apply to. Know your rights and let your potential employers know that you know your rights. Before finding my current position, I met with a few interviewers that offered me “wonders” but, in reality, they were offering less than the minimum with exhausting amounts of work. My advice here would be to not let anybody trick you. And also, enjoy university while you can!