I got hired into a game development studio straight after high school. This was over three years ago and I stayed for about two years. The job was in the UK and I'm Swedish, so it even involved a relocation. I was recruited at the same time as two local recently graduated CS majors. I don't think that I did extra ordinarily well on the interview, but my portfolio of past projects I'd completed was enough to give me a junior programming position. What did my portfolio contain? Most importantly it had one completed game, published by a budget games publisher in the US. The game was a just a simple cute cartoon like 3D puzzle game. Not something anyone would raise an eyebrow to, BUT finishing a game shows commitment. Other than that, some smaller physics demos and some GBA homebrew development. A variety pack. I don't know if it was mostly a matter of timing and the times back then, but I reckon a good portfolio takes you about as far as a degree when it comes to getting the job. Obviously, it's up to yourself how you develop from there. Because having a game programming job is about constant learning, adaptation, communication and many many compromises. Being the best game developer doesn't necessarily mean being the best programmer.

i'm in an entry level position for a small engineering company
a lot of the software they have are tools to help design and test their product.
so far i've been making little improvements on existing tools they made, and i've taken apart old tools and made new tools out of them

one thing to look out for, a lot of people don't comment their code so things like that takes longer than it has to because you gotta stare at existing code and figure out what it does. i've been commenting the existing code myself as i read it and when i make new stuff i comment the hell out of it for the benefit of the next guy

I've worked in the industry for over a decade. I've sent my resume out a few times, and I've looked at a whole bunch of resumes. When looking for your first job, let me give you some advice.

* Your resume should be 1 page. Resumes are supposed to be short. They should be 1 page even for experienced people. If someone has a decade of experience, I guess they can use 2 pages. I've read resumes for people straight out of college that were 3 pages. I, and everybody I know, usually just skip those. 3 pages with no experience is too outlandish to take seriously.

* List associations. If you're a member of ACM or IEEE, some people looking at your resume might get you a second glance.

* List your activities. It sounds stupid, but I've seen 2 people who ended up getting called in first because someone reading the resume enjoyed the same activity.

* Format it well. The whole point of your resume is that someone reads a summary of your qualifications so you'll get called in for an interview. Make it concise and organize it so that the reader can quickly and easily figure out all your skills.

There are some very good bits of advice above but I didn't see one very important point.

There are a lot of people who, when they apply for a job, are so intent on getting the job that they tailor their resume specifically for that job. This is not necessarily a bad thing but what is bad is when you change the resume so much that you fool the company into thinking you are something you are not. This is bad not only for the company but for you as an applicant.

Why?

1. They may detect your deception and you will loose out on the job even if you are the perfect fit.

2. You won't be able to do the job.

3. You will get a job that is something you don't like or even hate.

4. The company will eventually figure out that you are not the right person and you will be looking for another job.

5. You may be the person they are looking for but if you make yourself look different than you really are they may then think you are not the right person. For example, they may think you are overqualified.

Here are two real life examples:

1. A company I worked for interviewed and hired someone from out of town. that person relocated their whole family. In a matter of weeks the company realized the person they hired had no idea what they were doing and fired them. The person had spent the time, effort and money just to move to a place with a tight market and no job and a family to support. Everyone lost on the deal.

2. A buddy of mine interviewed for a job recently. After several interviews it was down to him and one other person. He was a perfect fit but the other person was not - they had done their research and tailored their resume and interview to get that job. Luckily the company conducted several interviews and the other guy was weeded out but only after wasting a lot of everyone's time.

Keep in mind that, as a person searching for a job, not every company is for you. Be honest on your resume. Yes, you have to make yourself look good so highlight your strengths. But if they don't hire you, it doesn't mean bad things about you, just that you weren't what they perceived to be the right fit.