To add to what Caitlin said, my experience as a hiring manager and as a candidate is that this often is not the case.

When I was hired at CEA I took roles on two different teams (Head of US Operations at CEA and the Events Team role at EAO, which later merged into CEA). My understanding at the time is that they didn’t have second choice candidates with my qualifications, and I was told by the EAO hiring manager that they would have not filled the position if I didn’t accept (I don’t remember whether I checked this with the CEA role).

I should note that I was applying for these roles in 2015 and that the hiring pool has changed since then. But in my experience as a hiring manager (especially for senior/generalist positions), it can be really hard to find a candidate that fits the specific requirements. Part of this is that my team requires a fairly specific skillset (that includes EA context, execution ability, and fit with our high energy culture) but I wouldn’t be surprised if other hiring managers have similar experiences. I think as the team grows and more junior positions become available this might be more flexible, though I think “indistinguishable” is still not accurate.

Hey Emma,

Thanks so much for your bravery in sharing your story. I’m so sorry to hear about your experiences at EAG and the afterparty. I care about and value you a lot as a community member and a colleague and it makes me very sad to hear that you were uncomfortable. 

As I mentioned in my other reply, we are working with the community health team to investigate the EAG incident, and I plan to do what I can to help. 

I’d like to clarify that “using the event app to request meetings for romantic or sexual reasons” is clearly listed as one of the behaviors that “don’t belong at EA Global or related events” in our Code of Conduct (also found on our FAQ and registration form). Agreeing to this is a condition of attending, we take violations seriously, and we are working with the community health team to investigate this incident.

Thanks for the nudge! We've now posted more information here. 

Thanks! 

You need to be an attendee of the conference and then you can access it from within Swapcard. 

Working with you as ED for the past four years has been the happiest I’ve been at CEA. I'm really proud of the work we have done together and I’m so sorry for the personal toll it has taken on you. I hope you get some well-deserved rest and I look forward to working with you in your new advisory role. Thank you for everything, Max! 

We have used a few Swapcard alternatives at previous events (Bizzabo, Whova, Grip) and sadly Swapcard was the best despite its weaknesses. I know the EAG team has talked with you about this some Yonatan, but I'd be keen to hear if you have any updated recommendations! 

Thank you! That's encouraging :)

Generally, we get our contracts to have alcohol "by consumption" so we only pay for what we use. My experience with EA events is that people usually don't drink that much so the portion of spend on alcohol is typically not significant. 

Hi Evan,

Thanks for asking! I agree this can be pretty tough, especially because people are really different. 

In most cases (aside from external contractors) we don't pay people based on the number of hours that they work. So, salaries don't really vary based on the hours exactly. 

But, if someone truly is able to sustainably and productively work long hours, they will probably perform better.  As a result, this could increase the chances that they get promoted, which means higher salary etc.

However, I have also seen cases where people have needed to scale back their work in order to make better judgment calls, and take care of their health, and that ultimately led to promotion. It varies a lot!