Top of the Game’s Chris Mellor on helping candidates secure their dream jobs

Chris, can you tell us about your new business, its focus and purpose?
Top Of The Game is my Sheffield-based outfit – recruitment and commercial consulting for games, toys, licensing and entertainment. I help studios, brands and retailers snag top commercial talent like sales pros, NPD whizzes, licensing execs and biz dev stars – plus consulting to scale up and bag partnerships.​

You have had a lot of experience of helping candidates find jobs – often their ‘dream job’. What advice would you give to candidates looking for a new role at the moment?
Make sure your LinkedIn is fully up to date to match your CV and experience. Be active on there, comment, share industry news, help other people… It will get yourself brand out there and then people will help you back by share your page – and then someone will bite to see you. While doing this, work with folk like me – we keep door knocking for you – and hit events like PGC or Toy Fair. Tailor appointments to what you are looking for in a new role and when you have meetings, have stories ready on real wins, not just job descriptions.

What advice can you give them about job seeking and keeping their profile up?
Get posting on LinkedIn daily, tag recruiters and mates, DM five to 10 targets a week with ‘Loved your post on X – here’s my Y angle.’ Spreadsheet your apps, skill up free on YouTube and treat hunting like your full-time sales gig. You have to be active… Day in, day out, keep pushing yourself and the table will turn.

​Looking at recruitment from the other side, what makes a good brief in your eyes?
Nail the spec with musts, timeline for interviews, pay band, hybrid set-up… Toss in an organisation chart to show what progression people could have and ‘a day in the life’ as people want to see what they could be a part of.

I notice you are promoting Power-Up Placements. Can you tell us more about these?
These are my fast-track entry/mid placements in games and toys. It’s a premium, retained recruitment service for critical commercial roles within video games, mobile, and the toys and licensing sectors.

Our process follows a clear three-stage approach – defining the role, sourcing candidates and final placement – ensuring thoroughness and quality at every step. Correspondingly, the fee is paid in three stages aligned with these milestones, providing transparency and shared commitment throughout the search.

“Our process follows a clear three-stage approach – defining the role, sourcing candidates and final placement.”

This service is ideal for senior or hard-to-fill roles, delivering dedicated resources and expert support to help you secure the best talent with confidence. Stay tuned, as our new features are coming soon! If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact us. Additionally, our T.O.T.G. program offers even more tailored support for your recruitment needs.

You have recently done a roadshow of tradeshows including the UK Toy Fair. What was your take on the market and recruitment within the industry currently?
Toy Fair 2026 at Olympia was brilliant. I hadn’t been for a while and I saw major change. Over 250 exhibitors, the UK toy market up 6% to £3.9bn, licensing seems to be huge at the minute. And recruitment was hot: NPD managers, buyers, sales, everywhere! They want all-rounders for e-commerce and China shifts… A huge scream for hunters in sales to get deals done.

Beyond recruitment, what were some of your Toy Fair highlights?
LEGO killed it with fresh ideas while Jazwares and Spin Master nailed licensed gear. Epoch’s sensory hits and kidult collectibles jumped out – all spot-on for the licensing folks I’m placing.

Returning to the job market, are there any specific gaps in the market or skillsets that are recruiting companies are looking for at the moment?
Licensing execs mixing brand deals with NPD. Kidult sales managers (North UK focus) seems to be down and people are screaming out for help sourcing aces for China/EU rules. Toys and games companies are also chasing bilingual e-commerce folk.

What is your take on student placements and work experience?
Absolute winner for trialling fits – firms should do four to 12 week paid stints with mentors, proper tasks and feedback chats. It slashes permanent risk, and builds pipelines – my Power-Ups make it official.

​How are you finding running your own business?
Love the no-BS freedom! It’s a pure grind for wins and that’s very scary, but very exciting at the same time. The best advice: “Network like mad” and “Guard your energy”, which is key with my bipolar/BPD routine tweaks.

Finally, if you weren’t running your own business and working in recruitment what would be your dream job?
Tough one to answer! I would say to work for either Pokémon or Konami on their licensing/BD teams!