10 Tips for WoW Recruiting

If you take a look at the current state of the Horde and Alliance recruitment forums, you will most likely run away screaming. But if you do not, you will see a gigantic mass of posts from both guilds who are recruiting and people who are looking for guilds. Time and Time again I have observed the same techniques being used by the vast majority of recruiters, even though those methods cause seriously mediocre results for the sheer amount of time that it takes to do them.

What generally happens is an officer or guild leader takes the time to write up a very nice recruitment page, where they list the same basic information: Guild Name, Server, Faction, Time Zone, Progression Raiding Times, and then a massive list of RULES that the potential applicant must meet to be considered GOOD ENOUGH for your guild. Then, they copy and paste this message onto every single post that looks close to their progression. Sometimes the text they wrote will even specify particular classes they need and the OP isn't even in that class! AND EVERYONE DOES THE SAME THING.

Basically, everyone is doing the Newspaper Classifieds method of recruiting. What I would like to do it take you more over to the Craig's List method of recruiting. It is still the same medium (text on a forum), but it's a bit more fun - because you have to attract the attention of the reader, and get them hooked that your product (the guild) is better than everyone else's product.

Here are the techniques I have found to be helpful when recruiting new raiders from the wow recruitment forums:

1. Go to http://wowlemmings.com/.
   This is your primary search portal for the Horde/Alliance recruiting forums. I usually limit to US and then type in our progression level in the search box (ex. 11/12 H). That should narrow down the spam and guild recruiting garbage a lot.
    
2. Read the OP. You would be shocked how many recruiters just spam paste their recruitment message without reading that this guy wants to bring his wife and 4 kids into the guild, or can only raid between the hours of 2am and 4am on Saturdays. A lot of the times they ask questions in their Original Post. Be sure to answer them to the best of your ability.
    
3. Write personal messages on your post.
   I try to modify the message I paste for each and every person, particularly the ones that really sound like they will fit the bill. (this goes hand in hand with answering their questions from number one). It works if you can tag team it too, for example, Racci posts the nitty gritty details like our progression and raid times and such, then I will come in behind her and write a personal message like:
   
   "Hey name, Racci is right, you really should check out EL! We are a part of a rare breed of hard core raiding guilds that actually like hanging out with each other and we are looking for an amazing dps who isn't an asshat. We need someone who will down the LK with us and then go out to WG and have a drunken celebration with us after. Come check us out at www.eternallegacy.guildlaunch.com. Catch me in game or respond to me here and I can even hook you up with a vent preview of one of our raids!"
    
4. Always include the website address in every single post you make.
   You should also include it in your signature. You are now passively recruiting in every single forum post you ever make. I also like to mention that people are welcome to listen in on a raid in vent. It shows that we aren't just blowing smoke up their bums about our guild culture.
    
5. Watch for duplicate posts.
   Everyone posts at least twice - once on the Horde forum and once on the Alliance forum. A lot of times they will let their original post fall off the front page and then make a new one to see if they get a new subset of guild bites. It's bad form to double post the same person with the same message if you can avoid it. If you aren't sure or you really want them to see us, type something like:
   
   "Hey name, I posted on your other thread, but in case you haven't had a chance to check us out yet, here is our info again "
    
6. Research them.
   (this should only apply to the ones that look like an exact fit for what you are looking for, otherwise you would go stark raving mad) You can click on their picture on the forum post to see their armory (as long as they do not post on an alt). You can click the magnifying glass in the upper right corner of their picture to see what posts they have made in the past. You can also look them up on http://www.wowprogress.com/detective and http://www.warcraftrealms.com/charhistory.php to get a better feel for them (are they a guild hopper, ninja, jerk, etc). After you know something about them...
    
7. Contact them directly.
   We may not be able to spam a recruitment message on a realm forum or trade chat, but there is nothing to prevent you from personally contacting a person who has put out their 'resume' on the recruitment forum. Make a lvl one and talk to them on their server, or send them an in game mail (you have to do one quest and sell your starter gear to make the 30c to send a mail). If they include personal contact info in their post on the recruitment forum, use it - AIM, Email, etc. The personal contact goes a LOONG way, and you will be one of a very tiny number of recruiters that contact them that way.
    
8. FOLLOW UP.
   You can pull up any post you have made and click on the magnifying glass in the top right above your portrait to view all the posts that you have made in the past. Go through them and see if they have responded to your post. Even if they haven't, remind them that you are still interested in them - post something like:
   
   "Hey, name! Have you had a chance to look into EL yet? You are exactly what we are looking for, and I bet we are exactly what you are looking for too! Come on over to www.eternallegacy.guildlaunch.com tonight. I guarantee you will like what you see!"
    
9. Chat with them on Vent.
   Malkorvan gets credit for this one, a true oversight on my part! Vent is an amazing tool for recruitment. Not only does it allow you to open up your raids to give new recruits a taste of your guild culture, it also helps you build a personal connection with the recruit. As Malk said, "It's one thing to trade emails, IMs and whispers back and forth, but quite another actually talking to another human being."
    
10. Retention > Attraction.
    After working so hard to interest a new recruit, the last thing you want to do is lose them once you have brought them into the guild and started raiding. The recruiting process does not end when you send the guild invite. For the next few days or weeks, you will be the only person in the guild that the new recruit knows. Hold their hand a bit! Offer to answer any questions they may have. Introduce them to other people in the guild that they have something in common with. Whisper them after or during their first raid to see how they are doing. All of this and more! What you are trying to create here is more than just filling a raid spot, you are developing a social experience. Providing the recruit with ties to the guild so that they will WANT to stay, even if that other guild that was further progressed decided to accept them.

Promotions!

Congratulations to Rhymed and Olducu who have now joined the council of Eternal Legacy! Both of our new officers are extremely active within the guild, and are eager to bring their ideas for improving the guild to fruition.

We had some amazing candidates this time around, which made the decision very difficult to make. Therefore, we have also promoted Longcinda, Khilbron and Malkorvan to the position of Veteran Raider. They will be joining Ehanoro and Adoration in advising the council on raiding matters as well as contributing their skills and abilities to help in areas such as recruiting and DKP.

I want to extend a very warm welcome to everyone who was nominated. Volunteering your play time to work to help the guild is a major investment and I am so proud that we have great people who are willing to step up and do that. It represents the level of belief that you have in Eternal Legacy as a guild, as a raid, and as a concept that a group of great people can work together and play together for a long time to come. We are coming up on three years this December, and I know that these people as well as the rest of our amazing guildies will help us carry EL into the forseeable future!

/SALUTE

About Our Recruiting Process

Eternal Legacy runs a tight raiding roster, generally with no more than 30 ranked raiders. We do this to promote a healthy raiding environment without the cutthroat tactics employed by some hard-core raiding guilds. This of course means that we look for strong raiders who will show up on time, know the strats, and be prepared. However, we also want people who we can hang out and have fun with the rest of the hours in a day. Both of these reasons combine into a very stringent recruitment process.

When you post your application, the entire guild is able to read and post comments on it, which they most certainly will do. You can see what they say by logging on using the account you create when you first submit your application - and we strongly encourage you to return to the site, read the comments, and respond.

Be aware that we do not employ the "spaghetti" theory of recruitment (invite everyone, throw them at the wall and see if they stick). Rather, we take our time to get to know each applicant. We WILL look at your logs, spec and gear. We WILL ask you questions about them. We may also ask you personal questions to get a feel for whether or not your personality will be a good fit for the guild. DO NOT throw in the towel if your application is outstanding for a week or more. We are looking into you and your app, and we will get back to you with our decision once we have made a fully considered opinion.

Onward and Upward!

I just want to take this opportunity to congratulate all of our raiders on the hard work you have put in thus far. Because of you, Eternal Legacy is back on the map, having cleared 11/12 Heroic ICC and gotten our ICC drakes.

As ever, we look forward and upward to more content. Now, it is the heroic Lich King encounter that we are focused on. As Garg has put it many times - We will simply bash our heads against it till we get it! And get it we shall. Have faith in yourself and your fellow guildies, and lots of Excedrin.

Raid Roster Substitution Policy

I've posted a thread detailing how I will be handling substitutions in our raid group during our 25 man raids. All raiders should go to the Guild Only forum thread here and read it.

Thanks,
Argath

Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis has Left the Building

For those who may not have heard by now, Eternal Legacy has moved to a new server!

Due to the lack of recruitment opportunities on Blackwater Raiders, Eternal Legacy has transfered to a new server: Nathrezim. Nath has a greater number of guilds in progression content which means some exciting competition for EL, and a wider pool of raiders on the server in general. Furthermore, we feel that the new server will be more attractive to any recruits we bring in from off-server, due to the number of available guilds in our progression bracket.

While we were sorry to leave all of our old friends on BWR, we are excited about making new friends on the new server! Our first night was a great indication of what life on Nath is going to be like. We received genuinely friendly greetings from the other guilds on the server (even a few who were in the midst of wiping to princes at the moment!) and we also got some notifications of the friendly competition to come (can't wait!!). We even had several people from the server fill out an application (already!!!)

The atmosphere in the guild and on vent was electric. I think everyone has gotten caught up in the gleeful atmosphere of making a new start. I think EL and Nathrezim have all the beginnings of a beautiful relationship. Do not look at this as an ending, but rather a beginning.

A new chapter in EL's life of nearly three years has begun. Here's lookin' at you, kid.

Eternal Legacy YouTube Channel

We've created our own guild YouTube account to help feature the videos you guys have made. As a start with the channel it currently has a playlist of kill videos made by Ezze, Long, Racci, and Light.

The goal of the new channel is to give some props to all of you who have put so much work into making some really great videos of us in action. Be sure to subscribe to it so we can link up and promote your movie making skills!

It's been 33 days since you looked at me...

It's been 33 days since you looked at me

Threw your arms in the air and said you're crazy

Ok so maybe the song wasn't really appropriate, but I was looking at our home page and noticed the Sindragossa fight was posted 33 days ago. Thirty three days. A full month we have been working on the Lich King. It's enough to make you sick to your stomach. Although to be honest, we haven't exactly been working on him all this time. It's more like 3 actual days we worked on him and 30 days of pissing around trying to find a new healer or tank or dps or whatever it is that we needed that moment.

One of the things I really like about EL is that we run on a tight raid roster. We have maybe 30 raiders max. So at most only 5 raiders ever sit the bench at a time, which usually works out really well since they have work schedules and other RL committments that they need to be out for anyway. A tight roster is great because it means we don't have a lot of raiders sitting on their hands just waiting to get in. And we don't have to do a lot of rotation to make sure everyone gets some face time in a raid. But the problem with running a tight roster is that we have no room for error. If people have to work late or take the night off to spend time with family, the raid is left scrambling. And when people leave, well that *really* hurts.

We have lost 5 of our core raiders over the last month. They all left separately and for different reasons, and at different times. But the facts remain the same. We are scrambling to make things work, to recruit new people that will not only fill the roles we need but so many other things as well: Can they perform to the same or better level of the person they are replacing? Will they fit in with the rest of the guild? Will they be consistent in their schedule so we can count on them to be there every raid night?

Right now I actually think we are in a great position. We have gotten two new amazing healers, a new tank and a few new DPS. Racci has done an excellent job with recruiting and I believe our raid group is in as good a position as we have ever been to get things done. This setback wasn't even really that much of a setback.

Eternal Legacy has weathered MUCH worse times than this over the years. We had half our raiders gquit in the middle of a run and we didn't quit then. We have had Nerd Rage fueled attempted coups, we have had summer slumps at all times of the year, and we have had internal guild 'we can't do progression so we should just farm easy stuff' rifts. None of those things caused us to call it quits and this current situation of a few ppl leaving isn't going to do it either.

But now we have those 33 days looming over our heads. We dropped over 100 spots in our progression. And people are feeling down. What we need is a pick me up. Some way of giving everyone their confidence back. Outside of limericks and silly jokes, I am still working on that. But for now let me say this:

We are a kick ass guild. There is no question in my mind or any of the officers minds that we can do this. We have overcome so much over the years to get where we are now, and Eternal Legacy excels at coming from behind for the win. Server first titles are still up for grabs. I fully intend for us to get them.

Boooyah

Lich King Illustrated Strategy Guide

This is my illustrated guide to killing the Lich King. There may still be a few odd things not shown here, such as the fact that Defile can sometimes be cast before Val'kyr on phase 3, or the tank switches when Soul Reaper is applied. I recommend you watch the tank spot videos for a more thorough walk through.

However, for a down and dirty review of the fight, I find illustrations help me. :-)

Starting the EL News Blog

Here's the first post of the news and updates blog for Eternal Legacy, a World of Warcraft guild on the Blackwater Raiders server. Updates and commentary from stuff going on in the guild will be posted here regularly, as well as to our twitter feed @Eternal_Legacy.

So read it and keep up to date! It's like having your own Chocolate Cake.