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.