Best practices: Recruiting

Igni · 09/30/06, 11:21 AM

What are best recruiting practices? With the recent availability of cross-server transfers, we all have a much deeper pool of people to draw from. While the real burden of risk is on the person doing the transferring, the conscionable among us would feel bad about /gkick-ing someone who just transferred to our server but turned out to be not a good fit for your guild. Combine this with the sentiment shared by many that "recruit and cull" is not necessarily the way to go and there becomes a premium on screening well.

What traits do you look for? How do you test for these traits? What are your interview questions?

In another thread Gurgthock recommended maturity, competitiveness and an analytical bent as traits to look for. Generalizing 'analytical bent' to 'intelligent', how would you go about identifying these traits in candidates from another server?

Igni · 09/30/06, 11:22 AM

One good technique suggested in another thread was providing access to an account so they could play their character's class on your server. The author noted this requires a high degree of trust, say being sponsored by someone, but it certainly goes a long way towards establishing skill.

Looking for a more scalable method, I wanted to ask whether the following idea might have merit. Designate a server to meet on, have them roll a Horde version of whatever their class is (if they're a Paladin, this won't be feasible till the expansion) and then have them level up to their early teens. Then, starting at level 10, form up a group, jump on Vent and take them through Ragefire Chasm. At level 15, try Wailing Caverns. No level 60s twinking the group, just a number of level appropriate alts for the instance.

What might this show? First, if the person is willing to go through the usual fill out an application, ventrillo interview process, and then level an alt to 10 maybe 15, you know they're serious about applying. Set a time to meet you and see if they're punctual. Then you can see how they act and respond: do they follow orders, do they act immature, can they talk and do their job at the same time. And talk with them so you can get a sense of who they are, they're background, whether they might be a good fit for your guild.

What this might also do, is enlarge the number of possible recruits. While many might not be willing to make the blind jump and transfer servers, some might be willing to invest the time to level an alt to 10 or 15 to have an opportunity to spend time with members of a guild they're thinking about applying to.

While this is not a infallible test for skill, it has been maintained regularly throughout these forums that skill can be taught. And I do believe it will do a better job of testing for willingness to work hard and congeniality than you can see on paper.

What do you think?

enshula · 09/30/06, 11:33 AM

Im beginning to wonder whether your trying to build forum hype on here or seriously looking for input.

Translation: Are you using this post discussing recruiting as part of a plan to build momentum for the guild you are talking about forming?

If so i have seen that be effective in the past at getting an initial momentum built up.

And for a more serious response i would suggest recruiting heavily while a test server is out that people can make premades on rather than levelling to deadmines or ragefire chasm.

• malthrin · 09/30/06, 11:36 AM

Interesting idea. On the plus side, it gives you an idea of their general comfort level in being able to perform basic gameplay while focusing on another higher-level task; on the downside, it doesn't really give you a good perspective on their knowledge of that class, due to the deficiency of abilities at low levels. As an example: some potential Priest recruit may be a diehard Flash Heal spammer, but you'll never see that deficiency with this test because he won't have Flash Heal to spam, or any other useful alternative methods.

While this is not a infallible test for skill, it has been maintained regularly throughout these forums that skill can be taught.

Following through on this thought, one of the primary things I would look for in a recruit is desire and willingness to improve him/herself as a player. That motivation to master the challenges of the class will likely carry through into an enthusiasm for mastering WoW's content.

Hexel · 09/30/06, 11:49 AM

About cross-server transfers, if you're involved with recruiting in one of the few guilds that can expect to get such applications:

Why do you feel the responsobility lies with you? Transferring across servers to join up for a trial with another guild is a huge responsobility, and in any case quite the risk, for anybody. What you need to do is ensure that whatever's best for your guild, happens. If that means kicking a x-server applicant, so be it.

As for gauging "intelligence", well ... how about including a test question on your application form which takes the form of a riddle? I'll bring up an example which is on the <Nihilum> app form, they ask you to answer the following question:

You have a three gallon can and five gallon can. You have been asked to take them to the river and return with exactly one gallon. You may not mark the cans, use other measuring devices, or any other means to solve the task except using the two cans, and the amount has to be exactly one gallon. How would you solve it?

It's not very hard, and it shouldn't be. By looking at how somebody answers it you can at least get a feel for his analytical abilities, if you will.

• malthrin · 09/30/06, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by Hexel

You have a three gallon can and five gallon can. You have been asked to take them to the river and return with exactly one gallon. You may not mark the cans, use other measuring devices, or any other means to solve the task except using the two cans, and the amount has to be exactly one gallon. How would you solve it?

Wasn't that a puzzle in Knights of the Old Republic?

Drauk · 09/30/06, 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by malthrin

Wasn't that a puzzle in Knights of the Old Republic?

Yeah, and whats interesting it was reguired for LS solution on Manaan :)

Branar · 09/30/06, 12:03 PM

wel gusy im not shore abt all thees canz but i no how 2 dps lol

I like the question. That's a good idea.

agentravyn · 09/30/06, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by Hexel

You have a three gallon can and five gallon can. You have been asked to take them to the river and return with exactly one gallon. You may not mark the cans, use other measuring devices, or any other means to solve the task except using the two cans, and the amount has to be exactly one gallon. How would you solve it?

It's not very hard, and it shouldn't be. By looking at how somebody answers it you can at least get a feel for his analytical abilities, if you will.

The only problem with this specific question is that it's also in Die Hard: With a Vengance.

• malthrin · 09/30/06, 12:39 PM

Now the question is will more WoW players recognize it from Diehard, or from KotOR?

Hexel · 09/30/06, 12:45 PM

Originally Posted by agentravyn

Originally Posted by Hexel

You have a three gallon can and five gallon can. You have been asked to take them to the river and return with exactly one gallon. You may not mark the cans, use other measuring devices, or any other means to solve the task except using the two cans, and the amount has to be exactly one gallon. How would you solve it?

The only problem with this specific question is that it's also in Die Hard: With a Vengance.

If my memory serves me right the figures in Die Hard 3 are 10 gallons and 3 gallons :)

TL-Seria · 09/30/06, 1:05 PM

And the next problem is that it takes roughly 30 seconds with google to answer.

Phanuel · 09/30/06, 1:29 PM

Originally Posted by Hexel

Originally Posted by agentravyn

Originally Posted by Hexel

You have a three gallon can and five gallon can. You have been asked to take them to the river and return with exactly one gallon. You may not mark the cans, use other measuring devices, or any other means to solve the task except using the two cans, and the amount has to be exactly one gallon. How would you solve it?

The only problem with this specific question is that it's also in Die Hard: With a Vengance.

If my memory serves me right the figures in Die Hard 3 are 10 gallons and 3 gallons :)

No it was 3 and 5. "Don't you have kids? That's an elephant joke."

Kastagir · 09/30/06, 1:29 PM

Die Hard 3 was 3 and 5 :)

And the next problem is that it takes roughly 30 seconds with google to answer.

The answer to nearly any problem is only a google search away (or some other resource). Even if they have to go look up the answer, at least there was motiviation enough to do so and they knew how to find the answer to a question they didn't know. Knowing how to find an answer (and having the motiviation to do so) is often more helpful than knowing the answer to begin with.

Dots · 09/30/06, 1:59 PM

In Die Hard 3 the task was to make it 4 gallons though, not 1. :P