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My guild is currently in the midst of a recruitment drive which has raised some interesting questions about how applicants are judged. I’m placed in a unique position since I recently went through the application process and was admitted as a full time member to the guild. Part of my full membership benefits is engaging in the review process for new applicants on our guild forums.

All names are going to remain anonymous but the one applicant in particular has caused a modest stir. This applicant’s first run with the guild was met with mediocre reviews. He was, as a reviewing member wrote, “Grumpy, aloof and not a team player.” I was in the first run with this player and what I noticed was not surprising at all. This player was quiet and reserved because he literally knew NO ONE in the guild and we were running a progression raid in Heroic TOC 25 that required everyone’s full and undivided attention. I think anyone would be a little quiet with a brand new group and a tremendous amount of pressure to be at the top of your game.

After the applicant was encouraged to speak out a little more, I found him to be chatty and amiable, especially when we jumped into Ice Crown Citadel this week. He had plenty of feedback on the fights, tips on how to position the raid as well as observations about the relative strengths and weakness of the adds in the fight. I was a little miffed to see that some guild members perceived his engagement to be, “A little too talkative during the raid”. In a fight that no one has seen before except on the PTR, wouldn’t it be better to get as much feedback as possible from all members in the raid?

Its unclear whether the applicant will be admitted to the guild (although his actual performance in the raid has been exemplary) but what is clear is that players need to have some idea of what they are being secretly judged on when they are applying to a guild. It’s impossible for a player to respond to feedback when none is being overtly given to him (all of these conversations are occurring on the forums and there doesn’t seem to be anyone stepping up to guide this new recruit).  Guilds are best served giving regular reviews to applicants as it gives the applicant a chance to fix anything that might be “wrong” and it gives the guild a view into how flexible the player is in serving the guilds greater interests.  Next time you find yourself reviewing an applicant, try to remember what it was like to be on the other side of the table.