Interview Template

**Caeruleagos** Sat Nov 12, 2011 11:11 pm

Right, I love doing interviews. I love that I got to know each and every member, right at the start. I keep people waiting on interviews when I don’t have much time however, and this is one of the most clearly identifiable tasks I can share with my fellow leadership. I’m making a template interview, showing the questions and information I give, explaining the point of the question, and giving examples of more things to say, so that my fellow recruiters will have a basic idea of a structure to fall back on, and can even give me advice.

-Caerule

OOC questions:
I’ve only recently even begun asking these, except the first. Never needed to. Still, times have changed. The structure of this isn’t too solid yet.

1.
Have you read the recruitment thread?
Everyone that joins has read the recruitment thread. There’s no escaping it. The reasons for the recruitment thread are many. The first is obvious; it is huge. People not interested, dedicated or literate enough don’t get through it. You won’t believe the barrier for bad RPers it has proven. It’s also a nice delay tactic. Sometimes you get someone applying on a passing fancy of which you can tell they won’t be suitable for the guild. I find delaying them does wonders; they never contact you again. Apathy is sometimes the best form of “no”. More importantly; the thread is so huge because it’s stuffed with info! More info than you could possibly give through whisper, and thus a far better way of informing people about us.

Our recruitment thread is found on the official European WoW Moonglade Realm forums. The quickest path to it though, is just typing our name into Google.

2.
Do you have any alts on the server that I may be aware of?
Some people on the server are rather infamous, or just unsuitable for the guild. Not everyone can fit in, after all. And if someone won’t fit in, it’ll be as bad for them as for us, if they join. If they wish not to say, that is fine, but it can give you a good view of who you are dealing with, good or bad, in some cases. If they state names you do not know, you can ask the guild what is known about them. I do this sometimes.

3. (Optional).
Have you been in another guild on this server before?
If yes:
Why are you no longer with them?
This question is only for high level characters, of course. This question is a drama detector, really. It can lead to useful information about the person, however. They could be a fresh transfer, new to RP, newly returned after inactivity. Or of course a trouble causer booed out of his previous guild Wink

.
If they are still in a guild:
Ask them why they are leaving, and make sure they have let their guild know. We do not wish to be seen as member-stealers.

4.
What sort of things are you looking for in a guild, in terms of things you would like to take part in?
I ask this one to see what they hope to get out of joining. Are they looking for a social group? RP events? Dungeons? Raids? PvP? This ways we can take their preferences into account, and I won’t keep inviting them to HCs for example, if they hate PvE. As a side note, sometimes I find some people apply without realizing we are a RP guild. When in doubt, make sure you ask if they are RPers.

5. (Optional)
How active do you see yourself being within the guild?
I don’t always ask this one, but you do get people joining, passing an interview, and never logging in again, ever. These are usually low level players. Level 85s are usually a lot more active.

Right. That’s it for the OOC part. Let’s move on to IC.
IC Introduction:
People can be rather nervous entering an interview, IC and OOC. Unless you are in a big hurry, I do recommend you try and find a conversation hook. Exchange in greetings, let them take a seat end see if you can make things more personal, with a comment on their gear, or casual questions, like how their journey was. This can last long or short. Long is actually better, as is means you have someone comfortably RPing with you. It’s a good way to get a first impression.

1.
You wouldn’t be here, if you hadn’t already heard a thing or two about us. Could you tell me what you’ve already heard? I find it is much quicker to fill in the blanks, rather than tell you things you already know.
This is just your basic “What do you know about the Hand?”, asked in my own way. The answers to this question are a useful starting point. The recruit will tell you how his character sees our order, and how he learned about us. Often there are gaps in their knowledge, and I have some things I often mention to enlighten, like:

These days, the Hand of the Titans is most easily defined as the polar opposite of the Twilight Hammer cult. As they seek to corrupt and destroy Azeroth, the Gift of the Titans, we seek to preserve it.

The Hand is a varied group of people from all walks of life, united in friendships, loyalty, overlapping goals and use to each other.

We face conflicts large and small. A local warlock stealing souls of citizens may not end the world, but needs to be stopped just as well.

Plenty of mixing, matching and adding is possible here. Like, which enemies specifically we oppose, what motivates us, etc. It all depends on the person you are recruiting. For specific information for certain classes, etc, see the end of this page.

2.
Could you tell me more of the paths you have travelled in life, and where they have led you?
This question is basically a “tell me your history/backstory”, but phrased more vague, as characters don’t respond to it as well if asked directly. This will get them talking about themselves and their path in life. Feel free to follow up with more specific questions. This question is a great tool for finding out how well the player knows the lore too. You’ll find quite a few that don’t know when things happened in history exactly, or don’t know proper age of certain races. Don’t be afraid at this point to take it OOC again to help them out.

3.
Would you have any questions at this point? You may of course ask them throughout the interview.
People usually don’t have questions at this point. It’s just asked so they know they have the option, and to place them at ease. Some do have them, of course.

4.
Do you have any personal goals for yourself? Any ambitions that drive you? Anything you would like to accomplish or see changed in the world?
This question gives you an insight deep into the motivations of the applying character, and offers plenty of possible hooks for interesting conversation, and possible aid the Hand can offer the character. For mercenaries, see a section further down.

5.
If you are to join the Hand, what skills, abilities, connections or other things of use do you feel you would be contributing to the Order?
This is more than a question of which class they play and can thus be asked even if you already know you’re talking to a Rogue Leatherworker. Many do answer class and professions, but personal skills and how they see themselves can be expanded by this question.

6.
The order is currently divided into four factions, based on what skills people are best at. Each faction based on the title of a Titan.
This isn’t a question at this point. You’ve just heard their skills. You should know where you’d place them. If they specialize in multiple things, for example a paladin that is both healer and warrior, they do have a choice to make. First of course comes informing them of the different factions. Their main faction is of course the most important. I’ll give four examples of expanded descriptions as I would give them, followed by a summary of all. Feel free not to go with these, and give it your own direction.

Our martial branch is named after Aggramar the Avenger, the Titan that battles the demons of the Burning Legion. The Avenger faction consists of knights, warriors, scouts, archers, rogues, in short those who specialize in physical combat.
This faction has a more military structure than the other factions.

The Dreamweavers get their name from Norgannon, the Patron of Magic, Knowledge and Secrets. This faction is the gathering of our spellcasters, sages and researchers.

Our circle of healers are known as the Lifebinders, in honor of Eonar the Lifebinder, the Titan matron of life. In this faction you will find those dedicated to healing, curing and purification.

The Shapers get their name from Khaz’goroth, the Master Craftsman. You will find craftsmen, citizens, diplomats and all others who do not fit in the other factions with the Shapers.

7.
If you are to join us, we will be making your enemies our own. As such, I have to ask you if you have any enemies.
This question is usually asked with No. However, it does offer the chance to see if there is existing history or storyline that the guild may get involved in, or gives the opportunity to offer the support of the Hand if the enemies revealed are overlapping with our own. This question is adaptable. For example with goblins, I often also ask if they have any rivals Wink

.

8.
Would you have any final questions, or things you feel I would benefit from knowing?
This question’s main purpose is to signify that the interview is ending, and gives the player a final chance to brainstorm about things to say.

Promotion Ceremony.

At this point, you’ll wish to conduct them into the order, if you feel they pass the interview. I get out of my chair for this, so we face each other standing. This works best. What may not work so well is me placing down our Guild Banner next to them. But I like to anyway. Makes it nice and official.
Give them a suitable welcome speech of acceptance like:
It would be my honor to welcome you as a member of the Hand of the Titans.
Follow up with a salute or a bow or something. I like to throw in the phrase:
May we be as much use to you, as you to us.
After that, it’s time to give them a gift;

The Talisman.
Present them with one, they will usually have a reaction, and give them an explanation of how they work. These are my standard ones:

These powerful talismans are enchanted for our Order. They are given only to those trusted by our order, and are a symbol of the trust we place in you. They also allow you to communicate remotely with others carrying one.

Their use is pretty simple. You need only to hold it in your hand to enter the link. A contacted talisman will glow blue and hum softly. Unless you are asleep or otherwise occupied, you should notice it.

The appearance of the talisman is up for personal interpretation. There is more than one enchanter, so their appearance will differ enough for people to make up their own. The only consistent detail is a blue round crystal at the center.

Special Cases; DKs and Warlocks.

We don’t discriminate, but some characters are bound to special rules. For Death Knights and Warlocks there is a pretty strict “no minions in cities” policy. Exception of course when there is a threat. The Hand of the Titans aims to bring peace to people. Forcibly exposing the public to demons and ghouls goes against that.

For Warlocks there are further rules. Yes, we will allow the use of demons, if these are forced into service. Making deals with demons is against the rules, however. In addition, the mortal soul is a sacred thing. Destruction of it, a sin we shall not commit. Warlocks are limited to the use of the souls of demons, animals, evil dragons, and irredeemable Old God minions, such as Silithid, the Faceless and ascended cultists.

So in short; no minions in town, no deals with demons, and no using mortal souls.

Special Cases; Mercenaries.

You may encounter someone only in it for the gold, which is fine. But you’ll of course have to tell them where the money’s at.

The Hand of the Titan offers no wage. People are allowed to take jobs beyond the order, as long as it doesn’t conflict with our rules. So, basically they should take missions to murder Horde citizens and officials without bounty or wanted status, and not go around murdering our allies. Bounty hunting is fine.

However, we do provide income. Every week, every member can redeem purchases made for the benefit of their contributions with the guild, with the guild bank. The Hand has significant income, and will reimburse members to a significant degree for costs of healing, upgrades to equipment, travel expenses, etcetera. In addition, significant funds may be acquired on missions. Whatever is obtained on missions is shared equally between interested participants.

Application Rejection.

It’s nasty, it’s rare, but it happens, and it will make people quite upset. There can be many reasons to reject someone. The easiest one to handle is actually if it is a known person that not the entire guild is okay with. It’s a “simple” matter of explaining you believe they wouldn’t fit in well with the guild, and that it would not prove an enjoyable experience for them. This method is in fact partially applicable to most cases; make it seem like it is in their best interest not to join.

Things to look out for:
1. Bad reputation.
2. Bad attitude.
3. Bad RP.
4. Bad fit with our guild theme and intentions.
5. Bad spelling/grammar.

The first two should be obvious. Bad RP takes many forms. Some people enjoy being a vampiric blood queen of 10.000 years old. Just make sure they are not breaking lore, making themselves too unique, or are just too incredible or powerful. I myself have had to reject someone, because they played a warlock leading a group of good demons that made her their leader because they wished to save the innocent. You are of course encouraged to offer tips and constructive criticism, but some people do not change. Not being an expert is fine. Being unwilling to learn is not.

We try to be inclusive, but once in a blue moon, you’ll find someone that just doesn’t fit in. We have an OOC Member rank, which exists for that, though it is mostly for alts and not-yet-members. If the RPer is awesome, you may consider them for it, even if they can’t pass an interview. If not, some server-awareness is advised to help them find a guild more suitable to them, until they decide to roll a more fitting character. Be aware that evil characters are not automatically disqualified, especially if they hide this.

Bad spelling and grammar. There are some people out there that know perfectly well how to speak English, but have no idea how to spell it, like Simili, our friendly neighborhood warlock. This is fine if you can tell they are trying and aren’t lost in the language. There are limits, however. An easy indication is if they spell “you” as “u”. Overall, keep in mind that we are a guild of many people with good language skills, and poor spelling will get on people’s nerves. If it’s too bad, it won’t set a good mood for them nor us, and our guild would not be advised for them to join. I’ve had people apply that spell “interview” as “irntrfew”

Sometimes those declined will feel very strongly about this. This may take the form of pleading or anger. Some may even cry, or rage in public channels. It’s something you have to harden yourself to, especially if you did your best to let them down easy. Ignoring works most often, though be aware some will apply again under an alt.