Published Jun 7th, 2014, 6/7/14 8:00 pm
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Within my short time being on this site, I've noticed that there are a lot of people making posts either asking for people to apply for staff to their server or posts of people asking for someone to hire them as staff for a server. Being Head Admin and the primary manager of my server's staff, I have quite a few opinions on what I see.
Most of the time I comment on those topics giving various forms of advise or my opinions (no one asks, or likely wants them, but I figure they might help some people). This rant is mostly going to be a single culmination of all the things I see and feel a need to comment on along with some, of what I believe is, helpful advice for people making threads posting their applications (I'll make another blog for staff recruiters later).
I will warn you, if you are sensitive about various age categorizations then this rant may not be for you! I am not to be held liable for the amount of rage that might be gained from reading onward due to me likely sounding extremely elitist.
Let me just post what most people tend to put as an "application:"
I'm going to skip around here, so let's start with some general issues.
General Issues:
Grammar. For the love of all things holy, at least use bloody spell-check or something before you post an application. I understand that people will say "This is for a game, it doesn't need to be professional!!" (which I disagree with on a few levels, but I won't get into those at the moment) but at least show some degree of effort and pride in your posts. If you aren't intelligent enough to use proper spelling and grammar (or use spell-check to fix your mistakes, as we all likely make them from time to time) then why would anyone think that you will be intelligent enough or put enough effort into doing your job as a staff member?
"Position wanted:"
Nine times out of ten, you either get people asking to be the highest possible rank they can think of, or they will just list off every rank they can think of. The latter is somewhat better than the former, but regardless this is a problem. People asking for someone to hire them as staff should probably just be going for the lowest rank that is offered. This shows that you are willing to work your way up the ranks, and, if you do get accepted for something, you damn well should work and prove you deserve the higher ranks. If these people applying for the higher ranks are really qualified for them, then they will get promoted by responsible owners and administrators because their skills will be noticed if they actually work.
"Past Experience:"
I've seen the most insane things in this section I could possibly imagine. Only a few minutes before writing this I saw a post where someone said they have been a Moderator on 60 servers. Besides that likely being BS, I have a few poignant questions for these people whom have been staff all over the place.
1: If you were/are staff on all of those servers, then why are you asking for staff on another server? Do you job on those servers.
2: What proof can you give to show that any of that is even true? (It would become real evident during a trial period if they were lying. I'll talk more about that in the next rant for Staff Recruiters)
3: If you aren't staff on those servers anymore, than why aren't you and what happened to those servers?
Let's go into a little detail on points one and three.
1: If you are a staff member on a server, then you should be busy working to make the server better. Honestly, I don't think anyone should be staff on more than two servers at a time (I personally would only be staff on one at a time as I am quite dedicated to the servers I help out). If your server doesn't have any "work" for you to do, then either it is not populated enough (which means you should be trying to work out ways to advertise it) or it is being mismanaged (which means you should be trying to get some amount of reform or just choose better servers to be staff on).
3: If those servers closed down and you were staff on them, then you are to be held responsible for their closing. You could say the owner didn't have enough money to keep it up, but I would retort with: "Then you didn't work hard enough to make the server a good enough place for players to want to join or donate to it." You could say the staff was mismanaged (just read a post about that before writing this, too) which is honestly dumb to say because you were a part of the staff and obviously were too incompetent to do the job or work for reform with the staff. I will say there are legit reasons (rare ones) for servers going down and the staff not entirely being at fault (actual hackings, not just the "hacking" that people always go on about, those are usually just idiots not being secure enough with their passwords/server anti-grief protocols).
"Maturity:"
Anyone posting this in their thread (unless you are posting an app to another person's thread and they require it) are just telling me they are around 12 to 14 years old because that question is really only asked by staff recruiters around that age. If you are mature, then you don't need to post that, it's will be evident to the people around you that you are mature, there's no need to try and rate yourself.
"Reasons for applying:"
The first thing I take issue with are the people that just say they "want to help." I have nothing against people wanting to help, but you are posting a thread looking for people to ask you to join their staff, therefore, you likely have no idea what it is you might be "helping" with. I'll explain a bit more about this further down the line when I post suggestions for what to put in an app. Also, your love for building really isn't a good reason to want to be staff. It tells me that you are only interested in one element of the job (which would be fine if you were applying specifically for a "builder" job) and that you are more interested in the Gamemode perk you might get than the actual work you would be doing. Saying that you hate "hackers" and "DDoS'ers" and "Griefers" doesn't really do anything for me. Most "Hackers" couldn't hack their way out of a paper bag, and most "DDoS'ers" aren't actually "DDoS'ing" anything because it requires that first "D" element: Distributed. All in all, hating people that break the rules (assuming that griefing is against the server rules) doesn't really constitute as a reason in my book.
"Skills:"
I realize that most people playing MC are quite young and haven't really had much time to develop actual skills, but seriously, I've seen multiple people put that they are "friendly" here. Being "friendly" is not a skill (if it is, well, we all know I probably don't have it). It's a nice trait to have, but it's not a skill. Also, being good at building is nice, it's good for servers that have their Staff double as builders (like mine), but it definitely should not be the first thing you put up there as a skill. Some people put that they are good at this or that plugin, which is nice, but do you really think that you're getting plugin access right after joining? I'm not telling people to not say they are good at plugins, but perhaps you should put skills that actually relate to the position you are applying for...oh wait...you applied for everything...well that causes an issue...
EXAMPLE OF A DECENT APPLICATION:
(Let me just point out that I said this was a "decent" application. It isn't perfect, and might not be fit for every type of position that a person could apply for.)
Like I said, this would be a decent application. It isn't perfect, as there could be more detail for the "Reasons for Applying" and the question of why the past three servers didn't work out is still in the air. But those are issues that can be resolved easily with an interview and a trial period.
Honestly, asking to be a staff member on a massive public forum isn't exactly the best idea. I tried to resolve that issue by asking for the server IP and saying that the person would first check out the server before accepting the invitation. It isn't a perfect thing; actually finding a server you really like and playing on it for awhile before applying would be preferred, but this resolves most issues for posting on a massive forum like this.
I've only actually ever seen one application thread that looks professional like this probably would, so I felt the need to make a rant about it. If I've missed or forgotten anything, feel free to tell me (I sort of get caught up in my writing and sometimes forget what I was going to add.)
Most of the time I comment on those topics giving various forms of advise or my opinions (no one asks, or likely wants them, but I figure they might help some people). This rant is mostly going to be a single culmination of all the things I see and feel a need to comment on along with some, of what I believe is, helpful advice for people making threads posting their applications (I'll make another blog for staff recruiters later).
I will warn you, if you are sensitive about various age categorizations then this rant may not be for you! I am not to be held liable for the amount of rage that might be gained from reading onward due to me likely sounding extremely elitist.
For People making threads asking to be a Staff Member:
Let me just post what most people tend to put as an "application:"
IGN: (Some Name)
Age: (Some Age, usually between 11 and 15)
Position wanted: admin, head admin, co-owner
Past Experience: i was a mod on 8 servers a admin on 5 a co-owner on 4 and i was owner on 2!
Maturity: (Usually somewhere between 7 - 10)
Skills: i am good at building and i am always nice and treat players fairly. i am very active and trustworthy and i never grief!!!
Reasons for applying: i love to build for servers and i love to help people build! i want to help and i hate hackers and ddosers!!!! i hate griefers and i want to stop them! i want to help build and make the server a friendly place!!!
Skype: (Some name)
plz contact me on skype or on PMC!
The issues:
I'm going to skip around here, so let's start with some general issues.
General Issues:
Grammar. For the love of all things holy, at least use bloody spell-check or something before you post an application. I understand that people will say "This is for a game, it doesn't need to be professional!!" (which I disagree with on a few levels, but I won't get into those at the moment) but at least show some degree of effort and pride in your posts. If you aren't intelligent enough to use proper spelling and grammar (or use spell-check to fix your mistakes, as we all likely make them from time to time) then why would anyone think that you will be intelligent enough or put enough effort into doing your job as a staff member?
"Position wanted:"
Nine times out of ten, you either get people asking to be the highest possible rank they can think of, or they will just list off every rank they can think of. The latter is somewhat better than the former, but regardless this is a problem. People asking for someone to hire them as staff should probably just be going for the lowest rank that is offered. This shows that you are willing to work your way up the ranks, and, if you do get accepted for something, you damn well should work and prove you deserve the higher ranks. If these people applying for the higher ranks are really qualified for them, then they will get promoted by responsible owners and administrators because their skills will be noticed if they actually work.
"Past Experience:"
I've seen the most insane things in this section I could possibly imagine. Only a few minutes before writing this I saw a post where someone said they have been a Moderator on 60 servers. Besides that likely being BS, I have a few poignant questions for these people whom have been staff all over the place.
1: If you were/are staff on all of those servers, then why are you asking for staff on another server? Do you job on those servers.
2: What proof can you give to show that any of that is even true? (It would become real evident during a trial period if they were lying. I'll talk more about that in the next rant for Staff Recruiters)
3: If you aren't staff on those servers anymore, than why aren't you and what happened to those servers?
Let's go into a little detail on points one and three.
1: If you are a staff member on a server, then you should be busy working to make the server better. Honestly, I don't think anyone should be staff on more than two servers at a time (I personally would only be staff on one at a time as I am quite dedicated to the servers I help out). If your server doesn't have any "work" for you to do, then either it is not populated enough (which means you should be trying to work out ways to advertise it) or it is being mismanaged (which means you should be trying to get some amount of reform or just choose better servers to be staff on).
3: If those servers closed down and you were staff on them, then you are to be held responsible for their closing. You could say the owner didn't have enough money to keep it up, but I would retort with: "Then you didn't work hard enough to make the server a good enough place for players to want to join or donate to it." You could say the staff was mismanaged (just read a post about that before writing this, too) which is honestly dumb to say because you were a part of the staff and obviously were too incompetent to do the job or work for reform with the staff. I will say there are legit reasons (rare ones) for servers going down and the staff not entirely being at fault (actual hackings, not just the "hacking" that people always go on about, those are usually just idiots not being secure enough with their passwords/server anti-grief protocols).
"Maturity:"
Anyone posting this in their thread (unless you are posting an app to another person's thread and they require it) are just telling me they are around 12 to 14 years old because that question is really only asked by staff recruiters around that age. If you are mature, then you don't need to post that, it's will be evident to the people around you that you are mature, there's no need to try and rate yourself.
"Reasons for applying:"
The first thing I take issue with are the people that just say they "want to help." I have nothing against people wanting to help, but you are posting a thread looking for people to ask you to join their staff, therefore, you likely have no idea what it is you might be "helping" with. I'll explain a bit more about this further down the line when I post suggestions for what to put in an app. Also, your love for building really isn't a good reason to want to be staff. It tells me that you are only interested in one element of the job (which would be fine if you were applying specifically for a "builder" job) and that you are more interested in the Gamemode perk you might get than the actual work you would be doing. Saying that you hate "hackers" and "DDoS'ers" and "Griefers" doesn't really do anything for me. Most "Hackers" couldn't hack their way out of a paper bag, and most "DDoS'ers" aren't actually "DDoS'ing" anything because it requires that first "D" element: Distributed. All in all, hating people that break the rules (assuming that griefing is against the server rules) doesn't really constitute as a reason in my book.
"Skills:"
I realize that most people playing MC are quite young and haven't really had much time to develop actual skills, but seriously, I've seen multiple people put that they are "friendly" here. Being "friendly" is not a skill (if it is, well, we all know I probably don't have it). It's a nice trait to have, but it's not a skill. Also, being good at building is nice, it's good for servers that have their Staff double as builders (like mine), but it definitely should not be the first thing you put up there as a skill. Some people put that they are good at this or that plugin, which is nice, but do you really think that you're getting plugin access right after joining? I'm not telling people to not say they are good at plugins, but perhaps you should put skills that actually relate to the position you are applying for...oh wait...you applied for everything...well that causes an issue...
EXAMPLE OF A DECENT APPLICATION:
(Let me just point out that I said this was a "decent" application. It isn't perfect, and might not be fit for every type of position that a person could apply for.)IGN: (Some Name)
Age: (Some Age)
Position wanted: Moderator
Past Experience: I have been Head Admin on three different servers. On the first server, I started as a Moderator and was promoted through the ranks quickly for showing exceptional capabilities and qualifications to do that job. My jobs on these servers included managing the server staff, configuring, troubleshooting, and managing the server plugins, dealing with in-game disputes, dealing with player complaints and suggestions, managing the server's BuyCraft, developing the server's website, and any other odd job that might have come up from time-to-time.
Skills: Having been a Moderator in the past, I have extensive experience in mediating in-game disputes between players, detecting X-rayers, and players with modified clients that do not fit within the allowed boundaries, resolving griefing issues, including restoring the griefed location to its original state and administering punishment on the griefer/griefers. I understand that not every situation should be met with a ban and that there are more appropriate forms of discipline that could be used for certain situations. Having worked with plugins as an Admin and Head Admin, I can also help resolve player-to-plugin issues if needed or assist the Admins if asked. Having been involved with numerous server projects, I can make builds for the server if required, too, and can provide screenshots of past builds if needed.
Reasons for applying: I am looking for a quality server with strong potential for a long lifespan. I intend to work to bring out that server's potential and can provide more specific reasons for wanting to apply after having viewed your server first.
Skype: (Some name)
Please contact me with your server IP so that I can see if this is the type of server I would like to work for and could be if value to.
Like I said, this would be a decent application. It isn't perfect, as there could be more detail for the "Reasons for Applying" and the question of why the past three servers didn't work out is still in the air. But those are issues that can be resolved easily with an interview and a trial period.
Honestly, asking to be a staff member on a massive public forum isn't exactly the best idea. I tried to resolve that issue by asking for the server IP and saying that the person would first check out the server before accepting the invitation. It isn't a perfect thing; actually finding a server you really like and playing on it for awhile before applying would be preferred, but this resolves most issues for posting on a massive forum like this.
I've only actually ever seen one application thread that looks professional like this probably would, so I felt the need to make a rant about it. If I've missed or forgotten anything, feel free to tell me (I sort of get caught up in my writing and sometimes forget what I was going to add.)
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Have something to say?
In short, we want straight forward, and neatly formatted lists for experience, skills, and reason. Not paragraphs.
Websites, references, and IPs are also required for the past experience field.
On top of all this, we simply don't want to give any special attention to one application by picking through the clutter. Then there's a set of randomized interview questions in a call, aside from the standard ones.
I plan on making another blog soon about Staff Recruiters (those actually making the application forms for people to fill out and those that accept/look over the applications).
And I lol'd at the fact that you said the "good application" was the novel...Just look at the entire bloody rant. I have a lot to say. The point of the entire thing was to make sure to post enough information so that people actually can judge you based off of it. If you only want 140 characters then have everyone apply via Twitter.
There's no way to learn enough about a person from some text on a screen. The interview will help with that, but you still will not know for sure. Obviously, hiring anyone to babysit is a leap of faith.
Twitter isn't sufficient if I want them to share their email, name, and other information. That's why there's a private form on our website. Bad joke.
I also didn't appreciate that crack at my server and it's staff. They are the hardest working staff I've ever had the honor to come across, and they will be justly compensated for their work.
I know good and well about applying for real Jobs. Go ahead and throw that good application into a word processing program, you'll see it doesn't extend past a single page. For a Resume, you want to provide a good amount of information, but not have it extend past a page in most instances.
I'm not disagreeing with you about interviews, but that was not the intent of this rant. This was aimed specifically at those submitting their applications. The first paragraph states that.
Lastly, to be quite frank, I could not care less about your specific staff, how qualified you believe they are, or whether they are or aren't compensated. I was making a general statement using "you" and "'you'll" in a very general way. I wasn't specifically targeting your staff at all considing I've never met any of them, was not aware you had a server, nor could care one bit about either.
"There is quite often no single field that extends 1/3 of the page", as I said. Both fields did.
Half of this "application belongs on a résumé. However, people are seeking staff on a website that's comprised primarily of minors that are malpracticed at the application process. Naturally, one must compromise.
The whole "If you aren't going to spend the time looking at a person's application (or at least have one staff member do it) then you'll likely get a bad group of staff" made it seem targeted. Perhaps you can see how I may perceive it as such.
Why show such disdain regarding my affairs? Perhaps you could just say that they aren't of your concern, instead of saying that you "could [not] care one bit" or "could not care less". Such a peach.
I'm not asking you to lick boots. Just lighten up your words a bit.
Also, I don't hold any ill thought towards you or your affairs. I frequently sound angry or extremely stern when I speak or write (people who know me in person can testify to this). As I said, nothing I stated should be considered personal. It's just the way I am. Hope that settles that issue.