ari’s advice: staff applications

Hello!  I'm aricharmm, a forum Moderator and an in-game Helper.

Before we got this sick new website, I created a few posts on our old forums page about tips and tricks for staff application formatting and content.

I decided to recreate this post to help players reach a deeper understanding of how to correctly apply for a staff position or gain a better chance of getting considered and even accepted.  (And because I’m really bored.)

I can’t guarantee this will get you accepted and these are only tips coming from someone who has been reading eye sores for over a year.

If you don’t like reading, I highly suggest you leave now because I write a lot in my posts as old-timer InvadedLands players might know but I’ve tried being as simple as I can.  I will be providing in-depth explanations in this post.  But if you’re interested in learning some tips and tricks that can potentially benefit you, then carry on!

        All credits for examples go to lnvoke’s application (a recently accepted applicator)  and my personal writing.

Step One: Pre-Application

        READ THE REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLYING AND FOLLOW THE FORMAT!

        You don’t know how many times I’ve stumbled across people who have evidently not read any rules on applying and are making a fool of themselves.  Even if you don’t think you need to read the rules for applying, you must do so.  This will be very important later.  If you’d like to read it, click here.  Read it very thoroughly.  This shows part of your dedication to contributing to the server and lets you be well aware of what you will go through before and after applying.

        Verbal Interviews:

                YES, you must go through a verbal interview, which means you must be able to talk online.  There are no exceptions.  Verbal interviews don’t last very long and it’s nothing to be very scared of.

                In all honesty, I don’t really recommend applying for staff if you are unable to do the verbal interview.  It’s all up to you whether to decide to make that commitment or not, and I hope that doesn’t completely turn you away from applying at all.

        When following the format, answer the given questions and don’t add or delete any.  Adding questions may give an unfair advantage to other applicants who decided to follow the format by itself.  Deleting questions makes it look like you’re hiding something.

Beforehand, I will say that being staff on a server like InvadedLands is a pretty large commitment, so props to you if you think you can handle it!

Step Two: Content

        After you’re done reading the requirements and you think you are ready to apply, copy and paste the format into a new post in the “Staff Applications” thread.  It should look something like this:

        Looking pretty good already!

        I’ll go over a few things before I get to the juicy stuff:

        Detail:

The most common mistake I see with long applications are the amount of redundant or excess detail.  Many people think that the longer the application, the better chance at being accepted.  Although this is true to an extent, if you repeat the same thing over and over again as filler space for your application, it makes you look “try-hard” and if even looks like you didn’t put any time into reviewing your application.  Try your best to not repeat the same thing in your answers and to not include excessive detail.  

Also, one-word or one sentence answers for some questions aren’t very acceptable.  Give answers that you are sure will let the reader know more about you and what you have in mind.

If you feel like you’re at your writing limit and you don’t know what else to write, don’t write anymore.  This often leads to including redundant detail like I mentioned earlier.

I’ll go over this in depth later.

        Grammar:

Another very common mistake I see with applications is incorrect grammar, such as abbreviations, incorrect spelling, capitalization, punctuation, etc.  Using emoticons or smiley faces can fall into this category as well.  Using incorrect grammar makes you look immature, like you can’t do something as simple as writing a sentence.  Embarrassing to some, and even more embarrassing when you skip over something that might not seem very significant to you.

        Now here’s the fun part:  writing your answers for the application!  I’ll go over the good things to write and the bad things to write for each question.

        IGN:

        This is the most easiest question to answer.  All you have to do is write down your current IGN.  There is no need to include your past IGNs at all.  It’s okay to include your past IGN if you have had a very recent name change.  But, please do not include all of your past IGNs, we don’t really need to know that.

        Here’s a good example:

        Age:

        Many people ask if there is an age limit to applying.  The answer is there is no specific limit to applying, but maturity usually is a factor that steps in.  I doubt you’re very mature if you’re around nine years old, but I may be wrong.  (In that case, you’ll have to prove me wrong!)

        In this question, do not lie about your age.  You won’t get made fun of about it.  If you prefer to keep your age a secret (like I did when I applied,) that’s okay as well.  But remember, a requirement when applying is maturity.  Also, don’t provide your birthday.  We don’t need to know that.

        Here’s a good example:

        Timezone:

        If you don’t know what a timezone is, you’re either not very mature or you aren’t very well educated where you live.  But if you know what it is and you just aren’t very sure what it is where you live, you can easily Google it or ask someone.

        Generally, most applicants live in the United States, and I can help you out with this.  If you live in the Eastern part of the US (Virginia, New York, Florida), you live in EST.  If you live around the middle of the US (Texas, Illinois, Indiana), you live in CST.  If you live in the Western part of the US (Washington, Oregon, California), you live in PST.

        Including the (GMT+___) is optional.

        Here’s a good example:

        Do you fit the requirements?:

        It’s surprising how I find some people struggle with this question.

        Remember those requirements you read that I told you you should keep in mind?  How many of those apply to you?

        Don’t just vaguely say you fit the requirements.

        A bad example is:

        In this question, explain in depth how you fit every requirement.  If you don’t think you fit a certain requirement, explain how you think you don’t.  If you’d like, you can even write about how you’ll try to fit that missing requirement.

        A very common mistake is saying you have experience from watching Skeppy’s videos.  Just because you have watched Skeppy’s videos since the dinosaurs existed doesn’t give you activeness on the server.

        Here’s an example of an “I know Skeppy so that gives me tons of experience” answer:

        Here’s a better answer, after gaining actual experience on the server itself:

        How long have you been a part of InvadedLands?:

        This question doesn’t only ask how long you have been a part of InvadedLands.  In your answer, you should include your experience on the server itself and general things you have noticed about it.

        There are multiple factors about possible answers to this question that I am not very supportive of.

        First, you do not need to include ranks/buycraft prices.  The staff already know this, you don’t need to remind us.  Here’s an example of this:

        Instead, you can say something about your knowledge of donating to the server in order to get in-game perks such as ranks, keys, etc.  Including prices of items and the types of things you can get are examples of something that makes you look “try-hard.”  This is also seen when listing warps, events, current staff, etc.  You can briefly mention these topics instead of making full-blown paragraphs and lists of them.

        I won’t provide a specific good example for this because this section relies entire on you and your personal experience and knowledge of the server and its contents.

        What are your past punishments?:

        This is also fairly simple to answer, yet there are still some flaws I see in some applications with this question.  You do not need to explain what kind of punishments you can receive on the server, even if your answer looks like this:

        Sure, it’s great you know what kind of punishments there are on the server, but it’s not needed.

        Here’s a better example:

        In this case, it’s okay to include a very vague one-sentence answer because there isn’t much to explain.  If you have been punished in the past, however, you can explain what it was, but you don’t have to fully go in depth.

        Here’s an example of this:

        A better answer would be:

Be honest with this section as it can be checked for honesty.  If you are unsure of your past punishments, click here to check them.  Just search your name and it should show you your past punishments.

        What languages can you fluently speak?:

        If you read this question, it asks for what languages you can fluently speak.  If you know a few words from another language, you aren’t fluent in it so don’t state that you know those few words.  Here’s an example of that:

        State only the language(s) you are fluent in.  If you are learning a language, you can say so, but it isn’t necessary.

        Here’s a good example:

        What past moderating experience do you have?:

        I don’t have much to say about this section other than to be honest.  Include detail on the server(s) you have been staff on and what you did on those server(s).  If you resigned or were demoted from the server(s), explain how and why so.

        Here’s a good example:

Although the question asks for past moderating experience, there’s no problem  including more about staff experience in general.

Lastly, the question is very vague but it is asking more about experience on Minecraft servers.  Don’t include anything about staff experience in real life or in other video games, as it isn’t related to what you’re applying for.

Do you have a mic, and can talk?:

I have mentioned this before, but if you cannot talk, I don’t recommend applying because the verbal interview needed after being accepted is mandatory.

In this question, you don’t need to include what type of microphone you have unless it’s a nod to low quality or anything that you think will affect someone who will listen to you.

        Here’s a good example:

        Can you record video evidence of hackers at decent frames?:

        What does “decent frames” mean?

        If you can record little details in hackers like strange head movements, basically around 30fps or higher, then you have “decent frames.”  If your video capturing program goes lower than that, it’s arguable if you have decent frames.

        Just like the microphone question, you don’t have to include the type of recording program you use unless it’s a nod to low quality or anything you think will affect a viewer.

        Here’s a good example:

        Discord username and #:

        To find your Discord username and number, look to the bottom left corner of your Discord window.  Mine looks like this:

        For this question, you don’t need to add anything extra or anything, just simply state your username and number.

Step Three: Formatting

        Once you feel like you’ve completed the application, don’t hit submit just yet!

        Your application might be nice to read, but awful to look at.

        Text Factors:

        My first tip when it comes to formatting is to not change the default font, font size, or color of the text.  It’s best to maintain formality throughout your application instead of making it look like a rainbow mess.

        Don’t do this:

How are staff supposed to review your application if our eyes have already bled out?  Keep the text dark, preferably black.

        Also, don’t do this:

        Unless you have something wrong with your eyes where you need text to be larger, don’t make text larger.  It gets difficult to scroll through and read your application if you do that.

        Identifying Questions from Answers:

        To make it easier to identify your question from answers, boldface/underline the text or italicize your answers,  (Do both if you want!)

        Here’s some examples:

        If you don’t want to do either, you can do something called “indenting.”  This is where you leave some space from the margin to the beginning of a paragraph in order to identify the stop and start of something.

        This is also helpful when writing large paragraphs to avoid gigantic blocks of eye sores.

        In fact, I am using indenting right now.

_______ ⇽ Right here.  This space is an “indent.”

        In order to do this, just leave a few spaces before you start a new paragraph.  Pretty simple.

Step Four: Revising/Submitting

        Once you feel like you’re completely done, again, don’t submit it yet!

        Read through your application and make sure it’s looks good to you.  If you’d like, you can ask help from other players and ask for feedback before submitting.  It’s not really the best idea to send your application to staff first, but don’t be afraid to ask for permission for feedback!

        Before submitting (I know you’re eager to submit it, but hear me out, this is the last thing), press CTRL+A (in other words, select all of your application) and copy and paste it somewhere safe, just in case the forums bugs out and doesn’t submit your application.  If you’re paranoid about losing progress, you can even write your application somewhere else first (for example, here on Google Docs or in Notepad) then submit it later.

Step Five: Feedback

        Okay, NOW you can press submit!

Looking good!

Now just wait for the replies/comments to start rolling in.  Don’t expect loads of attention right as you post your application.  Some people receive feedback days later, so just be patient.

If someone has given you feedback and you would like to edit your application, please use the “edit” option on the upper right corner of your post.  Don’t make an entirely new post.  The edit button looks like this:

        When you’ve made an edit, you don’t have to announce it like some people do.  If you choose to announce it, don’t make an entirely new comment/post about it.  Use that edit feature again and include it either on the top or bottom of your application.

        Here’s an example of that:

        No problem, aricharmm!

        Don’t take feedback personally.  If you don’t agree with someone, just stay calm and collected and accept it as constructive criticism.

        Don’t demand criticism either, if people don’t want to do it, then don’t force them too.

        Lastly, wait for a reply from an admin to tell whether you are accepted or denied.  Another way to tell you’re accepted or denied is by checking the “Accepted” or “Denied” folders for your application.  They are located at the top of the “Staff Applications” thread..

If you’d like, you can look at other applications and maybe gain some inspiration from them.  It’s okay to leave feedback on those too.  Please do not copy other applications though, that’s just mean.

As time progresses, keep working on your activity on the forums and on the server, be respectful and courteous, and try your best!

        That’s all I have to say for now!  I hope you gained something from this post.  I’m also really proud of you for reading all those pages.  Take a heart from me. ♥

        I’ll be updating this post when I see something good to add.

        Good luck to all the applicants, and thanks for reading this post!

last edit: 5/13