Best Posts in Thread: So You Wanna Be MeepStaff? (Unofficial Tips for Prospective Staff)

So you want to be a member of staff, eh? Before you consider it, stop. Think. Ask yourself, "Why am I fit to be staff? Am I doing this for the glory, or do I have something to contribute to the community?" And if the latter is more important to you, then you might just be in the right place.

Before I begin, note that this is not a replacement for @Courtneyyy's wonderful guides written here and here. Read these first! They overrule anything that I say here. This guide is not an end-all guide to applications... but hopefully it offers some perspective into what I looked for when I helped choose new staff back in 'nam, and what the community looks for. Hopefully it will help you all out too.

MeepCraft has a large player base. It may not seem like it now, but I guarantee you that there are a large number of Meepers out there that you may not see on a day-to-day basis for various reasons. Many old Meepers are lurkers on the forums, and so most of the players on this server have no idea who you are. So, in your applications, when you introduce yourself, make sure that you act as such... like we have no idea who you are. When I and other members of the community read your applications, we want to feel like we know you after you've written your application, regardless of whether or not we've ever met you in-game... so sure, tell us about your experience in-game, but also remind us that you're human... when you tell us why you want to be staff, give us something to connect to by telling us about your passions, what you do IRL, what your goals are, etc.

You are applying for an occupation. The MeepStaff want to know that you're going to be serious about your job, regardless of which position you end up applying for. As such, your application should be professional, because (in my experience) our first impression of you is generally going to be this application. Did you spell-check your work? Did you use proper grammar? Did you go into detail, or did you give us one-line answers? These are all things that the community looks at (or at least I do) when giving recommendations. Why? It shows us that you put time into your application. It shows us that you thought long and hard about applying, and your decision to petition the staff for a position wasn't made on a whim. As such, it is imperative that your application is professional. Avoid editing by thoroughly checking your application before you submit it, for while edits are not cause for an auto-deny, this shows that you are capable of being sure of yourself. One note on this: if you put time into your application, you will use this skill in the future when you apply for jobs later on in life. I definitely speak from experience when I say this.

Your skillset is important. In your applications, it's extremely important that you know what your strengths are... in detail. It is definitely an honor to be a member of the staff... and it's something that you earn through service. So, what makes you stand out? Why are you better than the next candidate? Why do you deserve that +1 from the members of the community? Unless things have changed, staff doesn't strictly use the community votes to determine whether or not someone gets an interview, but they definitely take the community into consideration. This server cannot afford to have mediocre staff... so tell all of us what makes you a superior candidate.

The knowledge of your weaknesses is important. Even more important than the weaknesses themselves is your ability to acknowledge that you have them. As a staff member, you will make mistakes. It's part of the learning process. But what's most important is how you recover from these. How can the staff know that you have the ability to think in the moment, if you can't even assess your own weaknesses? Convince us that you are continually striving to become a better person, a better player, a better member of the community by giving us some insight into what you are working on now.

Details (Revisited). I've mentioned it before, and I'll do it again: give us the details. If the application form asks for your experiences, give us a specific scenario. If you're asked for your strengths, give us specific projects that you've worked on. If you've been asked to talk about your weaknesses, include an action plan for self-improvement! Many of us in the community become apathetic when presented with boring, generic, or abstract applications... so tell us your story.

Be Genuine. And be courteous. These are the most important. Make sure that if you're going to take the time to write an application, you're acting the part in-game as well. And on apps like Discord, for that matter. And if you are having trouble being genuine on your application because your personality is toxic in-game or on Discord... then frankly, staff is not for you.

Obviously, this is not a comprehensive guide to applications. Nevertheless, I hope that this helps brings a little bit of light to the community's take on applications. They're more than a "formal introduction"... rather, they're the door through which you can fulfill your potential as a truly awesome member of this esteemed community.