As an officer (and now GM) of a raiding guild I have seen the good, the bad, the downright lazy in terms of applications and also trials so I thought I would write this article to outline what is really expected of you as a applicant and trialist.

Applying to a Guild

The most important thing to remember, especially when applying to a serious raiding guild is that you need to sell yourself, you’re trying to get across all of your strong points in the 5-10 questions that most guilds will ask you. Here is a list of key points for you;

1. Do Your Research - make sure the guild is a fit for you, pst an officer or guild member and chat about raid times, expectations and make sure it all fits your circumstances. Nobody likes having their time wasted and this will definately decrease your chances of getting into the guild in the future should your circumstances change.
2. Use the Template – if the guild has an application template or form use it, simply posting and officer with “I pwn and would like an invite” will get you a great mixture of flames and laughter.
3. Follow the Template – if the guilds application form has 10 questions, answer 10. If for some reason you cant answer all 10 you need to give a reason why not.
4. Be Careful with your Answers – Think about what you are writing, if they ask what kinds of buff food you eat, dont just say “I eat the fish feast that is dropped” , this sends a message that you are not willing to farm food yourself. A better response would be “I farm for my own fish feasts and am happy to drop for raid but I also use [food] because it is the best increase of DPS for my spec”.
5. Take your time and put in the Effort – it is very obvious to me when reading an application who took 2 minutes and who thought it through and spent 15minutes. If you cant afford the time to prepare a well written application then again you’re sending a message that you’re not committed.
6. References - Even if they do not ask you for references I suggest you put in a couple of people (hopefully in the guild) who can vouche for your skills.
7. Check for Updates – Quite often in applications questions will be asked and feedback given, check the application regularly and respond as required.
8. Feedback and Criticism – You are likely to get suggestions about your gear, spec, chants. Take it all on board and learn from it, nothing wrong with clearly stating your choices but make sure your right otherwise most guilds will simply decline your app lol

A couple of sites that you may find useful;

http://www.worldoflogs.com – you can upload combat logs for free to link in your apps.
http://imageshack.us/ – upload your screenshots.

Your Trial Period

So you ripped it up in the application and got a trial, make sure you understand the obligations and expectations of your trial, ask questions and get all the information you need to do your best. Ok some trial points for you;

1. Know Your Lead – if you dont already know find out who is responsible for your trial. Guilds work differently, some have Class Leaders, some have Ranged/Tank/Heal/Melee Leaders so work out who is going to be making the decision on your trial.
2. Talk to your Lead – As a leader I love when a trialist asks me questions about how you as a trialist can help the guild and raid.
3. Self Analysis & Discussion – At the end of a raid ask your lead if he’s got a few minutes to chat, outline to them how you think you went, positives and negatives and ask them for feedback. If nothing else this will provide you with something to work on but it also keeps you at the front of the minds in regards to being aware of how you’re doing and hopefully moving your trial along.
4. Role Up – It’s amazing how many trialists dont meet the raiding requirements! If you are a trialist I would expect +80% attendance, you are trying to impress remember.
5. Professionalism – dont be a dick, dont tell the other people in the guild how to suck eggs, dont be a smart arse, do your job and do it well. If you think somebody else can improve their performance talk to them subtly. Come to raids prepared with appropriate specs, food, flasks and anything needed.
6. Contribute to the Guild - get involved, a lot of a trial comes down to how well you fit into the guild, do dailies, do fun runs in Naxx, help others to gear up etc etc.
7. Work on your own Gear – if you are joining the guild undergeared you should be doing everything to gear yourself up through emblem gear, older raids that you are allowed to pug etc etc

If you follow these steps and you are not fail you should do well in your trial and be promoted quickly.