I’ve never been around to see my blood. Residing in the insular world of my pod, I can scarcely recall a cut, scrape or wound. There tend to be two extremes with regard to the health of which ever clone is currently in my pod. Either the pod is whole and I’m as sound as a space whale in a gravimetric anomaly or I’m out there, quietly floating and bumping into your pod. Unlike my ship, and to some extent my mental state of being, there is no shield, armor or structure on my clone. When the pod finally cracks, I am a corpsicle.
Given the relative lack of hematological comprehension, it could explain some of the trouble that good corporations have recruiting quality employees. Though certainly not the only issue, it has an effect on how a corporation views its staff and how it might view potential recruits. Those corporations that operate with the majority of their membership being older players may have lost some of the visceral implications that getting destroyed engenders. These old blood players are good, solid, reliable and for the most part trustworthy members of the corporation, but they ultimately can’t remember what it was like to see ten thousand isk in their wallet and think that whatever they did to get it was worth it. It happens to everyone, despite attempts to “always remain young” and to “keep it real” the older members simply have a different outlook. Not good or bad, just different. Thus there are two issues: the offerings of the corporation itself and what the individual pilots bring to the system.
With respect to recruiting, it is important to understand [or at the very least be cognizant of] this difference in approach, philosophy and even bankroll for a new pilot. Jaded and older players may see less use and appeal in free frigates and jump clones. They may not be willing to fly with people that just can’t fit a T2 armed and armored ship. It is outside of their preferred play style and comfort zone. They aren’t against offering helpful advice or helping with various activities on an ad hoc basis, but it is not their primary focus or feel. It may be hard to get them interested in recruiting, even in the face of overwhelming decline in numbers or attitudes.
Several different approaches to recruiting exist and all of them have merits and problems. In the context of getting your existing players on board with the programme, it is even more necessary that goals and directions be clearly defined. Expectations need to be established [and met] before there will be corporate buy-in. There have been several good articles written on teamwork, corporate organization and procedure. There are also several good articles about finding a corporation for pilots, old and new alike. This is all well and good, but often I’ve noticed that corporations themselves don’t have a clear plan for recruiting. The clarity of purpose, expectations and drive are often limited, confused or unrealistic. They don’t know how to properly interview candidates for applicable fit. The interview with a prospective is as much or more concerned with how the corporation fits the prospective pilot, and not about what the pilot can bring to the hangar.
While it is important to help a prospect understand what the corporation is doing, where the holes in membership currently are, what other pilots are flying, it is more important to seek out what a future member’s needs are. What are they interested in doing and is that something your corporation can commit to? Do they need ships? Income? Community? Stability? Low-sec/high-sec/null-sec? Power and prestige? Skills? If they have a hard time finding purpose in EVE, they are likely to be unsatisfied with everything until they do. People tend to gravitate toward a comfortable niche. Your corporation either needs to find out what their niche is or be the corporation to increase their understanding of their niche.
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