Applying to a Server 5th guild

One of the not very well known aspects of being in a top 10 (Also know as a server 5th) guild is the application process.

If you want to be in a guild that gets it done you have to prove that you will be an asset to the guild in getting those goals completed.

Its kind of a catch 22. If you have killed the cutting edge content, you are probably in a guild at the same level and don't want to leave it and start over from scratch. If you haven't killed the cutting edge content, then why would we want you? Its like the job that won't hire you without experience, but how do you get experience without the job?

The only way is to prove yourself. And if you want even a chance to prove yourself you need to have a good application.

I know of no top 10 guilds that just let people in to raid without applying to the position. In my guild we have a friends and family rank where we do invite anyone in who is a friend of an established member but if that person ever decides they want to raid they still have to throw in an app.

You have to think of the app as the interview. You want to be as appealing as possible so we pick you over anyone else.

First thing you need to do is do some reading. Go find out what is the best spec for your class. Find out why some talents are better than others and what ones you can swap around. Learn what stats are best and what the optimal rotation (or priority) for your spells are.

Second you need to go out and min/max your gear. Is all of your gems and enchants the best possible for your spec? Have you bought all the upgrades you can from the AH or the badge vendor? Is there an instance you can farm or a pug raid you can get into to get just a little bit better in your gear. You have put forth obvious effort to get the best gear you can and then (and only then) how under geared you are doesn't matter.

Oh and do not mention gear score. GS is a horrible addon that lets people be lazy and lazy doesn't cut it in a top 10 guild. Put it this way, I play a Death Knight and because we ran ulduar so much we were disenchanting lots of gear. I decided to "buy" spell power gear that would otherwise be disenchanted by paying an abyss crystal to the gbank for each piece I got. I ended up with a 5100gs SPELL POWER set for my dk when the highest possible was 5600gs. I had over 2k spell power without gems or enchants. My dps in that gear was worse than a tank. I could get into any pug raid or group with that gear score and be the worst performer there.

Top ten guilds don't care about your gear score they care about your performance.

Third, learn the encounters. Top 10 guilds want people who are ready to go. We do explain the fight before the first pull of the night on most nights, but we expect to not have to hold your hand. The more prepared you can show yourself to be, the better your chances. That means reading strats, watching videos and checking out forum discussions on the encounters.

Now that you have done all that you are ready to put in an application.

Some tips:
Treat this like a job application.
Don't just throw down any answer that comes to your head. Think it through, take your time.
Make it aesthetically pleasing .
Make sure there is no walls of text.
Do not use leet speak or chat words.
USE SPELLCHECK.
Be concise, but get your point across.
One word answers are useless in most cases.

Applications like this one are entertaining but will never get you a spot in a top 10 guild.

The effort you put into an application is an indicator of the effort you will put into the raids. Make sure that effort paints you in a good light not a bad one.