Your ways of hiring moderators

First topic message reminder :

I'm interested in creating my own gaming forum. I know something like hiring extra staff members won't be an issue for an extended period of time, but I'm curious as to how other forum owners and administrators hire staff members for their forums?

I always look at the members of the community who are consistently active and tend to follow the rules. I'll build a list of candidates, and watch them for a couple months. If they still are active and seem competent for the job, I'll ask them if they are interested in a moderator position. I never hire admins without giving them a mod position first.

That is a great talk subject.
76% of founders make a simple topic ,where staff can make a request ,that isn't a great ideea because more pleople want to destroy you foru.

When I hire new staff , I monitorize user activity ,after that if it's ok ,I talk and with actual staff , when him is readyfrom my opinion I talk and with de group moderator.
If him want in his group ,the user will recive a Private Message if him accept to enter is staff

Normally,

I monitor their behavior, progress and overall activity on the site. I then will consult and see if we actually need the staff. I mean I don't know how many forums have around 5 moderators when at most you'll see the occasional double post or inappropriate comment. I'm a great believer in not hiring anyone unless we actually need moderators as then the mod title seems more of a "I'm a higher rank than you" title rather than someone who is their to keep the forums clean and running smoothly.

So yes,

I generally look for those who are active and discuss with my fellow staff.

I use a simple application form which is sent to myself via PM.

The information I want back is:

- IP Address:
- Name:
- Location:
- Timezone:
- Age:
- What can you bring to the role as a moderator?
- Have you any experience?
- Hours available?
- Brief description about you as a person:
- Personal statement:

I also add a clause which is this:

All information is mandatory. Any information submitted with your application which is found to be false or in any way misleading will result in the immediate refusal of any said application.

I use a simple application form, and I only promote staff, I never directly hire an important position such as a Moderator, unless I have prior experience with them, or seen their talents.
I proceed to ask people in possible lower ranks, such as a service position, then I ask them to do a probation period.

I have to know the person IRL (in real life) and have to be able to trust them in real life, If my mods dont ever log on then they go bye bye from being a mod they need to be able to have commitment If they pop on every other day im fine with that but if its like every other week maybe they get a PM asking to come back often! to me having a mod rank is like being a parent you have to be there you have to be a good parent to the members your their mom/dad and you have to lay down the law when they mess up.

Definitely trust comes first, with general activity and reputation around the forum following.

I made the mistake of hiring somebody untrustworthy but extremely active and reputable on a forum I administer and it has become a rather big mistake since they had disparaging goals in mind - accomplished them and haven't been heard from since.

My advice to anybody here; make sure you really know potential moderators on a personal level to the point you know you can really trust them rather than hiring moderators based on activity alone.

I give a Applications with requirements with questions. Some of the questions are from forum rules,ad rules,main site rules,etc. from a range of (1 - 9+) Maybe some extended questions that require research and fix some points that were missed. Some of my admin staff will be recruiters and grade and lock applications if denied or accepted. Before the app automatically gets denied. The person must get at these 5 thanks/likes or at least 3 posts of support and why he/she would be a moderator. If they don't meet those requirements, they will be denied. All high point apps with high thanks and supports will be placed in the Staff Lobby with the list of 5 - 10 tops apps to review. Maybe top 3 will have a poll or something.

I use a small application form that they send to me through PM, then I give them limited power for a trial period and monitor their activity, if I see no sign of abusing their power or breaking of rules then I will give them the correct level of power. I will however still monitor their activity. I also have no tolerance for breaking the rules, I always make sure that they are aware of the rules and that they know the consequences of breaking them which is instant stripping of the title and power. May sound a little mean but hey, they gotta learn lol

I PMed members that are deserving and trustworthy. Experience is also a MUST when looking for moderators.

first option is hiring someone that you know personally that have qualification, 2nd option from forum member of course!

I keep my staff low! I can't stand a foum with a ton of staff. I'll start off with me, a co-admin and a mod. I'll only hire 2 or 3 more staff if we get very active. Usually, the members who have been on the site all along will become staff.
-JM

It depends how much staff are needed at a particular position. If I really need a position filled I will "recruit" them from abroad, I monitor their movements, reputation, skill level and stuff like that and then usually I pm them offering a position to them, I never recruit or hire for Super Moderators or Administrators, those positions are earned and based on a high level of trust. Once I feel there enough staff to keep things going I stop recruiting and switch to application only, or monitor a really active member of the forum.