Behind the scenes of a Retro Dev intake process.

Summary

This article explores the behind-the-scenes process of the Retro Dev application intake. We’ll cover all three stages of the hiring process, from the initial application to the arrival of new candidates, who may soon become full-time Administrators!

Beginning

To begin, the first step in the hiring process is setting up the application form and preparing for the upcoming intake. The questions must be reviewed and updated to remove outdated information or errors. Once the application is finalized, the next task is preparing the three essential forms used throughout the intake process. These forms are cleared and reformatted, ensuring they are ready for the new intake cycle.

The Team

Before we get into all the good stuff, let's go over the team responsible for reviewing applications and working behind the scenes during each intake process. In previous years, the entire administration team had a role in the intake process, but this has since changed. JoshAmour has restructured aspects of the staff team to add more organization to staff operations. Since this change, Supervisors have been the sole handlers of each intake process. There are four Supervisors, all of whom are involved in this process: Josh (JoshAmour), Gavin (THE_GAVINAT0R), Azan (azancool8266), and Tersis (9T2K).

Now that we know who is involved in this process, let's go over the three sheets we use throughout the process. The first important sheet is the application tracker. Once applications close, each applicant's Discord username is copied and pasted onto this sheet. To the right of each username are four different fields, marking each stage in the review process:

Stage 1 – Initial review

Stage 2 – Command voting phase

Stage 3 – Background checks

Finalization – Confirmation of successful applicants

Stage 1: Initial Review

We start at Stage 1, the review stage. Supervisor Josh goes through each application (sometimes with help from another Supervisor, depending on various factors), reading each one thoroughly. There are many different things to consider when reviewing applicants' responses.

The first and most obvious factor is age. We never hire anyone under the age of 15 and prefer applicants who are 16 or older. This factor alone eliminates a large portion of the applications submitted. If the applicant meets the age requirement, the next focus is on the quality of their responses.

Key elements reviewed include:

Answering the question correctly (if applicable) and with depth, confidence, and passion

Grammar, punctuation, length, repetition, and word usage

If an application meets the criteria and is well-written, it has the possibility to move on to Stage 2.

Stage 2: Command Voting

If an application reaches Stage 2, that applicant is now in a strong position to pass the process and become a candidate. If there is a set number of applications command is looking to accept, the number of applicants that make it to Stage 2 is usually a few more than that number—typically by about five to ten applications.

Stage 2 consists of a command voting phase, where the other three Supervisors enter the process. Applicants who passed Stage 1 are copied and pasted onto the command voting sheet. Next to each applicant’s username are four dropdown boxes, each assigned to a specific Supervisor. These dropdown boxes allow Supervisors to pass or deny an applicant based on their submission.

To pass this stage, an applicant must receive a majority vote, meaning at least three out of four Supervisors must vote in favor of passing them. Discussions take place throughout this process to ensure the best decisions are made.

Stage 3: Background Checks

Once voting is finalized and applicants are selected, they move on to Stage 3, the most important part of the process—the background check. While minor checks occur during Stage 2, this stage involves a more in-depth review.

Key checks include:

References: If an applicant lists previous moderation experience with references, we attempt to contact those references, provided they still hold the stated position in that community. This is verified through a Roblox profile check. If references are unavailable, we move to the next method.

Activity Analysis: We use an internal tool that tracks and graphs an applicant’s cumulative badge count over time, providing insights into their level of activity.

Developer Review: A Developer conducts an additional background check to gain further insight into the applicant’s activity within RetroStudio.

Other methods are used throughout this stage, but these are a couple notable methods.

The End

If all goes well, we’ll have a great group of new candidates ready to start their journey within the Retro Dev staff team! However, passing the intake process is just the beginning. Candidates must still prove themselves during both their candidacy and trial phases before becoming full-time Administrators.

All in all, it’s a thorough and structured process, but one that ensures we bring in the best possible team members. And that’s the full breakdown of our Retro Dev application process behind the scenes!