Applying to a guild

Overview

The guild application is a four-step form. It's how a guild decides whether to admit you as a reviewer, and it's the only piece of your writing that your future peers will read before you start voting. Take it seriously.

All four steps auto-save to your browser's local storage as you go, so you can safely close the tab and come back. You can't reopen the application on a different device mid-flow — the draft lives in local storage, not on the backend.

Step 1 — Personal information

The basics:

• Full name. Your real name or a consistent pseudonym. Guilds vary in how strict they are; some require real names, others accept long-standing online handles with public track records.
• Email. Used for status notifications. Not shared with other experts.
• LinkedIn URL and portfolio URL. At least one is required. This is the only external signal reviewers have that you actually do the work you claim.
• Resume upload. Optional but strongly recommended. PDFs under 5MB.
• Expertise areas. Multi-select chips for your declared specialties inside the guild's domain.

Step 2 — Professional background

Context about your career and why you want to be in this guild:

• Expertise level. Junior, Mid, Senior, Staff, and so on — guild-specific options. Be honest; claiming a level above your actual experience surfaces quickly during the first few reviews.
• Years of experience in the field.
• Current job title and company — optional for people who prefer not to disclose employer.
• Professional bio. A short summary of your work. Keep it under 300 words.
• Motivation statement. Why you want to join this specific guild. Generic "I like vetting" answers do poorly; specifics do well.

Step 3 — Application questions

The heart of the application. Four general questions every guild asks, plus a set of level-specific domain questions loaded based on the expertise level you selected.

The four general questions are:

1. Learning from failure. Describe a real project where something went wrong and what you took from it.
2. Decision-making under uncertainty. Describe a call you made with incomplete information and how you reasoned about it.
3. Motivation and conflict. Describe a professional conflict and how you handled it.
4. How you'd improve the guild. Tactical suggestions are valued more than generic praise.

Step 4 — Review and sign

The review step shows everything you've entered in a read-only format. This is your last chance to catch typos or factual errors — once you submit, you can't edit an in-flight application.

When you click Sign & submit, your wallet opens for a verification signature. This is a cryptographic proof that you control the wallet attached to the submission. It's gasless — you're signing a message, not sending a transaction.

After you submit

Your application lands in the guild's review queue with status pending. You'll see it on the /expert/application-pending page. Guild admins review applications in batches — turnaround depends on guild size and volume, typically within a week.

Possible outcomes:

• Approved. The full expert sidebar unlocks and you can start reviewing candidates immediately.
• Rejected. You'll get a reason and a suggested timeline for reapplication (usually 30–90 days).
• Needs more info. A guild admin will leave a comment asking for clarification. You can respond without restarting the application.

Picking the right guild

If you genuinely span two domains (e.g. security and backend), apply to one first, establish a track record, and then apply to the second. Applying to multiple guilds simultaneously dilutes your reputation gains early on and can flag you as non-serious to admins.

Each guild publishes its rubric publicly. Read the rubric for the guilds you're considering before you apply — if the rubric doesn't match how you'd actually evaluate work in your field, the guild probably isn't a fit.