Protect all the anime-chans, and give them good memories.

Edit: Applications will close on Sunday, March 5th at midnight PST. (That’s American west coast time.) If you want to apply, get your application in by then. We may allow a small grace period, but I wouldn’t risk it if I were you.

Edit p2: I sent an email to everyone who’s applied and whose application I have. If you didn’t get an email from me, get a hold of me however you can—stilts(at)randomc(dot)net, stiltsoutloud(at)gmail(dot)com, @stiltsoutloud, carrier pigeon, smoke signal, sending spell—before the deadline. Thank you.

Edit p3: Applications are now CLOSED. Thank you to all who applied. We’ll contact the lucky new minion(s) writer(s) within the next week or so.

Edit p4: Our new writers have been chosen. If you applied and requested feedback from me, check your email—you should have it now. If not, email me again and I’ll get back to you. Thanks for your time!

It’s been a while since we did one of these, hasn’t it? Well, it’s time for another go. In this the year 2017, the year of the apocalypse (probably), what could be more fun than spending your time prattling on about anime? If that doesn’t seem crazy to you, then you’re my kind of broken, and this may be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.

We’re looking for one or two more bloggers to add to our staff. Does this mean that a current writer is leaving? Maybe, maybe not, but either way our current stable of writers is getting long in the tooth, and I like an occasional shot of fresh blood to energize the staff. Also, to feed off of, because we’re all zampires. Mmm, fresh blood.

The Deal

The new writer(s) will be expected to cover two shows for their first season (to avoid overwhelm), ramping up to whatever they think they can handle once they’re in the swing of things. They will also be expected to contribute to important posts such as the season previews. We will train you in all the ins and outs, so if you’ve never used WordPress or Photoshop, don’t worry. Here are the most important attributes we’ll be looking for in a new writer:

  • Timeliness. RandomC made its name blogging shows as soon as they’re released. We want to keep that legacy going strong.
  • Consistency. We need to be able to trust that you’ll get your posts out on time each and every week, and that they’ll be of consistent quality. That means you need to be prepared to write on days you may not feel like it.
  • Writing skill. You need to have good written English skills, preferably college/university level.
  • Personality. No one likes reading posts by boring automatons. Knowing how to inject personality into your writing will not only make your writing better, it will help you distinguish yourself from the other applicants.

Those are the biggest requirements. Pay special attention to timeliness and consistency—life happens, and (nearly) every writer has had to miss a post or two, but those times should be rare exceptions, not the rule. Blogging for Random Curiosity is a big commitment, and likely bigger than you expect, so if whoever we recruit ends up not working out, we may decide to part ways in a season or two. Likewise, if blogging here ends up being more than you can handle, you can opt to bow out at the end of any season with no ill-will. We’ll understand, and a classy exit is always better than plowing ahead until you break.

If I were to describe the person we’re looking for, he or she will have firm control over their personal schedule. Students are fine, but if you’re going to go AWOL every semester during exam time, you might want to reconsider. They will have an insightful and objective outlook on anime, while still having a clear, unique voice. They’ll have diverse tastes and a solid anime background, though we do occasionlly recruit a genre specialist. They’ll believe that you can take something seriously and still have fun with it, because make no mistake, writing for RandomC is basically an unpaid part-time job (though it’s still fun). They will always act professionally, do their part with a minimum of fuss, respond to vital team communication within 24 hours, and be a team player who is a pleasure to work with.

Understanding Japanese enough to watch anime raw is a bonus. Prior experience writing publicly, using WordPress, or taking screen captures in Photoshop is a bonus. Being a cool person we want to work with is a requirement.

The Application

If you’re interested, send an email to application(at)randomc(dot)net with the title RandomC Application. If you’re worried that it won’t go through, feel free to cc stilts(at)randomc(dot)net, divine(at)randomc(dot)net, and cherrie(at)randomc(dot)net. Include the following:

  • Your anime background/history (e.g. how you got into it, what some of your favorite series are, favorite genres, etc). Please be brief, and include your MyAnimeList or Anime-Planet profile.
  • Why you want to blog for this site.
  • Anything you think that will make us interested or excited about working with you.
  • A sample post on the most recent episode of any currently airing anime.
  • A batch of 36 screen captures (zipped) from the same episode your sample post is on.

If you’ve applied before, please email us again with a new application and sample post, so we know you’re still interested. And I encourage you to do so! We have writers on staff right now who had to apply multiple times to get in, because even smart, clever, handsome people like yours truly (also, humble) don’t always recognize a good thing the first time around.

Please submit your application and sample post as soon as possible. We will close applications once we feel we’ve gotten too many. I’d guess we’ll hold them open for at least a week, to give time for a new episode of every show to air, but after that, who knows. And yes, I know that not having a concrete deadline is annoying, but we’ve gotten swamped with applications before, and none of us have time to deal with that. In recognition of that, we’ll be allowing a 1-2 day grace period once we signal that applications are closing, so if you’re planning to apply, keep checking this post for updates. We’ll edit the top of the post with the final deadline when we know it.

If you’re interested in writing for Random Curiosity, I encourage you to apply, even if you’re not 100% the ideal person I described above. Passion counts for a lot, and in the end our decision will come down to both who we think will do a good job, and who we want to work with. Good luck, and I look forward to having one or more of you join the team.

Bonus: Stilts’ Advice

For anyone applying, here’s a little advice. Every time, we get a ton of applications, and nearly all of them start the same way: “I wasn’t into anime, then I saw [insert anime here] (usually DBZ, Naruto, or Bleach), and now I watch a ton!” And let me tell you, after reading the same damn thing over and over again, it all blurs together.

As Stephen King once said, “The most important things to remember about back story are that (a) everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn’t very interesting.” If your anime origin story isn’t all that interesting (mine isn’t either), keep it short, and then tell us something about yourself that is interesting. Less is more, and big empty paragraphs will bore us to sleep. I don’t mind telling you that I made the same mistake when I pitched to Div, but I wasn’t competing against anyone. You are.

Do the same thing with your blog post as well. Remember, you’re selling yourself to us. Don’t be boring. Also, if you would like feedback on your application, include a request in your application. (Address it to me, please—only I’m offering this.) The first time we did this I gave feedback to everyone who applied, but I don’t have that kind of time anymore. I’ll try to get back to anyone who asks, though. Thank you, and good luck!

97 Comments

  1. Hope for the best,
    Man, I still remember the days when Omni was still around; how long has Random Curiosity been around I wonder. I thank the people that are keeping this site alive. This is my top reference to look for good anime

    L002
      1. I am surprised, I didn’t know he was only 13 years old during 2004, so he must be 26 right now. Happy Birthday to him, I thank him for starting this site, this is the only blog I look for good anime, don’t know any other good ones (especially since this blog is well organized to tell which anime is recently completed)

        L002
  2. The more the merrier! My only qualms with RC is sometimes you guys missed covering some solid shows because of manpower. This should solve that problems and please, cover more under-appreciated shows because with popular shows we can read them anywhere.

    tombeet
  3. Timeliness: RandomC made its name blogging shows as soon as they’re released. We want to keep that legacy going strong.

    Consistency: We need to be able to trust that you’ll get your posts out on time each and every week, and that they’ll be of consistent quality. That means you need to be prepared to write on days you may not feel like it.

    This should be emphasized and thoroughly monitored… Seriously, I get that writers can have other engagements and might skip a release, but this needs to be exceptions, not a frequent occurence.

    Look, I’m talking from a viewer perspective, so I can’t talk about how hard a blogger’s job is, but for the time I’ve been on this site, I’ve witnessed several issues with the schedule. Here are 3 examples that come to mind:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    This needs to stop… If shows are getting covered, they need to be consistent. Yes, I understand that it requires commitment, but it needs to be mentionned. Maybe tell would-be writers how much time they should spend on one episode. Is it 2 hours? 4 hours? 6 hours? By giving an example of workload, that probably will give a good way to gauge how to organize your time on this site.

    A blogger cannot work here if he or she has 2 jobs, school, homeworks, volunteering, medical appointments, family reunions, business meetings AND personal projects. Come on now…

    MrJechgo
    1. 1. It’s not uncommon for writers to stop blogging a season/cour of an anime if they aren’t available/don’t want to. I did it with the 2nd season of Owari no Seraph, but at least Durarara!! got the coverage that it did. There’s plenty of split-cour shows that end up getting a different writer mid-way through, but sometimes it can’t happen.

      2. Fairy Tail and One Piece are both long-running shonen that were blogged because writers who were part of the site during those times were massive fans of both. If I wasn’t here to finish covering Bleach, the same thing would have happened when Prooof stopped his coverage. There’s no point in someone who isn’t a true fan of these long running manga committing to years worth of blogging for those titles.

      3. I’m pretty sure the writer you are referring to is no longer part of the site… so yeah.

      As Stilts says, it’s much more of a commitment than people may expect. But if they have the passion and willingness to commit it shouldn’t be a problem considering the payoff that comes from putting your work out there and interacting with the RC community.

      Samu
    2. I can attest to the blogging commitment, but the time required is different for everyone. For example I spend right now 3-5 hours per post, with the majority (~2 hours) spent on capping and setting the post up for publishing (links, editing, uploading caps, etc.) because I usually watch the episode twice. I find the writing goes quickest for me, but others can struggle getting something out fast.

      This is why Stilts never lists any tangible time commitment, it basically boils down to personal opinion of one’s abilities. Hell, sometimes you won’t even know if you’re up to it until you are given the responsibility. Labelling this a part-time job is about as best a description as you can give to writing for RC.

      1. Keep up the good work! I’ve always wondered how long people spend on these posts lol. That’s why I can imagine it being stressful for some if real life gets in the way of doing it and you have readers expecting something out quickly.

        Lyfe
    3. So, MrJechgo. First of all, what Samucchi and Pan-chan said on all that. I’ll elaborate on a couple of things though.

      1) We let writers cover what they want. Sure, I try to bully people into covering stuff I feel needs it, but at root, we let everyone cover what they want. No one gets paid, so why would they want to cover something they hate? Which brings us to…

      2) None of us get paid. We still try to do our work well, because anything worth doing is worth doing well, but please remember that you don’t have to pay anything to read this site and we don’t make anything writing for it. That doesn’t excuse something like #3, but it explains why we don’t have any tools to force people to comply, other’n their honor, their goodwill, and me yelling. We don’t gots much carrot, and we don’t have any stick.

      In short, while I don’t disagree with most of what ya said, cut us some slack please. The others get enough of me harping on them about post times and whatnot without hearing it from readers too 😛

      1. I apologize if this came out as a personal attack, that wasn’t my intention 🙁

        I’m just saying that blogging a show shouldn’t be taken lightly, as it takes a lot of discipline to commit oneself to a show, or more, or else everything falls apart. I know that you’re not getting paid for this, which brings me back to the “shouldn’t be taken lightly” part.

        MrJechgo
  4. I have neither the time nor the skill needed for the job, but good luck for anyone applying!

    That said, things have becoming rather slow in most aniblogging verse — RC included — so I hope the new blood would inject the much needed energy for the next season. I miss the time when hundreds comments posts are (slightly) common.

    zeroyuki92
  5. Good luck to all the applicants, and as some positive encouragement, just know I applied twice before and was rejected both times. Only when Stilts later contacted me out of the blue did I land a spot here 😛

    If you have the skills and really have an interest send off an application, you have more of a chance than you think.

    1. @Stilts
      Yeah 1.5 sounds right, it was only a year’s delay after all 😛

      @Cherrie
      You’re the first that’s actually thought that, I never even considered the similarity lol.
      Funnily enough too I have looked around for a different avatar, but nothing really fits as well as this one. Who knew finding non-food pancake art could be so challenging.

  6. An important point in the write-up above is this:
    “Passion counts for a lot, and in the end our decision will come down to both who we think will do a good job, and who we want to work with.”

    Stilts mentions that we get a lot of applications and after a while, emails start to blur together. Having a distinctive voice is good and being able to really showcase your personality through either your application write-up or your sample post is a huge plus. Most of the time, we just want to hire someone we want to work with but it’s hard to see that if we can’t gauge your personality. It’s not always evident in our posts, but as a group of writers, we do talk a lot and get along well.
    We encourage everyone that wants to write or is passionate about anime or just wants to meet more people that have the same interests to apply. Don’t worry about being judged or if English isn’t your first language etc., we’ve hired many people in the past that didn’t think they could do it =) You never know until you try and if you ever just want to chat for feedback, we’re open for that too.

  7. I have noticed that Randomc is lacking writers wanting to cover certain shows aimed at female demographics, like Super Lovers and a fair few others. I kinda get that shows like that will attract homophobia from some readers, but it’s something missing on Randomc for quite some time. You’re quite well covered when it comes to fantasy, mecha, action etc but nothing really in this area.

    Credit to Samu for covering Yuri!!! on Ice, and Guardian Enzo for Shonen Maid. I’m sure there’s more examples out there, but those are the first that came to mind.

    I don’t blame the staff for the lack of coverage, at the end of the day you’ll only cover what you want to write about. This is why It’d be nice to see someone who wants to do these shows.

    Lyfe
    1. Admittedly, it is a bit of a sausage-fest around here, but at the same time I think there are plenty of shows that females may enjoy that don’t feature a gay lead. I mean, it’s not like men only watch shows starring lesbians, right?

      Don’t answer that.

    2. @Lyfe

      First of all, if something we do pisses off homophobic assholes, GOOD. Do it more, says I.

      We are aware of the gap there. It’s an annoying issue, actually, because we have one of those un-virtuous cycles going. Since we don’t tend to cover those kinds of shows, we don’t get as many readers who like ’em, which means when it comes time to recruit we don’t have as many applicants who like ’em, much less want to specialize in them, so they don’t get covered, and so on.

      We are going to be paying a bit more attention to that this time, which doesn’t insure we’ll recruit someone for that niche (it depends on who applies), but if a stellar writer were to apply saying they wanted to cover stuff like SUPER LOVERS, I’d say they have a pretty good shot. Mostly ’cause they’re apparently a stellar writer, haha, but the other doesn’t hurt.

    3. You know, I consider myself pretty open to doing shows aimed at either gender, neither or both. There are jousei and shoujo series near the top of my list every year, or at least most. But I don’t think that means every show aimed at females is equally deserving of coverage. You cite Super Lovers as an example, and I think there are some huge reasons independent of who the target demo is why that’s a show that doesn’t deserve much attention. And there’s certainly a cycle of extremely generic otome game adaptations that seems never-ending.

      Bottom line for me – the determining factor should be the quality of the writing and production, not the demographic or genre. I like to see RC covering as many good shows as possible, period – I don’t think anything else enters into it for me.

  8. How do you guys do screencaps for the site? Is it just Print Screen -> save in Paint or whatever -> upload a la WordPress?

    I mean, you guys are covering everything I’m watching this season and then some (except Gintama, somebody get on that), so I’m not sure I’d be a good fit. I’m just curious.

    Guile
    1. Depends on how we’re watching the show. We don’t do anything as cumbersome as using print screen, though. That’d take forever to get the 36 caps we need, and that’s only if we didn’t take extras, which most of us do, lol

      Don’t count yourself out if you want to do it. We might have someone leaving who is covering something you’re watching, or someone who would have covered something else if you’d been there to cover one of their shows. (Unless all you’re watching is KonoSuba, in which case BACK OFF MAN, THAT’S MINE!)

      The only good reasons are “I don’t have time” (which actually means “I’m not willing to make the time”) and “I don’t want to” . . . both of which actually boil down to the second one, haha

      1. Self-involved reason not to do it:
        I just looked ahead to see what anime is coming up for spring 2017, and… how is there only one show that even appeals to me? And I’m not convinced I could fight you for Boku no Hero Academia 2 Stilts, you sound pretty scrappy.

        Well, I guess there’s Boruto. Not sure how he got top billing over Sarada, but nevermind that.

        Guile
      2. @Guile:
        You’d be surprised how many second seasons there are that people decide they don’t want to blog anymore >_> like for example, Durarara!!x2 had only 2 seasons covered (of the 3) and it was by different writers. Psycho-Pass also had different writers and so did Haikyuu!! So you never know what people will or will not want to cover (especially when you look at the season as a whole and how busy people are).
        I’ll let you in on a secret – I typically pick last so if anything, seniority is not always the case =) And I still get shows that are half decent – *coughErased*coughRe:Zero – so it’s like a surprise every time!

  9. Perfect, absolutely perfect. I’ve been waiting for round 2 for a while now and I ain’t gonna let this get away, aww HELL NO!!!!!!!!

    PREPARE FOR NISHIZAWA ROUND 2 RandomC, ‘cuz you’re seeing someone that’s gonna unleash all his MP reserves into creative armageddon and all that dude needs is the right moment to strike. Not to mention that the dude himself has been preparing for his eventual rebirth as a potential juggernaut of the 21st and maybe 22nd centuries to mark his territory in history.

    It’s a long road, but it’s all worth it. It’s aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllll worth it…

    Nishizawa Mihashi
  10. I have enjoyed reading the posts on this site and look forward to yet another writer joining the ranks.

    Although I blog for another site that does the same thing, let me re-emphasize that the commitment of timeliness is indeed tougher than many might expect at first glance … especially when sometimes the series one hopes to blog is on a good day of the week and at other times on a bad one. Real life and stuff hapoens, but it IS a commitment.

    Also, if you are accepted and are able to take that “first step” of getting through a season one begins to be able to feel out how many series one can take on per season. Some (like Enzo) are frikkin blogging machines – still don’t know how he can crank out as much as he does. But being able to do 2 or so per season seems common for many (about what a fair number of the RC writers do – the recent additions of Passerby and Pancakes crank out around this level, and I have enjoyed reading their posts). Some can do less – I find I can reliably only do one series and a sprinkling of an OVA or movie review each season, for example.

    Will emphasize one last thing though – it is a wonderful experience to be part of a blogging team, and helping to spread the word about the hobby one enjoys and “giving back” in a small way has its own rewards. So yes! If one feels up to it by all means I encourage you to submit an application and help spread the word about the series you enjoy or even help bring color to your lives! ^^

    Flower
    1. And I’ve been an RC fan since Omni’s time. How is he doing? Does he still lurk around?

      By the way guys, you guys should really have an anniversary post celebrating RC’s birthday and also showcase the very first post that was posted on RC.

      Velvet Scarlantina
    1. And just before someone accuses me of not reading properly >.<, i'm just asking because i wanted to be sure because it would kind of feel weird to write a sample post of the last episode of an anime nobody else watches or something or maybe that's the idea

      Ashur
    2. It can be the newest episode of any currently airing anime, including those already being covered here. If we are covering one series you really want to write about, do it! You’re better off sending a sample post filled with passion than one you felt compelled to write because another choice was already taken.

    3. No worries, I prefer ya ask. No, it doesn’t need to be a show that’s being blogged. It can be ANY currently airing anime, as long as it’s the most recent episode at the time of your blogging it.

      I suggest picking the anime you feel you can write the best about, regardless of whether it’s being blogged. Blogged and un-blogged shows have their strengths and weaknesses, so just write about what you’ll enjoy writing about the most : )

  11. I would totally attempt if I wasn’t moving oTL
    I live in Japan and think that would be an interesting perspective on things 🙂
    Depending on how long applications are going, maybe I will attempt it?

    Because let’s be real, you all want to see photos of the Yuri on Ice cafe in Akihabara ;D

    drunkenveggie
    1. If you don’t get a chance before applications are closed and feel like you can provide some special Japan-specific content, feel free to email me (stilts(at)randomc(dot)net) and pitch something. No promises, but feel free to give it a shot 🙂

      1. Aye, aye, good sir!
        I’ll be on the look out for anything notable. Whether they be events or what not. If there’s anything in particular you’re curious about, give me a shout out and I can keep my eyes and ears open!

        drunkenveggie
  12. Well, I doubt I will get in, but I’m going to give this a shot. I feel like my writing skills have improved significantly since the last application process, so we will see.

    One question I do have is how people do screenshots? I typically stream anime on Crunchyroll since it’s easier on my Internet than downloading the episode. Is there a better way to screenshot than going Command + Shift + 3?

    Nikki
    1. I sent one too and sadly i’m only confident in that i’m not gonna get in either. Specially since i noticed i made a couple of mistakes that i noticed later but oh well guess i shoulda have revised it more before sending it.

      Good luck to everyone else who sent applications! =)

      Ashur
    2. Just do your best for now. We’ll teach you how we do screencaps if yer one of the lucky new slaves—I mean kouhais. We’re mainly looking for your CHOICE of screenshots for now, to see what kind of eye you’ve got. Don’t sweat it too much.

    3. Stilts mentioned it above, but for the application any method will do. A lot of us here usually download the episode and use the video player built-in screen capture, but there are instances where something better can work. There’s no one sure fire way to take screenshots.

  13. While I did try last time I am currently taking classes on top of working full-time. Maybe I’ll be in look in to doing it again next time, but probably not. I already get to bother several of our fine writers all the time on Twitter, and even some ex-writers, so I think they already have enough of me as is. 😛

    Gouka Ryuu
  14. Great to hear that you are looking for new writers, since new writers = more shows covered, especially that sometimes there is so much good stuff in single season that some wonderful shows simply can’t be covered (like last season with Haikyuu). I wish best luck to everyone applying, can’t wait to see new faces since I’ve been following this site for some time already and it’s a great pleasure to follow currently airing anime and then checking out posts and comments on them here. Not many blogging sites (particularly involving anime) have such a quality and consistency.

    Pyon
  15. I wanted to say thanks for all the hard work of the RandomC writers! I’ve been coming here since Code Geass ages (circa 2007) and have been an avid reader since. I appreciate how passionate the writers are, especially recognizing how much hard work it is! Thanks a bunch again 🙂

    pineapple
  16. If only it were the summer, then I’d have way more time to blog. It’s especially sad for me because RandomC has a noticeable lack of coverage for children’s anime like Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, etc that I would love to fulfill alongside seasonly anime.

    Jason
    1. If it’s any consolation, we want people who will be available for EVERY season, so if you would only have time during the summer, you would be a fit.

      If you’ll have time this summer + all seasons after that, and right now is just no good, then yeah, that sucks. You might consider submitting an application anyway if that’s the case. We haven’t delayed a writer’s intro like that before, but it’s not like it’s impossible. We might be willing, for the right candidate.

  17. lets take it to the next level !!!
    like a contest
    you choose your favorites,
    then you’ll have everyone write a short review of an short anime like One room or tawawa on monday
    and then let the community vote for the final candidates

    i miss the old days of OMNI, he was actually the reason i started following this site a long long time ago.

    wow… 10 years… it happened so fast

    Maiku
  18. One tiny, TINY question. Do I REALLY need to paste all dem screenshots in the sample post itself? Cuz with the current software I have, to be frank it’s just clunky to do so.

    Pancakes, you got any ideas bruh?

    Nishizawa Mihashi
    1. You don’t have to paste the images into the written portion of the post. You can just zip them all into a file or even save them all on Google drive folder and share it with us or something (because I know they can be large to email). Thanks!

    2. As Cherrie mentions, don’t worry about putting images in the text, the application is more about what images you choose to cap and your overall writing. I would have lost my mind if I had to format images into my sample post, Word is not friendly for stuff like that 😛

      1. First: stop being a spammer. Obvs.

        Use the other emails we provided if you’re getting bounced, those being: stilts(at)randomc(dot)net, divine(at)randomc(dot)net, and cherrie(at)randomc(dot)net. Or takaii, though he’d just have to fwd it to us for compiling.

        When applications are closing, I’ll probably send a quick email to everyone who applied confirming that we got it. Feel free to check with us if you don’t get an email then.

  19. It would be awesome to write for RC. I’ve been following this blog since the days of Omni, but grad school and my unpredictable life are priorities. I would be doing y’all a disservice, so my heart goes out to those that take on the responsibility. Godspeed, homies.

    Mikhail
  20. Have no clue how one would screen cap anything so will have to wait to see if I have the time to look that up.

    Boy would love to do this in future assuming I solve enough of my major depression to do so. But until then I will content myself with my walls of text. Wonder if the fact that I am old enough to actually write letters to people is the reason I write so much compared to younger folk. When you write a letter your trying to fill several pages often to include all details in just one exchange and just be polite. Even a letter from camp would be expected to be more than one side of a piece of paper.

    RedRocket

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *