EVE Evolved: Finding the perfect corporation in five easy steps

It's said that sandbox MMO EVE Online doesn't really begin to shine until you join a good player-run corporation. There's only so much a lone pilot can accomplish and a lot of the game's most rewarding experiences are based around groups and collaboration. Wormhole expeditions, PvP, territorial wars, politics and much of EVE's other emergent gameplay routes rely heavily on forming groups and friendships in-game. In fact, I think you'd be hard pressed to find an MMO which doesn't have its game experience improved by group activities and forming friendships. But just as choosing the right corporation for your play style can make the game a lot better, choosing the wrong one or not joining one at all can ruin a new player's experience of the game.

Over the past few weeks, I've had several emails from readers looking for advice on how to find a good corporation. In this article aimed at new and prospective EVE players, I introduce a simple five-step approach for finding that perfect corporation who can turn playing EVE from a potentially boring experience into a very rewarding one.
(UPDATE: I had accidentally disabled comments, comments are now enabled on page 2)

Step 1 - Choosing a corporation type:
Before you can even think about looking for corps, it's imperative that you decide what activities you want to get involved in. Whether it's piracy, mission-running, exploration, mining, territorial warfare or any of the other of EVE's many activities, choosing your primary focus will help you choose a compatible corp. The tutorial epic mission arc for new players will introduce you to most of the PvE aspects of the game, while some reading around and chatting to existing players should peak your interest in any of the more PvP-based or emergent activities that suit you. Like guilds in some other MMOs, there are plenty of small, generic all-rounder corps that offer their members very little and ask no committment in return. While these typically offer a relaxed family feel and some nice people to chat with on a daily basis, they rarely have the drive and direction that will help transform the game experience of their members. Corps with well-defined goals and an active membership are usually the best to join.

Step 2 - Finding potential candidates:
Once you've decided what type of activities you're interested in, it's time to go hunting for potential corps that fit the description. Standard places corps advertise include the recruitment channel in-game, recruitment adverts in-game or the official recruitment forum. Corps that operate in a particular area will also sometimes anchor secure containers at stargates or stations in the area with recruitment advertisement text on them. These makeshift billboards are common in empire space and are a good way to look for local corps if you've got your heart set on living in a specific solar system or constellation.

Step 3 - Narrowing your list of choices:
Looking through the lists of corps and recruitment pitches can be a daunting task. This is where you'll need to figure out which of the myriad of corps you think you'd really belong in. Some corps have skill requirements or require their members to be trained in specific types of ship. Others will accept even new players and some corps even offer their players free ships, skillbooks and equipment to help them get started. EVE University is a prime example of a corporation that's specialised in helping new players. In addition to access to ships and equipment, they offer members informative training courses on a wide range of activities. When narrowing your list of choices, a good tool to use is the information in the corp's "show info" pane. This can be opened by searching for the name of the corp in the "People & Places" window, then right-clicking the result you want and clicking "show info".

Read on to page 2, where I look at the interview process and what to do if you find a better corp further down the line.