FFXIAH.com

To be honest, I'm amazed at how lax recruitment is in general in FFXI (although many of the more "well known" and "elite" linkshells seem to have a more strict recruitment policy). I also see those kind of linkshells generally last a very long time in comparison to those that don't have a strict recruitment policy (Demo, Excellence, 24/7, Apathy, etc are a few examples of said Linkshells that have been around for 4-5+ years). Imo, exceptional applications show your dedication to the guild/linkshell whereas posting something like your character's name, jobs, and then your gear wishlist right on the application quite honestly does not.

Perhaps my opinion differs from the majority here since I came from the bleeding edge EQ/WoW raiding guilds. For hilarity, see these:

http://www.exo-guild.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1044

http://www.exo-guild.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1243

I no longer play WoW but I thankfully still have private forum access for the older apps. With that and the amount of applications they get per day it's free entertainment while at work.