#699 simulation

We have been interviewing for a new copywriter.  It's hard to know from writing samples and interviews whether the person can adapt their style to ours and whether the ability to write great articles can translate to being an effective "Tweeter".  

So to help us in the process, we gave the candidates up to one hour to complete three tasks:  writing copy for an ad, preparing a Facebook post and writing the headline and copy for the next postcard in a series.  We hoped that this would provide us (and them) a realistic simulation of the types of assignments and the time frame usually allocated to do them.

The results were quite interesting to see.  The four candidates wrote with varied styles and took such different approaches to what they highlighted in their messages.  It gave us a much better sense of their fit with our needs and made the selection process easier.

Job searching is a two-way street.  Anything you can do in the process to help find the best fit and skill alignment is of benefit to both you and the candidate.  Take some time to craft a search that provides exposure to many of the people and tasks that will be part of the daily routine.  Time spent now is time saved later.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com