are you hands on?

Last Tuesday I was on a call with an early stage startup. Smart people, cool product, looking for someone to kickstart their growth

Very promising until I got asked the question: are you ok to be hands on?

That’s when I kind of lost my interest, let me explain why

If you are looking for someone who likes a good challenge, dangle a challenge in front of them!

Asking a yes or no question shows a lack of preparation which reflects badly on the company, the team and the position

On top of it, the burden of proof should not be on the candidate, it’s your job as a recruiter to read the situation

What do you expect the candidate to say? “Oh shoot, it’s hands on? Nah, not for me thanks!”

You don’t have to be a master talent scout to be good at this. Just prepare a script for your screening call before you reach out to candidates

If you are not an expert in the field you can always ping some and ask them what Qs/As would highlight the abilities you are looking for

For example, if you are hiring for acquisition and want to check the ability of a candidate to be ‘hands on’ how about you present them with quick case

Q: For the purpose of acquisition, how would you spend $1k in 30 days?
Not hands-on: Hire a freelancer to set up campaigns as the budget is too small for an agency
Somewhat hands-on: Hire a freelance creative person to can help prepare asset for digital campaigns and go live as fast as possible
Very hands on: Week one: deep dive in analytics, find best performing channels/ audiences, identify key metrics that drive business objectives, brainstorm creatives, make sure UX is 👌🏼. Week two: create a minimum viable campaign and launch across most promising channels relative to budget vs CPA. Week three and four iterate settings weekly and challenge original thesis.

If the candidate has experience it will show in their answers

Just prepare a script ahead of time