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You may remember the first edition of the Tech Nest Newsletter, “Hire Builders, Not Task Doers,” (or maybe you don’t). The gist of that article was focused on the need to hire those who are capable of building out your marketing program, not just handling tasks as assigned.

This article is a follow up to that article. The idea of hiring builders is easy to recognize as a good thing to do, it’s not helpful in detailing exactly how to do that.

I want to detail a hiring process I learned and came to really appreciate. Not just because it’s effective in creating a fair, consistent hiring process, but because I believe this hiring process is why I’ve had significant success in hiring highly skilled marketers, despite some of the odds I was up against.

Here’s the hiring process I believe will help you hire greater talent.

Stage 1: Application Is Received, Schedule Screening Call

The purpose of this interview is to ensure the candidate understands the role as you understand the role. Determine also if they are in a location that’s necessary or able to work remote. You want to confirm they understand the level of responsibility that comes with the role, any particular technicalities of the role, and the career path of the role (is this it, or is there more to come with success).

You’re looking to confirm the application, resume, and any other information is true. “On paper, is this candidate a fit for the role per our stated needs and wants?” ← The answer should be an easy yes.

The screening call can be short, 15-20 minutes. If you have someone dedicated to hiring, such as an HR person, they can handle this call. Otherwise, typically the hiring manager can make this call.

Stage 2: Screening Is Complete, Schedule General Interview

The general interview should focus on whether the candidate has the necessary experience. Especially when screening marketers, you’re looking to understand what types of campaigns they’ve been a part of, what their role was, and what they’ve learned.

This is when you might ask the candidate to talk about a few types of marketing initiatives that succeeded (or failed). This is not the time to dig into philosophy, technical aspects, or other parts. You’re looking to focus specifically on whether they have the experience that meets the mark.

Because you’re looking for builders, you may also focus on asking what they’ve built (yes, it’s that simple). Ask what they’ve built in terms of programs, campaign launches, social media initiatives, etc.

If the experience matches what you believe is adequate for the role you’re hiring for, then the next step may be the most crucial step: the technical interview.

This interview can be as short as 30 minutes, but perhaps allow for 45 minutes depending on the seniority of the role. This interview should be conducted by the hiring manager. You may want to include another member of the team, but that’s not necessary at this stage.

Stage 3: General Interview Is Complete, Schedule Technical Interview

Unlike projects, technical interviews are a real time test. Sure, we could make candidates take a test. And yes, I’ve used projects as a way to screen candidates, but I prefer not to.

The technical interview should be in the weeds. I like 45 minutes for this interview. This way I’ve got enough time to dig into why (i.e., “What were you thinking”, “Walk me through the process step-by-step”, and so forth). I’m looking for details, order, established protocol, and process.

Remember, I’m hiring a BUILDER. They’re coming in to build out the how we do what we do—and to make it better than what I put in place as head of marketing.

You should ABSOLUTELY learn something from the candidate in this interview. Even when it’s a coordinator level role, the candidate should be teaching you in this interview how to do something step-by-step.

This interview should be conducted by two team members. The hiring manager as well as one other person who can contribute from a technical perspective. Early on, this may mean you will need someone from outside the marketing team to assist. Prepare that person with the purpose of this interview, the standardized list of questions you’ve written, and how to evaluate following the interview.

Before moving the candidate on, be sure you and the other interviewers have an opportunity to discuss and review notes from the interview.

Stage 4: Technical Interview Is Complete, Schedule Cultural and Behavioral Interview

Last but not least, we interview for culture and for behavior.

I’ve shared this with founders at other startups, and I’ve gotten pushback on this last step. Some think two more interviews is too much. I disagree.

Especially when you’re early stage (anything earlier than B is what I’m thinking of), you’ve got to put as much emphasis into finding, hiring, and retaining top talent. But not just top talent, top talent that will work great with others at your company and will help establish the culture.

You as founder or co-founder have the most influence in setting the tone of your culture. But those you surround yourself with will extend that influence to their teams. You NEED to hire those who want to reflect your values, ways of working, views, etc.

I recommend at minimum two 30-minute interviews. Each one is proctored by two people (if you have the people to do this). Ideally, these are people the candidate hasn’t met yet.

Each interview should have a set standard of questions that are to be asked during the interview. Your questions should be aimed at learning two things:

• How does this person work?

• Will this person work well here?

Those are big questions and there’s no one set of questions that may help you arrive at your answers, so experiment. But I would encourage you to establish your questions and set them as your standard for all positions—marketing and otherwise.

Following both interviews, all four interviewers should either meet to discuss or submit feedback via a form. I recommend each interviewer be asked to provide a ranking of 1-4. Interviewers must also be firm and convinced in their decisions—no maybes allowed.

• 1 = Definitely Do Not Hire

• 2 = Do Not Hire

• 3 = Hire

• 4 = Hire Immediately

IMPORTANT DETAILS FOR EACH INTERVIEW

As mentioned above, but for reinforcement, each interview should have its own standardized document created. This ensures you’re comparing candidates equally and consistently. This means you’ll have four interview documents (one for each interview). Contents of the documents should contain:

• Interview Name

• Interview Duration

• Stated Purpose of the Interview

• Names of All Interviewers

• Name of the Interviewee

• Required Questions

• Optional / Additional Questions (for when you have time)

You’re not done yet. If you’re moving forward with the candidate, then you’ll need to prep an offer. But that will be a separate article for later. For now, prioritize how you interview, get your entire team onboard with how interviews are conducted and you’ll see a noticeable increase in good, top-talent hires.

Proptech News

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• Bilt Nabs $3.1 Billion Valuation, Ken Chenault Joins as Chairman

• Startups vs Incumbents in the AI Era (NFX blog)

Weekly Podcast Feature

Advances in Tenant Screening Processes with Tim Ray, Founder and CEO at VeriFast

Tim Ray, CEO of VeriFast, discusses the importance of identity verification in the real estate industry and the challenges of tenant fraud. He explains how VeriFast's single-source verification platform helps verify individuals’ identities and financial details, providing a more secure and flexible screening process for renters—especially for those with a non-traditional income. Tim also highlights the company’s integrations with property management systems and the need for trust and transparency in data sharing. He predicts that credit checks will become less relevant in rental applications and that document processing using PDFs will fade away as technology advances.

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