Seth Godin on Hiring for the Web

Quote, “If you’re hiring for people to work online, I can’t imagine not screening people [on the social web]. This is the work, and you can watch people do it for real before you hire them.” — Seth Godin, excerpted from Learning from a summer intern program

Godin is discussing his an intern selection process, which involved creating a Facebook group and watching potential interns interact there, but it applies to any role I think. At NewSpring we’ve been interviewing for several web-centric communications roles lately, doing initial talks via Skype video, which is the perfect way to see if someone can hold your attention in that medium. When I look at a designer’s portfolio and they don’t pay attention to how users interact with the web, chances are they’re not a good fit for our team. This stuff is important. 

If you don’t understand the medium, how can you possibly be effective within it?