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Are you looking to Hire a content writer for your website or blog? The first thing you need to remember is there is no dearth of talented professionals out there. However, the main challenge is to sieve an ideal candidate out of a pool of applicants.
Inexperienced content writer and poor-quality content lead to the wastage of your valuable time and impact your brand reputation. It indicates that you need to be very selective when it comes to hiring content writers for your projects.
Nevertheless, it may seem overwhelming for you to choose an experienced, top-class content writer. To streamline the task, you can interview shortlisted writers to choose the most competent professional among them. Follow the strategies below to interview the candidates.
Tips to Interview Shortlisted Candidates
Ask about their Skill Level:
The first question that you need to ask your shortlisted candidates is about their skill level. The main goal here is to find out a talented, best-in-class, experienced, and dedicated content writer. Note that having appropriate skillsets for your projects is mandatory for the selected candidate to provide high-quality work.
Ask as many questions as you can to figure out the level of their knowledge and writing ability in English. If you find wrong sentence structures, typos, or mistakes in punctuation in answers, then the person is not the right fit for your projects.
Do not forget to ask about how many years a shortlisted candidate has worked in the field of writing. Now, it depends on you whether you will prefer a fresher or experienced writer for your projects. It also depends on your budget, as an experienced content writer will more likely ask for a higher payment than a fresher.
Ask about their Work Experience:
Are you looking to Hire or Interview an experienced content writer for your website or blog? Then, you must analyze the work experience of shortlisted applicants. You can do it in various ways.
Are you going to hire a content writer from a freelancing platform? Then, check out ratings and reviews on the profiles of shortlisted candidates.
Otherwise, you can ask them to write sample content on your niche. It is better to analyze the work experience by checking out reviews or the performance on sample content instead of relying only on words of mouth.
Ask about their Working Schedule and Working Hours:
It is mandatory to confirm the schedule and timetable of the work of shortlisted candidates. Are you searching for a full-time content writer? Are you okay with hiring a part-time content writer?
You must be clear about your requirements upfront. If you need a professional to work on your projects in a specific timetable, do not forget to mention that.
Otherwise, you can be flexible about the timing, as most freelancers prefer to work in that way. Are you looking for an in-house content writer? Then, there is no question of flexible timing unless you have a virtual workspace.
Mention Deadlines to Find out Credible Candidates:
Every project has a certain time limit to get completed. Hence, you should ask candidates whether they will be able to complete writing by the mentioned period.
If you are not convinced, ask them to write sample content within a specific time frame. Thus, you can easily find reliable and credible candidates from the rest.
Ask whether Shortlisted Candidates have written content on your niche or not:
You need to hire a content writer, who can understand the mindset of your target audiences and write accordingly. That is why you must ensure whether the shortlisted candidate has enough writing experience in your niche or not.
Content is not only a couple of paragraphs but is also a bridge between a brand and website visitors. Therefore, an ideal content writer for your project needs to know how to interact with audiences through the content. So, do not forget to ask questions regarding the experience in your niche. If you are confused even after getting answers, ask the candidate to write a sample.
Ask about the Charge and Payment Mode:
When it comes to hiring a content writer, you need to estimate your budget upfront. So, in times of interviewing candidates, you must ask their charges. Some writers charge on an hourly basis whereas some others at a per-project basis.
Do not forget to ask shortlisted candidates about the mode of payment. Finalize the candidate, who would be the most suitable, as per your payment terms.
If you think a writer is demanding a higher charge, you can ask about negotiation. However, do not go for low-rate content if you are serious about your business growth, as you would receive what you would pay for.
Low-quality articles could increase bounce rates of your website and damage your existing business reputation.
Do not forget to decide the validity of the contract in advance. Moreover, you must set a deadline within which you would need the submission. Such kind of editorial calendar is a must-have for you before hiring a content writer.
Ask Questions to find out whether or not the candidate caters to your requirements:
Do you want to assume something about the candidate and face troubles later? You don’t, right? Therefore, you must ask questions to all shortlisted candidates as many as possible.
Most of the top-class writers have their own policies of work, payment, etc. So, don’t assume anything. Let them know about your business, requirements for your projects, and your expectations regarding the quality.
Ask about the opinions of your shortlisted candidates regarding the same and find out the most suitable professional for your projects.
Wrapping Up
Interviewing a candidate is not a cakewalk. Since you do not know any of the applicants personally, asking questions is only a means to know about them. Communication would also help you to gauge their proficiency in English.
Moreover, you would also get to know the characteristics of candidates, such as response time. Content is what a web visitor first checks after landing on a website. That means content plays an essential role to create a first impression about the business. That is why you should leave no stone unturned to confirm the competence of a candidate before hiring.