When interviews and references leave you with ambiguity about a candidate, move beyond conversation. Invite them to analyze or work on a live investment or project. Observing their thought process and how they "underwrite" a decision provides unparalleled clarity on their actual abilities.

The best way to get noticed by hiring managers is to demonstrate your expertise in a real-world setting, like a webinar or a public project. This acts as a powerful, unsolicited interview, proving your value and legitimacy before a formal process even begins.

Exit 5's Head of Community secured his job by sending a YouTube video outlining his top five ideas for the role before his interview. This pre-interview effort demonstrated his value and initiative, making him a standout candidate despite lacking direct experience.

Many candidates are skilled at presenting product frameworks but lack deep thinking. Whatnot uses a mandatory, hands-on case study for all roles. This step effectively filters for substance over style, as candidates must defend their analysis, quickly revealing those who rely on 'product theater.'

To truly assess collaboration and skill, Linear replaces traditional final interviews with a 2-5 day paid project. Candidates work on real, shippable tasks, allowing Linear to evaluate not just the final output but also the collaborative process and communication style.

Interviews are often misleading. A trusted recommendation from a high-performing employee or contact is a more reliable signal of a candidate's quality than your own interview assessment. This "reference hiring" is a secret weapon for building a strong team.

A common hiring mistake is prioritizing a conversational 'vibe check' over assessing actual skills. A much better approach is to give candidates a project that simulates the job's core responsibilities, providing a direct and clean signal of their capabilities.

To avoid hypothetical interview questions, Zipline makes its hiring process as applied as possible. This includes pair programming, collaborative design sessions, and even offering paid 1-2 week work trials. This "work together" approach quickly reveals a candidate's true fit and capabilities.

For roles where skills are difficult to assess in standard interviews, Clay implements a 2-3 week paid "work trial." This allows the company to evaluate a candidate's actual performance and fit on real tasks before extending a full-time offer, de-risking the hiring process for complex positions.