Sample shortlist · candidates written by us, real screener output
Social Media Manager
This is what the screening delivers: every candidate scored against the brief, with screening notes, their answers and a graded work sample. These sample candidates were written by us and run through the real screener — the scores and notes are its unedited output.
At a glance
Highest score first. Scores within 2 points are level: when we had the screener read the same two applications again, the gap between them moved by up to 2. A must-have in the brief (below the list) costs 5 points when the application does not show it and 2 when it only partly does.
- Bea L.Goes on to the interviewAhead of Julieta F. mainly on the experience (88 vs 81).86/100
- Julieta F.Goes on to the interviewAhead of Rafaela S. mainly on the work sample (82 vs 52).83/100
- Rafaela S.Stops here48/100
2 of 3 clear 70, the score an applicant needs to go on to the written interview. A real shortlist only holds people who clear it and then the interview; the one below it is shown so you can see what the screener turns down.
The brief they were screened against
Role: Social Media Manager · Band: $900–1,450/mo
Must-haves: owns the content calendar end to end, writes copy that reads human, repurposes long-form into short, reports on what actually moved rather than impressions
Nice to have: short-form video editing, community management, email newsletter
Scored on 2026-09-23 by the AI screener that grades real applicants: the social-media-manager rubric, run on claude-sonnet-4-6. Nothing below was edited afterwards — including where it went against a candidate. The rubric and weights are published.
Bea L. · 1 of 3
SCREEN 86/100How the 86 adds up · Top ~10%
A bar is as long as its part's weight; the filled share is the score out of 100.
- Graded work sample 35%84
Five posts, two platforms, real captions, justified times, and a single conversion metric with UTM logic — client-ready as written.
- Scenario judgment 25%86
Separates the two problems, diagnoses drop with 90-day data, names a real past fix, and handles the brand-guideline tradeoff with a labelled test and written sign-off.
- Experience specificity 20%88
Specific ARR, follower growth, trial-signup lift from 11 to 74, HubSpot attribution, and a named repurposing pipeline with exact output counts.
- Written & spoken English 15%85
Consistently clean and direct; 'A like says the post was pleasant; a click says it made someone want the product' is precise, confident, and client-appropriate.
- Salary-band fit 5%100
Asks $1,200 a month, inside the $900–1,450 band.
Must-haves in the brief: 4 of 4 shown
- owns the content calendar end to end — shown
Notion for the calendar
- writes copy that reads human — shown
How many emails does it take to book one call with someone outside your company? Four is normal. Seven isn't rare.
- repurposes long-form into short — shown
one webinar became a YouTube cut, six LinkedIn posts, a newsletter section and about twenty short clips
- reports on what actually moved rather than impressions — shown
social-attributed trial signups went from 11 a month to 74 — I know that because we tagged every link and I checked it against HubSpot monthly rather than reporting reach
The parts, weighted as above, come to 86.
Screening notes
Strongest: Experience section is unusually specific — ARR context, a precise trial-signup lift, and a named attribution method set it apart.
Concern: All claimed results are from a single employer; no evidence of range across industries or brand voices.
Worth asking: How did they build the repurposing pipeline — did they own the editing or direct others?
Verdict: A well-evidenced, conversion-minded candidate whose writing, judgment, and attribution discipline all read as genuinely above average for this role.
Experience
4 years running social for a US B2B software company (project management tools, ~$6M ARR). Owned LinkedIn, X and the YouTube channel. Took LinkedIn from 4,200 to 19,000 followers in 14 months, but the number I actually care about is that social-attributed trial signups went from 11 a month to 74 — I know that because we tagged every link and I checked it against HubSpot monthly rather than reporting reach. Also ran the repurposing pipeline: one webinar became a YouTube cut, six LinkedIn posts, a newsletter section and about twenty short clips.
Tools
Buffer and Later, Canva, CapCut and Descript for short-form, Figma for static, Google Analytics 4, HubSpot, Ahrefs for the content side, Notion for the calendar
Scenario answer
Asked: A client asks you to post content that contradicts their published brand guidelines because 'it'll go viral.' Meanwhile, engagement has dropped 30% this month and the client wants an explanation by Friday. Walk through what you'd actually do — starting today.
Two asks, and the second is driving the first: a client who watches engagement fall 30% starts asking for a viral post. So I answer the drop first, with numbers, and the off-brand post gets easier to talk about once there's a real reason on the table. Today: 1. Pin down what fell. "Engagement down 30%" can mean total interactions or engagement rate, and they point at different problems. I pull the last 90 days per platform and per post: impressions, engagement rate, clicks. If impressions fell and the rate held, people never saw the posts: cadence, timing, or a format the platform stopped favouring. If impressions held and the rate fell, the posts stopped landing. 2. Check the baseline. One outlier last month (a big announcement, a giveaway) makes an ordinary month look like a 30% drop, so I rerun the comparison without the top post. 3. Break it down by format and topic. In my last role the whole "drop" turned out to be one change: after a launch we had moved from native video to link posts, and LinkedIn shows link posts to a fraction of the feed. Moving links into the first comment brought reach back within three weeks. For the viral post, I ask what they want it to do (reach, followers, signups) and exactly which guideline it breaks. Usually it's tone; sometimes it's a claim we can't stand behind. I bring back an on-brand version that keeps the hook, and I say plainly what I won't publish: anything the guidelines rule out for legal or trust reasons. If it's only tone and they still want to try it, I run it once as a labelled test against a number we agree in advance, with written sign-off from whoever owns the guidelines. Friday, one page: what fell (with the chart), the cause I can prove and the one I only suspect, what changes next week, and the number I'll report on in two weeks. I send the diagnosis Thursday, so Friday's call is a decision rather than a surprise.
Work sample
Asked: Write a one-week content calendar (5 posts) for any real brand you know, across two platforms. Include the caption text, posting times, and the one metric you'd judge the week on.
CALENDLY — one week, LinkedIn + X. All times US Eastern. MON 8:30am · LinkedIn · text post + one screenshot of the booking page "How many emails does it take to book one call with someone outside your company? Four is normal. Seven isn't rare. A booking link makes it one, and the other person picks a time that actually suits them." Link in the first comment, not the post. TUE 12:15pm · X · 20-second screen recording "Round-robin in 20 seconds: a lead books, Calendly picks whichever rep is free next, and nobody fights over the inbox." WED 8:30am · LinkedIn · 6-slide carousel "Five settings sales teams switch on in week one." One per slide: buffer time between meetings, a minimum notice period, a daily meeting cap, routing questions, a reminder the day before. Caption: "Copy these before your next hire's first Monday." THU 1:00pm · X · poll "What's the worst part of booking a call with someone outside your company?" Time zones / the back-and-forth / no-shows / rescheduling. On Friday I reply to the winning answer with the setting that fixes it. FRI 9:00am · LinkedIn · text post "Add three questions to your booking page and the first five minutes of every call stop being spent on basics. Ours: company size, what prompted the call, and who else should join." WHY THESE TIMES: LinkedIn before people's first meeting of the day; X at lunch, when it's scrolled most. THE ONE METRIC: clicks to the signup page from the week's UTM-tagged links, per post, against the account's own 8-week median. Not impressions. A like says the post was pleasant; a click says it made someone want the product.
Availability
Full-time on US Eastern hours: 9pm–6am PHT in the US summer, 10pm–7am in winter. Two weeks' notice.
Julieta F. · 2 of 3
SCREEN 83/100How the 83 adds up · Top ~10%
A bar is as long as its part's weight; the filled share is the score out of 100.
- Graded work sample 35%82
Five posts, two platforms, real captions, specific times, and a metric tied to list growth over vanity numbers.
- Scenario judgment 25%84
Diagnoses inflated baselines first, separates reach from response, and draws a hard line on claims-based violations in writing.
- Experience specificity 20%81
TikTok zero-to-48K and email list 3,100-to-26,000 with a named mechanism; three years sole marketing hire at a named brand.
- Written & spoken English 15%83
Phrases like 'boring on purpose' and 'a quiet month' are precise, idiomatic, and calibrated for a US brand voice.
- Salary-band fit 5%100
Asks $1,400 a month, inside the $900–1,450 band.
Must-haves in the brief: 4 of 4 shown
- owns the content calendar end to end — shown
Owned Instagram, TikTok and the email list
- writes copy that reads human — shown
Boring on purpose. Which serum is yours?
- repurposes long-form into short — shown
stitch of a real comment
- reports on what actually moved rather than impressions — shown
the number that will tell us whether it worked
The parts, weighted as above, come to 83.
Screening notes
Strongest: Scenario answer shows genuine diagnostic thinking — baseline inflation, reach vs. response split, and a hard written no on claims violations.
Concern: Repurposing evidence is inferred from format variety in the calendar; no explicit long-form-to-short workflow is described.
Worth asking: What does their reporting output actually look like — a Notion doc, a Loom, a slide deck?
Verdict: A well-evidenced, platform-native candidate whose numbers, tools, and copy all point to someone who has done this job, not just described it.
Experience
5 years in content and social, the last 3 as the only marketing hire at a Buenos Aires D2C skincare brand selling into the US. Owned Instagram, TikTok and the email list. Grew TikTok from zero to 48K in 11 months, and more usefully got the email list from 3,100 to 26,000 by putting a real lead magnet behind the content instead of a discount code. I write in English and Spanish; my English writing is what I was hired for.
Tools
Later, CapCut, Canva, Figma, Klaviyo, Meta Business Suite, TikTok Creative Center, Google Analytics 4, Notion
Scenario answer
Asked: A client asks you to post content that contradicts their published brand guidelines because 'it'll go viral.' Meanwhile, engagement has dropped 30% this month and the client wants an explanation by Friday. Walk through what you'd actually do — starting today.
Before I answer either question I look at the numbers, because "engagement is down 30%" and "this will go viral" are both claims. On the drop, three checks in this order: - Is it real? If last month had a giveaway or a creator collab, the baseline is inflated. On my skincare account, one giveaway month made the next look like a 40% collapse while saves and email signups were flat. - Reach or response? Instagram and TikTok both show reach per post. If fewer people saw the posts, it's cadence, format or timing. If the same number saw them and fewer reacted, it's the content. - Which posts? I sort the month by format. Usually one format drags the average down. For us it was static product photos, and I cut them to one a week. On the viral idea, I ask them to send me the example they have in mind. Usually "off-brand" means a trend format or a jokey tone, and a brand can use the format without breaking its voice. I write two versions, the one they asked for and an on-brand take on the same trend, and tell them which I'd post and why. If the guideline they want to break is about claims (for skincare, anything that sounds like a medical promise), that's a no from me, in writing, because a viral post that gets reported costs more than a quiet month. By Friday they get a short written explanation: what dropped, why, what we change for the next two weeks, and the number that will tell us whether it worked. I send it Thursday afternoon so they can read it before we talk, and I've already scheduled next week's posts, so the fix isn't waiting on the meeting.
Work sample
Asked: Write a one-week content calendar (5 posts) for any real brand you know, across two platforms. Include the caption text, posting times, and the one metric you'd judge the week on.
THE ORDINARY — one week, TikTok + Instagram. US audience, times Eastern. MON 6:30pm · TikTok · 25-second shelf video, no voiceover On-screen text: "You don't need 12 steps. Morning: cleanser, one serum, SPF. Done." Caption: "Boring on purpose. Which serum is yours? 👇" TUE 12:00pm · Instagram carousel, 5 slides "Niacinamide or vitamin C: which one first?" What each is for, when in the routine it goes, and why to start one at a time. Caption: "Save this for the next time the bottle confuses you." WED 7:00pm · TikTok · stitch of a real comment ("why does my serum pill?") A 20-second answer: too much product, not enough wait between layers. Caption: "We answer one comment every Wednesday. Leave yours." THU 8:00pm · Instagram Reel · "reading the label out loud" The first five ingredients of one product, what each is doing there, in plain words. Caption: "If you can't read the label, we'll read it for you." FRI 10:00am · Instagram Stories · poll sticker ("Oily, dry, combination or sensitive?"), then a link sticker to their Regimen Builder, with an email signup at the end if they'd let me add one. THE ONE METRIC: email signups from the Friday story and the link in bio. Likes on skincare content are cheap; an email address is someone who wants to hear from the brand again, and the list is what sells.
Availability
Full-time, 10am–7pm ART (9am–6pm ET). Available in two weeks.
Rafaela S. · 3 of 3
SCREEN 48/100How the 48 adds up · Thin
A bar is as long as its part's weight; the filled share is the score out of 100.
- Graded work sample 35%52
Five posts across two platforms with captions and times, but captions are generic hashtag filler; no repurposing, no rationale for timing choices, and the single metric named is engagement rate with no target or baseline.
- Scenario judgment 25%48
Recommends Reels and trending audio as the fix for a 30% drop without diagnosing root cause; brand-guideline tradeoff is acknowledged but resolved too quickly with no real pushback framework.
- Experience specificity 20%62
Concrete detail: 3 years, 6–8 clients, named verticals, named tools; missing are any numbers on results, decisions made, or problems solved.
- Written & spoken English 15%63
Correct and clear throughout; phrasing like 'Start your week with your favorite coffee' and 'Communication with the client is very important' is functional but flat and slightly formal.
- Salary-band fit 5%100
Asks $900 a month, inside the $900–1,450 band.
Must-haves in the brief: 1 of 4 shown, 2 partly
- owns the content calendar end to end — shown
I create the monthly content calendar
- writes copy that reads human — partly shown (−2)
Start your week with your favorite coffee ☕✨ What are you ordering today?
- repurposes long-form into short — not shown (−5)
- reports on what actually moved rather than impressions — partly shown (−2)
I would review the insights in Meta Business Suite to see which posts performed better and which performed worse
The parts, weighted as above, come to 57; must-haves not fully shown cost 9, so 48.
Screening notes
Strongest: Three years managing multiple real-client accounts simultaneously with named tools and named verticals gives a credible operational baseline.
Concern: No evidence anywhere of repurposing long-form content into short; the work sample and scenario both default to generic tactics with no data-backed reasoning.
Worth asking: Can they show a report where they identified a specific metric that moved and explained why — not just reach and follower growth?
Verdict: A reliable coordinator-level executor who handles volume, but has not yet demonstrated the analytical point of view or copy craft the brief requires.
Experience
3 years as a social media coordinator for a Guadalajara digital marketing agency, managing the accounts of 6 to 8 small business clients at a time — restaurants, a gym chain, a dental practice. I create the monthly content calendar, design the graphics in Canva, schedule the posts, respond to comments and messages, and prepare the monthly report showing reach, engagement and follower growth for each client.
Tools
Hootsuite, Canva, Meta Business Suite, CapCut, Google Sheets
Scenario answer
Asked: A client asks you to post content that contradicts their published brand guidelines because 'it'll go viral.' Meanwhile, engagement has dropped 30% this month and the client wants an explanation by Friday. Walk through what you'd actually do — starting today.
First I would talk to the client and explain that it is important to follow the brand guidelines, because they keep the brand image consistent. If they really want to try the post, I could suggest a version closer to the brand style, so we can still take advantage of the trend. About the engagement drop, I would review the insights in Meta Business Suite to see which posts performed better and which performed worse. Engagement can go down for many reasons, for example changes in the algorithm, posting at the wrong times, or content that is not interesting for the audience. I would suggest posting more Reels, using trending audio and hashtags, and posting more often, because Reels usually get more reach. For Friday, I would prepare a report with the month's reach, engagement and follower growth, compare it with the previous month, and explain the actions we will take to improve the results. Communication with the client is very important so they feel informed and confident in our work.
Work sample
Asked: Write a one-week content calendar (5 posts) for any real brand you know, across two platforms. Include the caption text, posting times, and the one metric you'd judge the week on.
Content calendar — Starbucks (Instagram and Facebook) Monday 9:00 am — Instagram post: photo of a latte on a table. Caption: "Start your week with your favorite coffee ☕✨ What are you ordering today? #MondayMotivation #Coffee #Starbucks" Tuesday 6:00 pm — Facebook post: "Did you know you can customize your drink however you want? Tell us your favorite combination in the comments! 👇" Wednesday 12:00 pm — Instagram Reel: a barista preparing a Frappuccino, with trending audio. Caption: "Midweek treat 😍 Tag a friend who needs this! #Frappuccino #Midweek" Thursday 5:00 pm — Instagram story with a poll: "Hot or iced?" Friday 10:00 am — Facebook post: photo of pastries and coffee. Caption: "Happy Friday! Treat yourself this weekend 🥐☕ #FridayVibes #WeekendMood" Metric: I would measure the engagement rate (likes, comments and shares divided by followers) to see which posts the audience liked the most.
Availability
Full-time, flexible hours, can start immediately.
This is the artifact every search delivers
Post the role and the same screener runs on your real applicants — the questions arrive already written, and you read every finalist in full before any fee is due.
The same screener, other roles
- Customer Support VA
- Executive Assistant
- Bookkeeper
- Operations Manager
- Data Entry Specialist
- Content Marketer
- Junior Developer
- Graphic Designer
- Sales Development Rep
- Real Estate VA
- E-commerce VA
- Bookkeeping Assistant
- Virtual Assistant
- Video Editor
- Copywriter
- SEO Specialist
- PPC Specialist
- WordPress Developer
- Shopify Developer
- Accountant
- Project Manager
- Lead Generation Specialist
- Web Designer