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Hiring remote marketers is more than simply taking your usual hiring process and putting it on Zoom. The signals are different. The expectations are different. And if you want to hire well, your approach needs to be different too.
The interview process isn’t just about hiring, it also shapes how candidates perceive your company long term. If you want to retain top marketing talent, that experience needs to feel consistent throughout.
This guide walks you through a respectful, remote-first hiring process that helps you find the right people without wasting their time, or yours.
Step 1: Screen for quality, not quantity
With high volumes of applicants, it can be tricky to spot the right signals in the sea of potential candidates. If you've written a solid job description, tailored to remote marketing roles, it should speak directly to the kind of marketing talent you actually want to hire.
Here’s what to look for:
- Clarity and conciseness in the application
- Relevant past experience in remote or async settings
- Marketing work that’s specific and results-driven
- A clear reason for wanting a remote role (not just “I want to work from anywhere”)
If you’re using Howard, this step is already streamlined. Applications are filtered by salary match, skills and experience, so you’re not digging through noise to find your shortlist.
Need help spotting issues early? Read our guide on red flags when hiring remote marketers →
Step 2: Keep tasks short, purposeful and respectful
A good remote hiring process shouldn’t drag on for weeks or overload candidates with free labour.
We recommend three stages maximum. Ideally, that means two calls and one task. If you're asking for more than that, be prepared to compensate candidates for their time, especially if the output could be useful to your business.
A great task hits two things:
- It’s useful (such as feedback on a real campaign, or a relevant audit)
- It shows clear skills that you can critique together
Keep the task short, around 60 minutes max. Set a clear brief and deadline, and don’t forget to say thank you. For junior roles in particular, this makes a huge difference to the candidate experience.
Step 3: Make the virtual interview smooth, clear and welcoming
Your interview setup matters. And it’s not on the candidate to make it work. It’s on you.
Make sure:
- Joining instructions are clear and easy to access
- Everyone knows who’s running the call and how long it will take
- You're not just grilling, but also sharing what it’s like to work there, what’s expected and what success looks like
Use the interview to go deeper:
- How they plan and prioritise their work
- How they communicate remotely (Slack, Notion, Loom, email)
- How they’ve solved marketing problems in the past
- What they need from their manager or team to do their best work
Remote interviews should feel like a real-world working session. Keep it collaborative, candid and outcome-focused. If you're after some inspiration, check out these 25 interview questions for remote marketing roles →
Step 4: Look beyond just skills
Skills are table stakes. But in remote teams, how someone works is just as important as what they can do.
Look for:
- Clear, confident communication
- Signs of self-direction and personal ownership
- Cultural and collaboration fit
- Compatible working hours (not always exact, but with enough overlap to make things work)
Howard helps here too, surfacing key details like working preferences, async experience and communication style so you can evaluate beyond the CV.
Step 5: Picking the perfect candidate
You’ve done the interviews and reviewed the task. Now comes the hard part: choosing the right person.
Here’s the trick. Decide what matters most before you start interviewing. What skills, traits or behaviours are essential for success in this specific role, on your specific team?
Create a simple scoring system based on those priorities. It doesn’t have to be complex. Just a clear list of what great looks like to you. For example:
- Communication
- Campaign experience
- Strategic thinking
- Time zone fit
- Ability to work independently
Score each candidate on the same criteria to keep your decision-making fair and focused. It also helps prevent bias or gut-feel choices that don’t hold up long-term.
If you're using Howard, you can mark each candidate as a good fit, maybe or poor fit, and ask colleagues to review the same profiles. It keeps everyone aligned without slowing the process down.
Once you’ve made your decision and the offer’s accepted, the real work begins: onboarding. Here’s how to set up your new remote marketing hire for long-term success.
Final tip: clarity and feedback matter at every stage
A great remote hiring process is built on clarity and transparency. That means:
- Telling candidates how many stages to expect and what’s involved
- Keeping them informed between steps (even if it’s a quick “you’re still in the mix”)
- Giving actual feedback at the end - even just one helpful insight if they didn’t move forward
If someone has gone through your full hiring process, be generous. A few minutes of honest, useful feedback can seriously improve their next interview. And it reflects well on your brand.
FAQs
Q: How long should a remote interview process be?
A: Aim for no more than three stages. Typically two interviews and one short task. Longer processes risk losing good candidates and can create unnecessary friction.
Q: Should you pay candidates for interview tasks?
A: Not typically. But if you're planning to set a task that takes more than an hour, and especially if the output could be useful to your business, consider compensating candidates for their time. Think about it this way. You wouldn’t want to spend an entire day on a task and not land the job. Respect and fairness go a long way in the hiring process.
Q: How do I evaluate candidates fairly in a remote hiring process?
A: Set clear scoring criteria before you start interviewing and apply them consistently. Prioritise what matters most to your team, and assess both hard skills and remote-readiness to make a balanced decision.
Want to see how this fits into the full hiring flow? Check out The Employer’s Guide to Hiring for Remote Marketing Jobs →
✅ Ready to put it into practice? Start hiring with Howard today.
