Three-Skill Test Project Hiring Method
Test candidates on critical skills, initiative, and judgment before hiring
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 96%
The company first identifies the three capabilities most important to the role and future growth. It then creates a realistic test project that requires candidates to combine those skills in the company’s actual market context. Some necessary details are intentionally left unstated when they are available through research or appropriate clarification. This reveals whether candidates independently investigate, ask strong questions, communicate uncertainty, or make dangerous assumptions. The finished work is assessed for strategic reasoning, execution detail, industry sensitivity, and alignment with the founder’s operating style. Previous experience also matters: a strong candidate has often helped another organization travel the path this company now intends to take. The method replaces impression-based hiring with observable evidence of judgment and performance.
Origin
Extracted from The Jasmine Star Show, where Jessica Marx explained the proprietary hiring process used across her advisory clients and operating companies.
Core principles
- 01Test candidates in conditions resembling the real job
- 02Measure the few capabilities most critical to company growth
- 03Leave discoverable gaps that reveal initiative and judgment
- 04Prefer research and clarification over unsupported assumptions
- 05Assess compatibility with the founder’s leadership style
- 06Hire people who have already helped a company reach the desired next stage
How to run it
- 1
Define the Role’s Critical Outcomes
Clarify what the role must accomplish at the company’s next stage. Select the three capabilities most responsible for those outcomes.
Pro tip Anchor capabilities to growth and operating needs rather than a generic role template.
Watch out Testing too many abilities makes the exercise unfocused and difficult to score consistently.
- 2
Design a Realistic Project
Create a work sample that combines all three capabilities in a situation similar to the actual role. For a sales leader, this could include strategy, commission design, and industry alignment.
Pro tip Use a project small enough to respect candidates’ time but substantial enough to expose their thinking.
Watch out Avoid requesting commercially usable free work beyond what is necessary for evaluation.
- 3
Create Ethical Information Gaps
Leave out selected details that candidates can find through research or request through clarification. Know in advance what a strong response to each gap should look like.
Pro tip Use gaps that mirror the ambiguity the employee will genuinely encounter.
Watch out Do not withhold private or inaccessible information and then punish candidates for lacking it.
- 4
Observe the Candidate’s Response
Note whether the candidate researches independently, asks clarifying questions, explains assumptions, or simply ignores missing information. Evaluate the quality of the questions as part of the submission.
Pro tip Strong questions may reveal whether the candidate already thinks in terms of future KPIs and business outcomes.
Watch out Unsupported assumptions can create material risk when repeated inside the business.
- 5
Score Work and Judgment
Assess the submission against predetermined criteria for strategy, detail, research, communication, and industry fit. Separate polished presentation from the quality of the underlying reasoning.
Pro tip Use the same rubric and project conditions for every finalist.
Watch out Changing evaluation standards candidate by candidate reintroduces interview bias.
- 6
Check Founder Complementarity
Determine whether the candidate’s strengths complement the founder and whether information can move effectively between them. Confirm that the person can operate independently while escalating unfamiliar or consequential decisions.
Pro tip Look for someone who can translate the founder’s direction into the sequence of actions required to execute it.
Watch out Hiring a duplicate of the founder can leave the company’s existing capability gaps untouched.
- 7
Validate Stage-Relevant Experience
Confirm that the candidate has succeeded in an environment resembling where the company is heading. Prioritize evidence that they have already navigated the relevant scale, market, or operational complexity.
Pro tip Seek candidates from larger organizations in the same industry who want to apply their expertise in a smaller company.
Watch out A prestigious résumé is insufficient if its experience does not match the company’s trajectory.
In the wild
A fashion house asks finalists to create a sales strategy, design a commission plan, and align both with the luxury market. The project intentionally omits selected context available through research. Evaluators compare who investigates the market, who asks useful questions, and who produces an executable plan rather than merely a polished presentation.
→ The company gains evidence of strategic skill, compensation knowledge, initiative, and luxury-market judgment before making the hire.
Candidates for a celebrity-serving medical practice receive a project reflecting the practice’s unusual service model. One candidate returns clarifying questions that address both the assignment and the information she would need to achieve future KPIs connected to incentive compensation.
→ The candidate demonstrates foresight, commercial awareness, and an understanding of the role beyond routine practice administration.
Common mistakes
Hiring for Niceness Alone
Warmth and punctuality may matter, but they do not demonstrate the capabilities required to lead a company into its next stage.
Accepting Unsupported Assumptions
Candidates who silently invent missing facts may carry the same risky behavior into consequential company decisions.
Rushing the Search
A compressed hiring window reaches a smaller candidate pool and limits the time available to test capability and working compatibility.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for consequential leadership, operations, sales, and specialist hires in fast-moving founder-led businesses.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for roles where an unpaid project would be disproportionate, exploitative, or unrelated to actual job performance.
From the transcript
“Typically, it's a test project that brings in three areas of skill set that are going to be most critical and important to the growth…”
“I never love the assumption. Right. Because that could be a detriment to the company”
From the episode
How to Build a Sellable Business That Doesn’t Depend on You with Jessica Marx
Jessica Marx