Just finished a hiring round for our growth team. A ton of dms and resumes flooded in from this post I know there’s a lot of people looking for their next career chapter. I was reflecting on what I signals I use to filter applications and invite to first round interviews: Bucket A: Specialist in a specific channel that is hands on (e.g. performance marketing, lifecycle marketing) - Firstly requires a clear view of OKRs and how to achieve them to know what roles to build around - Some knowledge in how time intensive each speciality is and if it requires dedicated talent doing it full time, or a generalist type (this is changing with AI) - Should be visible in a candidates resume with quantifiable results - As a candidate, you should also reflect knowledge of the skill with the exact tool stacks you’ve used in your cv Bucket B: Generalist with domain expertise - For example, a marketing lead or growth marketer who wore multiple hats but worked at a competitor, breakout app, or company in similar category - Requires awareness of and identifying breakout companies, competitors, similar cos in your category (some carry more weight) - Ideally comes with some edge based on that exact vertical (existing relationships, knowledge in best converting channels, angles, geos etc) - When applying as a candidate, highlight companies you’ve worked at that are most similar to the job with call outs on how you helped them grow Other signals I look for: - Ability to position themselves concisely in cold dms - How metrics and responsibilities are framed in cv - Existing owned distribution: do they have any social channels or media they’ve built up themselves - Proactivity and grit signaled by any entrepreneurial experience - AI-native (usually more deeply sourced in interview) Reference checks are also important in key hiring decisions, if you’re an applicant, expect this to happen This means dream hires are someone who has a combination of both buckets and some of the bonus signals too. They have channel or tactic specialties they’ve built up over the years, have executed them in a company in a similar vertical that has proven breakout growth, and come with existing distribution and relationships