How to Hire an Amazing Customer Support Person off Craigslist

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Recently my company needed some extra hands on customer support. I wanted someone that would take customer support to the next level. The best place to hire people is through your inner circle, the second best place is Craigslist’s Job section. It costs $75 in San Francisco and it will be worth it.

The problem with Craigslist is you will be swamped with resumes and intro emails immediately. You need to create a system that filters out the crappy people from the awesome people. Here is how to create that system.

Step 1: Create an informative job ad on Craigslist. Here is what you should include:
– What qualities the applicant should have
– Bonus qualities (but not required)
– Their primary tasks and what they will be doing on a day to day basis
– About your business
– The Pay
– The Location
– An application form (I will talk about the application form in Step #2)

Here is a link to my actual job ad.

Step 2: Create an application form for your job ad.
Create a Form using Google Docs.

Only ask questions that are relevant. I left out a lot of things you will find on resumes like where they went to college and their past employers, simply because I didn’t care. I just really wanted to know if they could do the job they will be hired for (like answer customer support emails) really well.
Here are a few of the questions I asked:
1. We will be working in person together.  Can you come to Ritual Coffee Roasters in the mission 5 days a week?
This was a simple yes/no deal-breaker question that helped filter out all the people that wanted to work remotely. I highly suggest adding another yes/no deal-breaker question like “Do you know HTML/CSS?”. 

2. Do you have a blog/website with content you have written?  If so please list it below:
This let me look at their writing and showed me if they knew how to blog.
3. Pretend we’re your mom.  Tell us step by step how to create a free store on www.FlyingCart.com
This was the most important question. We had over 85 applicants. Over 60% of them got this wrong. It also showed me if they were detailed oriented and understand how to explain our web app in writing.

4. Do you have any references?
I always call references to make sure the person is legit. I wanted this information handy if they passed the 2nd round interview.

Here is my actual job ad application form.
Step 3: Post to Craigslist and watch the applications roll in. Wait 2-5 days to send out your 2nd round interview.
Some Stats:
400 people viewed the application form
85 people applied
10 people were extended 2nd round interviews
1 person was hired and he is awesome.
Step 4: Select the 10 best applicants and send out a 2nd round interview via email.
Make it 2 very detailed questions.
Step 5: Setup In Person Interviews with the 3-4 people that you really like.

Step 6: Enjoy working with your new hire!


Great people are hard to find. I hope this process will help you find someone awesome. Good luck!
Please let me know if you liked this post in the comments below.