How Fenwick hires writers

This article is for candidates currently seeking a writing position with us. As Fenwick’s Managing Editor, this is my attempt to clarify what we’re doing and how we’re thinking so you can evaluate us the same as we’re evaluating you—in eager hope of a mutual match. I want to hear from you, and you may find our guidelines helpful in catching our team’s attention.

Note: We’re a very small team and due to the volume of applications, we (sadly) don't have time to reply to each one. We do read them all, however, and if it's a good fit, you will hear back. But if you get invited for an interview and enter the hiring process, you will not be ghosted. You’ll get a firm and timely answer.

Resources: Fenwick Careers, Our Work, Meet the Team

We are seeking creatives who …

Are curious

Our criteria are largely based on things we value in ourselves and in others. Chief among those is curiosity. We deal with a delightful smorgasbord of client personalities and projects, and the one thing that seems to prepare people to grasp it all is an innate inquisitiveness.

Our clients, for example, don’t always know exactly what they need. Neither do we. That’s why we begin every project with research. We talk to our eventual readers and ask, “What’s your take? What’s something you believe that few others do? How would you explain this product to a friend?” Chasing down answers to these questions and trying our best to inhabit the mind of the customer is how we produce effective and enduring work. For curious people, this seems to come naturally.

Have writing taste

The next thing we’re hiring for is taste. When clients ask for our help, they know they’re gaining access to the accumulated knowledge of every book we’ve ever read, movie we’ve ever loved, and project we’ve ever published. That cache of experience manifests as taste—knowing what’s interesting or appropriate—and it’s how we can quickly whip up something melodic to the ear or pleasing to the eye.

Taste is not a function of age but rather comes from a diversity of experiences, a critical eye, and a desire to understand and recreate the symmetries and asymmetries of life. It is, unfortunately, not something we can train. We need someone to come with this foundation.

Think long-term

We tend to think about what will happen in two years rather than in two months. We also love the act of creation more than the outcome. Praise is delightful, but what drives us is the joy of assembling words.

I find that people with a similar, intentional, long-term vision also tend to be:

• Free of ego—That is, more interested in learning than being right.
• Accountable—They do what needs to be done, and do it for the group.
• Collaborative—Fully self-sufficient but enjoy working in groups.

Have a varied informational diet

Everyone on the team today has unique interests that seem unrelated to our work, but serve as a fountainhead for inspired ideas. The same way scientists tend to also play music, our writers (and designers) are into dance, literature, history, entertainment, and the outdoors. I find the more varied and surprising someone’s informational diet, the more intriguing their client work tends to be.

All this has led to seven criteria by which we rank candidates. If you apply for a job with us, at each interaction, we’ll be trying to assess whether you have these qualities.

We have Four primary criteria:

Curiosity—Are you eager to acquire new knowledge and skills? Do you have a history of self-guided learning? Are you open to feedback?

Taste—Have you read widely? Do you have strong opinions on the hallmarks of good writing? Is your work exceptional in a way that makes me eager to pair you with clients?

Long-term thinking—Do you see the broader context and strategy beyond a single piece of content? Are you comfortable investing your time and effort in projects that take a while to pay off?

Varied informational diet—Do you draw inspiration from unique or seemingly unrelated sources? Do you have outside hobbies that influence the way you think and work?

And three secondary criteria:

Clarity—Is your work precise, concise, helpful, and evocative? (We can train this.)

Diversity—Do you bring a unique perspective to our work? Will you challenge us to create in new ways?

Good vibes—Do we all vibe as a team? Do we feel like we’d enjoy working together?

The hiring process

Our process attempts to front-load disqualifying facts and conversations as a gift to both you as an applicant and us as the existing Fenwick team. Nobody wants to get to the end of an interview process to find they “needed more experience.” We filter for dealbreakers early and only invite those we are confident have the skills that we’re looking for to an interview.

Here are our deal-breakers:

• Didn't read the application before applying—You’d be surprised.
• Doesn't have any past work—We need someone with experience.
• The writing sample doesn’t pass our (admittedly very high) quality bar—While we love teaching writing to others, as a very small company, our current need is for someone who is already highly proficient in this skill. Most else we can teach.

I review applications, focusing heavily on the writing sample. If I like what I see and believe you’re likely to match our criteria, I schedule an introductory call. If you clearly exhibit 2-3 of the primary criteria and no deal-breakers, I’ll invite you to the next stage.

From there, there’s an in-depth interview with me, an asynchronous feedback session on the sample you submitted, and a meet and greet with the team. If you pass every stage and we think it’s likely to be a good fit, we send an offer.

Let’s break down each of these stages in more detail.

1. The application form

To pass: Matches at least 2-3 primary criteria, doesn’t exhibit any deal-breakers, and the writing is high enough quality that we could offer it to clients unchanged.

Application questions:

• Have you fully read the job description?
• What are you an expert at?
• What is your experience with B2B tech? (If you’re not familiar, tell us about a time you taught yourself something new)
• Please share one (and only one!) link to relevant sample work
• What makes you a good fit?
• Give us a little feedback on our website copy or a blog post. (Good or bad, it won't be used against you. We're curious how you think.)

The application used to be much longer, but I have found by providing less room and fewer questions, applicants grow more selective with what they share, and the results are more vivid.

We do not accept resumes or cover letters. LinkedIn covers the former and the application, the latter.

When I look at these applications, the first thing I look at is the sample work. What I’m trying to assess is whether it possesses an ineffable quality—that is, if the writing draws me in, rather than makes me want to edit it. If it passes that initial impression, I read the rest and decide whether an applicant meets our criteria.

For writing samples, here’s the evaluation criteria I use:

• Is it clear?
• Is it precise?
• Is it concise?
• Is it easy to understand?
• Is it helpful?
• Is it evocative?
• Is it honest?

Things to do:

• Show your personality
• Demonstrate you know what we do
• Tell us about your unique interests
• Link to one specific work that’s a good representation of your skills

Things not to do:

• Only link to a generic portfolio, or link many samples (we’ll only read the first one)
• Use too many analogies
• Use hyperbole

2. Intro call, or “show and tell” (15 min)

To pass: Meets at least 3-4 primary criteria and no deal-breakers.

In this call, I’ll spend the first few minutes explaining Fenwick and answering questions. Then I’ll get you to walk me through the sample you submitted to help me understand the context better. I want to get a sense of how you think and what your writing process is like. I also want to understand the larger strategy and context behind the piece you shared.

Questions I might ask include:

• Who was the intended audience and what was the goal?
• Did it achieve that goal?
• Looking back, what would have made it even better?

Essentially, I want to see how well-versed you are in the strategy of the works you’re producing. All Fenwick writers are also strategists, and I need to know that in addition to excellent writing chops, you’re also a strategic thinker.  

Following this call, I write all the questions, hopes, and concerns that came up for me after our conversation, and then sit on it for a day or two. If I’m just as excited as I was before, I’ll email you to set up a time for an in-depth interview.

Things to do:

• Be ready to talk about your writing sample
• Figure out whether we’re right for you too
• Trust that your honesty will be well-received

Things not to do:

• Come without questions ready

3. IN-DEPTH interview (45 min)

To pass: The candidate meets our criteria, is likely to be successful, and I feel excited about them.

In this interview, I ask deeper questions that help me decide whether you meet most of our criteria. I start by telling applicants that the interview is mutual—this should be a good fit for you as well, and I’m an open book. We’re both a lot better off figuring everything out upfront.

I want to learn where you source inspiration, how you problem-solve, how you work with others, what interests you, how you manage deadlines, your work ethic, and anything else I can glean. (For the right candidates, unpacking these topics should be fun.)

Questions I may ask include but aren’t limited to:

• What inspires you?
• What would you do for a living if money were no object?
• Why Fenwick?
• What are you hoping to learn here?
• Why leave your present role?
• What advice or resources would you give to your past self at your last job?
• What would your last manager or a peer say are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
• Have you ever received feedback you disagreed with? How did you handle it?
• What strategies do you use to stay organized over multiple competing projects?
• What’s your biggest work success to date and how did you achieve it?
• Tell me about a time you really messed up at work. How did you handle it?
• What questions or fears do you have about taking on this position?

Things to do:

• Ask for specifics about our process
• Try to find out why we wouldn’t be a fit
• Ask clarifying questions if you’re not sure how to answer
• If you don’t know the answer, feel free to say so—I’m not trying to trip you up, I just want to learn more about you

Things not to do:

• Be guarded
• Be vague

4. FEEDBACK AND REVISION ROUND (ASYNCHRONOUS)

To pass: The candidate is excited and eager to learn and improve. They’re able to take suggestions in stride and create a finished piece we’d be thrilled to send to clients.

Confession: I have mixed feelings about writing tasks as part of an interview. While they are a great way to gauge your skills in action, asking for unpaid labor feels a little icky and borderline unethical. Our compromise is a feedback session on the sample piece you’ve already submitted.

We think this a good way to both see how you implement feedback, as well as for you to understand our editing style and whether it matches what they’re looking for. (Worst case scenario, you get some free feedback from an experienced B2B writer that you can hopefully apply to your writing practice.)

I will go through the piece you submitted and mark it up in a Google doc to show you the changes I would suggest as your editor. I’ll then record a short video explaining my feedback and give you a deadline—typically one week, unless there are extenuating circumstances—to implement the changes and submit a final version.

Things to do:

• Give yourself enough time to implement the suggestions and go back a few times
• Sleep on it before submitting
• Ask questions if anything is unclear
• Feel free to disagree with the edits and give justification
• See if there’s anything else you can improve, beyond what we’ve suggested

Things not to do

• Leave insufficient time
• Be scared to ask clarification questions (we’re here to help!)
• Disregard your own writing taste in favor of what you think we want

5. Meet and Greet (45 min)

To pass: The Fenwick team believes you could start tomorrow and be successful.

If you make it this far, chances are I’m pretty sure about you—I just want a final gut-check from the team. We used to do this through individual get-to-know-you interviews with every member of the Fenwick team. While this worked great when we were a team of two or three, as we’ve grown, it’s gotten more impractical, both for us and for candidates. You shouldn’t have to have 5+ individual conversations for us to reach consensus on whether you’ll be a good fit.

Instead, we now host a group meet-and-greet with the team. We’ll start with each member of Fenwick introducing themselves so you can get a sense of who’s who. We’ll provide some guiding questions to create a structure, but this is primarily a chance for us to all get to know one another and see if we all vibe. If the conversation veers off-topic, all the better.

Guiding questions might include:

• Tell us about your favorite project you completed at your last job (if you can pull up a link and talk us through it, splendid)
• Talk us through the process of editing your sample—what was that like and what did you learn?
• What are your hobbies and interests outside of work?
• Where do you go to get inspired?
• What are you most excited to learn at Fenwick?
• Do you have any questions about us and how we work as a team that haven’t already been answered?

Then, the Fenwick team records their specific feedback and decides whether they agree the candidate meets the criteria, and their excitement level at working with and learning from this person.

Things to do:

• Be yourself
• Discover shared interests
• Figure out whether you’re excited about working with this group
• Have fun!

Things not to do:

• Be guarded

6. Offer

If the team seems happy with the decision, I extend an offer for full-time employment, beginning with a three-month probation period.

The truth is, there’s really no telling for certain how well we all work together until we try. Once we all have three months of data, we’ll talk and figure out whether it’s working for both of us. It has to be a mutual decision to proceed—you have to enjoy the work and we have to see you quickly picking it up and showing promise.

If either party feels it’s not a fit, it’s not a fit. We part amicably. But if we both feel it’s a fit, you convert to full-time with benefits and we do amazing work together.

Once hired

With us, you will find a team of writers and designers honing their craft and actively contributing to building and improving this workplace. If there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that we don’t have everything figured out. We’re a small-but-mighty team building a process that empowers our writers and designers to be their most creative while shielding them from unrealistic deadlines and capricious demands.

Writers typically work with three clients at any given time, which offers variety without spreading them thin.

We’re all remote, though we love to meet up at coworking spaces to collaborate when possible, geography permitting. Primarily we use Slack, Zoom, and Notion, and hold recurring team meetings, like “show and tell” where we present something we’re working on.

We believe in work-life balance. We don’t tolerate diva clients and you won’t be pulled into unexpected overtime. Everyone is required to turn off notifications outside of work hours.

We invest heavily in ourselves. We spend the first week of every quarter on professional development. Everyone picks a project that excites them—that means reading, writing, researching, or training to produce lessons that you can then share. We’re about to launch our first writing course as a collection of all the wisdom we’ve accumulated over the years.  

We understand that the tech industry has in-built biases and we’re working hard to overcome them. Even though we’re a small team without the resources of larger companies, we’re working hard to create a more equitable workplace. We have a diversity policy, have hired from non-tech and non-marketing backgrounds, pay competitive wages, allow team members to swap holidays to celebrate religious holidays beyond the typical ones, and offer a lot of flexibility to make caretaking responsibilities a little easier. We’re continuously working to improve this and welcome feedback and suggestions.

We do virtual team socials. Recently, we’ve done an online watercoloring class, and in the past we’ve done cooking, cocktail-making, meditation and more.

We give back as part of our business model. We’ve taken the 1% pledge and contribute 20 hours per employee per year of volunteer time. We’ve written for Wikipedia to un-bias articles, helped a non-profit fighting deforestation, and more.

What else can I say? There’s a lot here. But anyone who has made it this far in the article, I congratulate you, and if you’re more excited about working with us than when you started, huzzah! Please apply.

When we talk, mention that you know who we’re named after, and I’ll know you are that rare type of candidate who read the whole thing.

‍