Every South Assistants hire passes the same five-stage funnel. Fewer than 3 in 100 applicants make it through. We're opinionated about how we grade — so here's the process in full.
Stage 1 — Application review
Every application gets a human read (no resume screeners, no keyword filters). We're looking for three signals:
- Clarity of thinking — can they describe a past project in structured prose?
- Relevant evidence — a portfolio link, a GitHub, a call recording, a writing sample.
- Genuine interest — the cover note tells us a lot.
We flag strong signals and move them to stage 2 within 3-5 days.
Stage 2 — Role-specific skills assessment
A short (1-2 hour) take-home calibrated to the role:
- EAs triage a messy inbox and write three draft replies.
- SDRs research an ICP and write a 3-touch outbound sequence.
- Support agents reply to three realistic tickets with varying tones.
- Marketers write a landing-page brief from raw positioning notes.
- Designers deliver a mobile flow from a written spec.
- Developers build a small React component with a rubric.
Every assessment is graded blindly against a rubric before the reviewer sees the candidate's name, CV or demographic markers. We want the work to win.
Stage 3 — Written & spoken English
English fluency is non-negotiable for client-facing work. We assess:
- Written clarity — a short 150-word prompt graded on precision and tone.
- Spoken fluency — a 10-minute conversational interview with neutral-accent calibration for US, UK and EU business contexts.
This is where many otherwise-strong technical candidates don't make the cut — and we won't compromise on it.
Stage 4 — Live scenarios & culture
A 45-minute live interview focused on composure, ownership and curiosity:
- A live scenario specific to the role (e.g. "Your client just flagged a blocker at 4pm on a Friday — walk me through what you do next").
- A conversation on a past challenge and what they learned.
- A chance for the candidate to ask us anything.
We do not ask "are you a culture fit?" as shorthand for "do you remind me of myself?" — we evaluate specific behaviours tied to success in the role.
Stage 5 — Paid trial week
The final stage. The shortlisted candidate works a paid trial on a sample scope — similar to what they'd do for a client. We watch for:
- Work velocity and quality — are they shipping?
- Communication — are updates clear, proactive, on-time?
- Judgement under ambiguity — can they ask the right questions?
Only candidates who earn a "strong yes" from the trial get an offer.
What this gets you
When a South Assistants hire joins your team, you're not betting on a CV — you're inheriting a rigorously-evaluated operator who has already done the job once at a professional standard. That's the difference between a marketplace listing and a vetted hire.
If you're a candidate and you think you can clear the bar, we're hiring across six tracks. If you're a client and you want to work with the 3% that make it through, book a call.