Roster offers two distinct approaches to finding your next team member, each with unique advantages depending on your hiring needs, timeline, and the role you're filling.
Job Listings: Traditional Hiring, Enhanced
Job listings on Roster function like traditional job postings but with our AI-powered talent matching system. Learn more about our AI recommendation
This approach is ideal when:
- You want to evaluate candidates based on their past work and experience
- The role requires specific qualifications or credentials
- You prefer a longer consideration period to review applications
- You need to assess soft skills through interviews before technical skills
With a job listing, you'll:
- Receive applications with portfolios, resumes, and cover letters
- Access our AI-powered talent recommendations matched to your content
- Maintain complete flexibility in your interview process
- Be able to design custom test projects for shortlisted candidates
Job listings are particularly effective for roles like Channel Managers, Business Development, or specialized technical positions where experience and qualifications need careful verification before skills testing.
Hackathons: Real-World Skills Testing
Hackathons flip the traditional hiring model by putting skills demonstration at the beginning of the process.
This approach excels when:
- You need to evaluate practical skills above all else
- The role requires someone who can match your specific style
- You want to create community engagement around your hiring
- You need to compare candidates objectively on identical tasks
With a hackathon, you'll:
- Create a time-limited challenge using your actual content or requirements
- Get real examples of how candidates would handle your specific needs
- Review submissions through our intuitive TikTok-style interface
- Generate excitement and participation from your community
Hackathons have proven especially effective for creative roles like Video Editors, Thumbnail Designers, Writers, and Content Strategists where seeing someone's work with your specific content matters more than their previous experience.
How to Choose the Right Approach
Consider these key questions to determine which approach best fits your needs:
1. Do you have a test project ready?
For a hackathon, you'll need a clear, specific challenge that can be completed within 48-72 hours. This could be editing raw footage, creating thumbnails for existing videos, or drafting a script based on your content pillars. Learn more about hackathon assignment here.
2. Are you considering participation incentives?
While optional, hackathons with prizes see approximately 85% higher participation rates. Common structures include:
- 1st Place: $_____ + job offer
- 2nd Place: $_____
- 3rd Place: $_____
- Top 10: Personal feedback from the creator (a non-monetary incentive highly valued by creatives!)
3. Do you want to hype it up?
Hackathons thrive on community participation and hype! Creators who promote their hackathons to their audience have a 48% higher chance of receiving higher quality submissions and more participation. Read more about what promoting your hackathon looks like here.
4. Is portfolio work sufficient for evaluation?
For some roles, seeing past work is enough. For others, you need to see how someone handles your specific content or challenges.
Many creators choose the hackathon route after trying traditional hiring because it provides clearer, more relevant insights into how candidates would actually perform in the role. As Yes Theory discovered when hiring their editor, seeing how someone edits your actual footage tells you far more than reviewing their work for other creators. View example of a hackathon from Yes Theory on Roster here.
Related Articles
- What is a Hackathon?
- Hackathon Prizes
- Hackathon 48-Hour Pre-Registration Period
- Promoting My Hackathon
- Hackathon Assignments
