Audition-Based Hiring Method

Automatic (WordPress) uses an innovative hiring approach focused on real work trials and written communication instead of traditional interviews. Here's their framework:

Core Hiring Philosophy

• Written communication skills are the strongest predictor of success
• Prefer auditions (trial work) over traditional interviews
• Focus on finding overlooked talent that might not fit traditional tech hiring models
• Pay equal salaries globally for equal work, regardless of location

Audition Process

• Initial screening of resumes and basic interview
• Candidates hired on contract basis at $25/hour
• Trial projects vary by role:
  • Some use sandbox environments
  • Some work with real customers
  • Focus on actual work performance vs theoretical skills

Communication-Based Hiring

• Primarily text-based hiring process
  • Originally used IRC, Skype
  • Now primarily uses Slack
• Most roles can be hired completely asynchronously
• Face-to-face only required for specific roles (e.g., sales)
• CEO personally did final chat with first 1,000 hires

Onboarding Process

• All new hires start with 2 weeks of customer support
  • Applies to everyone from CFO to engineers
• Annual rotation back to support for one week
• Benefits:
  • Keeps everyone close to customers
  • Prevents viewing customers as just numbers
  • Helps with product development
  • Maintains connection to user experience

Company Culture

• Headquarters is "on the internet"
• Remote-first with employees in 90 countries
• Equal pay globally for equal work
• Focus on creating equal opportunity for impact regardless of location
• Strong emphasis on written communication skills