Hot Tip: An Essay With Your Resume

The Rosen Group, an arts-marketing company, asks its potential hires to write an essay as part of the interview process.

By Kate O'Sullivan | 
 

CEO's Notebook

You can learn only so much from a resume. To get to know prospective employees better, Wendy Rosen, president of the Rosen Group, an arts-marketing company in Maryland, asks recruits to write an essay as part of the interview process. In true college-application style, Rosen asks for responses to things like "Tell me about a problem you've overcome this year" or "What have you done this year that makes you really proud?" Rosen, who has used the essay-test method for four years, came up with the technique because she was struggling to identify people who were a good fit for her company, which produces crafts fairs and publishes two magazines.

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