Six question sets for the employer side of the table: writing, messaging, digital, internal comms, and crisis, each question with why it is worth asking and what a strong answer sounds like, plus a scorecard and a paid writing test brief. Download as DOCX.
The hardest thing about interviewing a communications specialist is that talking well is the job. Persuasion in a room is exactly the skill you are shopping for, which means the interview measures the performance and the ability at the same time, and a charming candidate can outshine a better operator. I have watched owners hire on charisma here more than in any other role.
At FirstHR, we build for small businesses that hire without an HR department, where one person often runs the whole process between everything else. This page is written for the employer side of the table: 34 questions across five competencies, each with a stated reason it is worth asking and what a strong answer sounds like, plus a 1-to-5 scorecard and a paid writing test brief.
Use it alongside the communications specialist job description if you have not written the posting yet, since the questions work best when you already know what the role must deliver.
TL;DR
Interview a communications specialist on six things: writing and editing, audience and messaging, digital channels and measurement, internal communication, judgment under pressure, and self-direction. Ask the same questions of every candidate, push past the portfolio to audience and outcome, and settle the writing question with a short paid work sample rather than a conversation. Median pay was $74,750 (BLS, May 2025). Download all six files, including the scorecard and the test brief, as one DOCX.
What the Role Actually Covers at a Small Company
A communications specialist plans and produces what an organization says: customer-facing content, channel management, message consistency, and often press and employee communication as well. At a small business the scope is wider than the title suggests, because there is no team to absorb the parts that do not fit neatly.
That matters for the interview because scope drives the questions. The same title can mean a content producer working to someone else's plan, or the only person who decides what the company says to anyone. Decide which you are hiring before you write the questions, and weight the sets below accordingly.
One scope question decides more than any other: will this person own internal communication too? In companies without an HR department, the answer is usually yes by default, and the announcement nobody wanted to write lands on the person who writes well.
The Six Question Sets
The questions are grouped into five competencies plus a scorecard. A strong candidate performs across all the sets that apply to your role, not only on the writing and messaging questions they have rehearsed most.
Writing and Editing
The core craft
Whether they write for a named audience and can fix other people’s drafts. Seven questions, each with why it is worth asking and what a strong answer sounds like.
Audience and Messaging
Strategy, not output
What to say, to whom, on which channel, and why. Includes a live test: ask them to describe your business back to you in two sentences.
Digital and Measurement
Proof, not activity
Hands-on channel work, the two or three metrics that matter, and what they did when a number moved the wrong way.
Internal Communications
Employees are an audience
Announcements, policy rollouts, and change communication. The set that matters most when you have no HR department to carry that work.
Media and Crisis
Judgment under pressure
Press relationships, pitching, and the first hour of a bad Saturday. Use it if the role touches press, partners, or public reputation.
Scorecard and Writing Test
Score, do not guess
A 1-to-5 rubric, a red-flag checklist, and a paid writing test brief you can send to every finalist. The asset most question lists skip.
Weight the Sets to Your Role, Do Not Ask All of Them
Customer-facing content role: writing, messaging, and digital. First comms hire at a company with no HR team: add the internal set and weight it heavily. Press, partners, or a consumer brand: keep media and crisis. Use the scorecard with any combination. Asking every question in every set produces a three-hour interview and a worse decision than eight questions asked well, so pick two or three per set and go deep on the follow-ups.
6 Free Question Sets to Download
Download all six as one Word document, or copy the sets you need. Each question carries a short note on why it is worth asking and what a strong answer sounds like, so a founder who has never hired a communications person can still judge the responses. The final file holds the rubric, the red-flag checklist, and the writing test brief.
Download All 6 Question Sets and the Scorecard
Writing, messaging, digital, internal comms, and crisis, plus a 1-to-5 rubric, red flags, and a paid writing test brief. All in one DOCX.
Set 1: Writing and Editing Questions
The core craft, and the one skill you can verify rather than take on trust. Seven questions on writing for a named audience, editing other people's drafts, and adapting a message across channels.
Writing and Editing Questions
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST INTERVIEW: WRITING AND EDITING
Candidate: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
WHY THIS SET
Writing is the core craft of the role, and it is the one skill you can verify
rather than take on trust. Ask these questions, then confirm the answers with a
short paid writing test (brief included in Set 6). Ask the same questions of
every candidate so you compare answers, not impressions.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
1. Walk me through a piece you wrote that you are proud of. Who was it for?
Why ask it: writing for a named audience is the difference between a
communicator and a typist.
Strong answer: names the audience, the goal, the constraint, and the result.
2. Show me something you edited heavily. What was wrong, and what did you change?
Why ask it: at a small company most of the writing arrives from other people
and has to be fixed, not authored.
Strong answer: describes a specific structural fix, not just typos.
3. How do you adapt one message for an email, a social post, and a press release?
Why ask it: channel fluency is what separates a specialist from a good writer.
Strong answer: changes structure and length per channel, not just wording.
4. What is your process from brief to final draft, including review and approval?
Why ask it: reveals whether they can move work through busy reviewers.
Strong answer: a real sequence with deadlines and a named approval step.
5. How do you keep one voice when several people write for the brand?
Why ask it: small companies rarely have a style guide and badly need one.
Strong answer: mentions a style guide, templates, or a review pass they own.
6. Tell me about feedback on your writing that stung. What did you do with it?
Why ask it: a writer who cannot take edits is expensive to work with.
Strong answer: specific feedback, a specific change, no defensiveness.
7. How do you write about a technical topic you do not know well yet?
Why ask it: they will have to learn your business quickly.
Strong answer: interviews the expert, drafts, then checks the draft back.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Audience named before word choice is discussed
•Comfort editing other people’s drafts without ego
•Concrete examples with a purpose and an outcome
•Curiosity about your business, not just about the writing
NOTES
__
__
Set 2: Audience, Messaging, and Channel Questions
Strategy rather than output: what to say, to whom, on which channel, and why. Includes a live test worth more than any hypothetical, where you ask the candidate to describe your business back to you in two sentences.
Audience, Messaging, and Channel Questions
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST INTERVIEW: AUDIENCE AND MESSAGING
Candidate: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
WHY THIS SET
Anyone can produce content. A communications specialist decides what to say, to
whom, on which channel, and why. This set tests strategy rather than output, and
it is where strong candidates separate themselves fastest.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
1. If we hired you tomorrow, what would you look at in your first two weeks?
Why ask it: tests whether they diagnose before they produce.
Strong answer: audit existing channels, talk to customers and staff, then plan.
2. How do you decide which channel a message belongs on?
Why ask it: channel choice is the most common place a comms plan goes wrong.
Strong answer: starts from where the audience already is, not from preference.
3. Walk me through a campaign you planned end to end. What was the objective?
Why ask it: reveals whether they think in objectives or in deliverables.
Strong answer: a measurable objective, a plan, and an honest result.
4. How would you describe what our company does, in two sentences, to a customer?
Why ask it: a live test of message discipline using your own business.
Strong answer: clear, jargon-free, and aimed at the customer’s problem.
5. Tell me about a message that did not land. What did you change?
Why ask it: separates people who measure from people who publish.
Strong answer: names what they learned and what they did differently.
6. How do you build a communications calendar, and how far ahead do you plan?
Why ask it: shows whether they can run a steady cadence without a manager.
Strong answer: a rolling calendar with room for reactive work.
7. How do you say no when someone wants a message that is off-strategy?
Why ask it: at a small company they will be pushed by the loudest voice.
Strong answer: offers an alternative, does not simply refuse or simply comply.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Objectives stated before tactics
•Audience-first channel choices
•Willingness to kill work that will not land
•Plain language when describing your business back to you
NOTES
__
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Automate documents, training assignments, task management, and track onboarding progress in real time.
Whether the candidate can prove a result or only describe activity. Hands-on channel work, the two or three metrics that actually matter, and what they did when a number moved the wrong way.
Digital, Social, and Measurement Questions
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST INTERVIEW: DIGITAL, SOCIAL, AND MEASUREMENT
Candidate: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
WHY THIS SET
Most communications work now runs through digital channels, and most of it can
be measured. Use this set to find out whether the candidate can prove a result
or only describe activity. Ask for numbers and do not accept impressions alone.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
1. Which channels have you personally run, and what did you post on each?
Why ask it: separates hands-on operators from people who briefed an agency.
Strong answer: names channels, cadence, and what they wrote themselves.
2. What do you measure, and which numbers do you ignore?
Why ask it: a specialist who tracks everything is tracking nothing.
Strong answer: two or three metrics tied to the objective, plus what is noise.
3. Walk me through a report you built for a manager or an owner.
Why ask it: you will be the audience for that report.
Strong answer: short, decision-focused, and honest about misses.
4. Tell me about a number that went the wrong way. What did you do?
Why ask it: measurement only matters if it changes behavior.
Strong answer: a diagnosis and a concrete change, not an excuse.
5. What tools do you use for scheduling, design, and analytics?
Why ask it: tool fluency shortens ramp time at a small company.
Strong answer: names real tools and what they actually did in them.
6. How do you handle a negative comment or review in public?
Why ask it: this happens to every small business eventually.
Strong answer: respond fast, take it offline, never argue in the thread.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Hands-on work, not oversight of someone else’s hands-on work
•A small set of metrics tied to a stated objective
•Honesty about what did not work
•Calm, practical handling of public criticism
NOTES
__
Set 4: Internal Communications and Stakeholder Questions
Announcements, policy rollouts, and change communication, plus the practical skill of getting input out of busy people. The set that matters most when you have no HR department to carry that work.
Internal Communications and Stakeholder Questions
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST INTERVIEW: INTERNAL COMMS AND STAKEHOLDERS
Candidate: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
WHY THIS SET
At a small company the communications hire usually ends up owning employee
communication too: announcements, policy rollouts, and the all-hands deck. This
set matters most if you have no HR department, because there is no one else to
carry that work.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
1. How have you communicated a change that employees did not want?
Why ask it: change communication is the hardest internal task.
Strong answer: explains the why first, anticipates objections, follows up.
2. Walk me through how you would announce a new policy to the whole company.
Why ask it: tests sequencing, not just drafting.
Strong answer: brief managers first, then staff, then answer questions live.
3. How do you get information out of busy people who owe you input?
Why ask it: the real bottleneck in most internal comms work.
Strong answer: short specific asks, deadlines, and persistence without nagging.
4. Tell me about a time you disagreed with a leader about a message.
Why ask it: you want someone who will push back before publication.
Strong answer: raised it privately, offered an option, respected the decision.
5. How do you know whether an internal message was actually read and understood?
Why ask it: sending is not communicating.
Strong answer: mentions a check, a follow-up, or a manager cascade.
6. How would you handle communicating something sensitive, like a layoff?
Why ask it: discretion is a hiring criterion, not a bonus.
Strong answer: confidentiality, careful timing, coordination with leadership.
7. What would you want from us in your first month to do this job well?
Why ask it: reveals how they plan to get oriented, and how self-directed
they are.
Strong answer: asks for access to people and context, not just tools.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Sequencing: who hears what, in what order
•Comfort chasing input from busy leaders
•Discretion with sensitive information
•Follow-up, not just delivery
NOTES
__
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Press relationships, pitching, spokesperson discipline, and the first hour of a bad Saturday. Use this set if the role touches press, partners, or public reputation, and shorten it if the job is purely internal.
Media Relations and Crisis Questions
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST INTERVIEW: MEDIA RELATIONS AND CRISIS
Candidate: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
WHY THIS SET
Use this set if the role touches press, partners, or public reputation. Even a
small business with no media program needs someone who will not make a bad day
worse. Skip or shorten it if the role is purely internal or purely marketing.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
1. What media relationships have you built, and how did you build them?
Why ask it: real relationships beat a media list every time.
Strong answer: names beats and outlets, describes giving before asking.
2. Walk me through a pitch that worked and one that was ignored.
Why ask it: the failure is more informative than the win.
Strong answer: a specific hook, and a clear-eyed reason the other one failed.
3. A customer complaint goes viral on a Saturday. Walk me through your first hour.
Why ask it: tests judgment under time pressure with no manager available.
Strong answer: verify facts, tell leadership, hold one message, respond fast.
4. Who should speak for a company in a crisis, and who should not?
Why ask it: reveals whether they understand spokesperson discipline.
Strong answer: one prepared spokesperson, everyone else routed to them.
5. Tell me about a mistake your organization made publicly. How was it handled?
Why ask it: shows how they behave when the news is genuinely bad.
Strong answer: acknowledge quickly, correct, say what changes, no spin.
6. What belongs in a crisis communication plan for a company our size?
Why ask it: a good candidate can build one in their first quarter.
Strong answer: contacts, roles, holding statements, and an approval chain.
7. When would you tell us to say nothing at all?
Why ask it: restraint is a skill, and silence is sometimes correct.
Strong answer: while facts are unconfirmed, or where legal counsel is involved.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Facts before statements, always
•One voice, one message, fast acknowledgment
•Comfort telling an owner something they do not want to hear
•No spin, no blame-shifting in the examples they choose
NOTES
__
Set 6: Scorecard, Red Flags, and Writing Test Brief
A 1-to-5 rubric across six competencies, a red-flag checklist, and a ready-to-send paid writing test brief. Use it with any combination of the sets above.
Scorecard, Red Flags, and Writing Test Brief
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST SCORECARD AND WRITING TEST
Candidate: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
HOW TO SCORE
Score each area from 1 to 5 right after the interview, while it is fresh. Anchor
every score to something the candidate actually said or wrote. If more than one
person interviews, each scores independently first, then compare written evidence
before discussing. Use the same rubric for every candidate.
5 = Strong, specific evidence 4 = Solid evidence 3 = Some evidence
2 = Weak or mixed evidence 1 = No evidence or red flags
SCORING AREAS
Writing and editing: clear, correct, adapts to audience and channel
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
Messaging and strategy: objectives before tactics, audience-first channels
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
Digital and measurement: hands-on channel work, a few real metrics
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
Internal and stakeholder work: sequencing, chasing input, discretion
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
Judgment under pressure: facts first, one voice, honest about bad news
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
Self-direction: can run the function without a manager above them
Score [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]
Evidence: ______
RED FLAGS (WEIGH CAREFULLY)
[ ] Portfolio pieces they cannot explain the audience or goal for
[ ] Talks only about output volume, never about results
[ ] Cannot name a single message that failed
[ ] Defensive about edits to their own writing
[ ] Would argue with a critic publicly rather than resolve it
[ ] Loose about confidential information in the interview itself
[ ] Errors in their own application email or writing sample
PAID WRITING TEST BRIEF (60 TO 90 MINUTES)
Give the same brief to every finalist, pay for their time, and set a deadline.
Task 1: Rewrite the attached announcement (about 200 words) for our customers.
Task 2: Turn it into one short post for the channel we use most.
Task 3: Write three sentences on who the audience is and what you changed, and
why.
Score the test on: accuracy, clarity, structure, audience fit, and whether they
followed the brief. Task 3 matters most; it shows the thinking behind the words.
Four Questions, and What a Strong Answer Sounds Like
Every question is only as good as the follow-up, so here are four of the most revealing ones worked through in full: why the question earns its place, what a strong answer contains, and what a weak one sounds like. The pattern repeats across the sets.
Walk me through a piece you wrote that you are proud of. Who was it for?
Why ask it: Ask it because a communications specialist writes for a specific audience with a specific goal. The portfolio piece matters far less than whether they can explain the decisions behind it.
Strong answer: Names the audience before the format, states what the piece was supposed to achieve, describes a constraint they worked around, and says what happened after it published. They can point to a sentence and explain why it is worded that way.
Weak answer: Describes the piece as an artifact: how long it took, how it looked, how many people saw it. No audience, no goal, no result. Treat a portfolio they cannot explain as unverified.
If we hired you tomorrow, what would you look at in your first two weeks?
Why ask it: Ask it because it tests whether the candidate diagnoses before producing. It also tells you how they would behave with no manager standing over them, which is the situation at most small companies.
Strong answer: Proposes an audit: what channels exist, what is already working, who the audience actually is, and what leadership is trying to achieve. Wants to talk to customers and to staff before publishing anything.
Weak answer: Jumps straight to deliverables: a content calendar, a newsletter, a social push. Producing before diagnosing is the single most common failure in this role.
Tell me about a message that did not land. What did you change?
Why ask it: Ask it because it separates people who measure from people who publish. A candidate with no failure to describe has either never looked at results or is not being straight with you.
Strong answer: A specific message, a specific miss, a specific diagnosis (wrong channel, wrong timing, wrong audience), and the change they made next time. Owns the call without blaming a reviewer.
Weak answer: Claims nothing has ever missed, or blames the audience, the timing, or a manager. Both answers tell you the candidate does not close the loop on their own work.
A customer complaint goes viral on a Saturday. Walk me through your first hour.
Why ask it: Ask it because judgment under pressure cannot be inferred from writing samples, and because a small business has no communications department to catch a bad call.
Strong answer: Verify the facts first, alert leadership immediately, agree one holding statement, acknowledge publicly and fast, then move the conversation to a private channel. Names who should speak and who should not.
Weak answer: Starts drafting a public reply before checking the facts, or argues the complaint in the thread. Speed without verification is how a small problem becomes a story.
Across all four, the same tell shows up. Strong candidates talk about audience, purpose, and outcome without being prompted. Weaker ones talk about the artifact: how it looked, how long it took, how many people saw it.
Craft signals
Names the audience before the format
Edits other people’s drafts without ego
Adapts structure per channel, not just wording
Results signals
Two or three metrics tied to an objective
Can name a message that failed and why
Reports honestly to an owner, misses included
Judgment signals
Facts before statements in a crisis
Pushes back privately, then commits
Discreet with sensitive information
Red flags
Portfolio pieces they cannot explain
Volume of output as the only result
Defensive about edits to their writing
Test the Writing, Do Not Just Discuss It
The single highest-value step in hiring a communications specialist is a short paid work sample, because writing is the one competency you can verify directly instead of inferring from a conversation. A candidate who talks brilliantly about clarity may still write three hundred words where a hundred would do.
Keep it standardized and job-related. Give every finalist the same brief at the same stage, pay for the time, and score it on the same criteria for everyone. That is also the fair approach: the EEOC treats selection procedures as job-related tools that must be applied consistently, which a single standard brief does by design.
Part of the brief
What it reveals
Rewrite a 200-word announcement for our customers
Clarity, structure, and whether they cut what does not serve the reader
Adapt it into one post for our main channel
Channel fluency, not just prose ability
Three sentences on the audience and what they changed
The thinking behind the words, which is the real hire
A stated deadline of 60 to 90 minutes
How they work under a real constraint
Score the third task hardest. Two candidates can produce similar copy, and the one who can explain who it is for and why it changed is the one who will still make good calls when you are not reviewing every draft. Do not ask for speculative work on a live project you intend to publish, and do read the EEOC guidance on employment tests and selection procedures before you build a test of your own.
Scoring the Interview
Score each candidate on a rubric immediately after the interview, while the answers are fresh, and anchor every score to something they actually said. This is what keeps a communications hire from turning into a popularity contest, which is the specific failure mode for a role where charm is a job skill.
Scoring area
What a 5 looks like
Writing and editing
Names the audience first; fixes structure, not just typos
Messaging and strategy
States an objective before naming a tactic
Digital and measurement
Hands-on channel work with two or three real metrics
Internal and stakeholder work
Sequences an announcement; chases input; stays discreet
Judgment under pressure
Verifies facts first; one voice; honest about bad news
Self-direction
Would diagnose before producing, with no manager above them
If more than one person interviews, each should score independently before the group talks, so the most senior voice does not anchor everyone else. The same questions and the same rubric for every candidate is the heart of a structured interview, and the scores give you something concrete to compare on an evaluation form instead of a debate about who felt best.
Specialist or Manager? Choose Before You Interview
A specialist mainly executes, and a manager owns strategy, budget, and often people. The line blurs at a small business, where a first communications hire routinely does specialist work with manager-level autonomy and nobody above them to review a draft.
What the role does
Specialist
Manager
Writes and edits day to day
Runs channels and the calendar
Sets the communications strategy
Owns a budget or agency relationships
Manages other people
The practical rule: if nobody in your company will set direction for this person, you are hiring for manager-level judgment even when the title says specialist. Weight strategy and self-direction heavily on the scorecard, pay accordingly, and consider whether the communications manager scope is closer to what you actually need.
Communications Specialist Pay
Pay varies with experience, industry, region, and scope, so anchor to federal data and then adjust. Communications specialists are classified within public relations specialists, an occupation the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes is also called communications specialists.
Median $74,750 a Year (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
Public relations specialists, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes are also called communications specialists, had a median annual wage of $74,750 in May 2025, about $35.94 an hour. The lowest 10 percent earned under $44,110 and the highest 10 percent more than $135,150, with the 25th percentile at $56,260 and the 75th at $100,370 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics).
Within that spread, corporate and agency roles and high-cost metros sit in the upper half, while nonprofit and entry-level coordinator roles start well below the median. Decide your range before the first interview rather than after, and put it in the posting, since a growing number of states require a pay range.
Fair, Legal, and Structured Interviewing
A fair interview and an accurate one are the same interview. Asking every candidate the same job-related questions keeps you on the right side of the rules, reduces bias, and produces a better hire, which is why structure is worth the small amount of preparation it costs.
Ask about the work, not the person
Federal anti-discrimination law, enforced by the EEOC, prohibits basing a hiring decision on protected characteristics, and questions that probe them create risk even when they are asked as small talk. Avoid age, race, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy or family plans, disability, and genetic information. Communications interviews have their own traps, because the conversation is naturally chatty and often drifts to social media profiles and personal blogs. Keep the discussion on published work the candidate offers as a sample, and keep every question tied to writing, messaging, and judgment. The sets on this page are written to stay on the job. This is general information, not legal advice.
Same core questions, every candidate
A structured interview, where every candidate answers the same questions and is scored against the same rubric, predicts on-the-job performance better than a free-flowing conversation, and it lowers the chance that a decision rests on rapport rather than evidence. Communications candidates are unusually good at rapport, which is exactly why an unstructured chat misleads here more than in most roles. Write the questions in advance, ask them in the same order, and score them. The downloadable sets and the rubric are built to make that easy for one person running the whole process.
Keep the writing test job-related
A work sample is the strongest predictor you can use for a writing role, and it is also the fairest, provided it is job-related and given to everyone at the same stage. Use one brief for all finalists, keep it to 60 to 90 minutes, pay for the time, and score it on the same criteria you scored the interview on. Do not ask for speculative work on a live project you intend to publish. A short, paid, standardized exercise tells you more than any answer about writing ever will, and it treats candidates fairly while doing it.
Weight the sets to your actual role
A communications specialist at a nonprofit, a business-to-business software company, and a local services business do different work, so weight the questions to your reality. If the hire will mostly write customer-facing content, lean on writing, messaging, and digital. If they will own employee communication because you have no HR department, weight the internal set heavily. If press and reputation are part of the job, keep the media and crisis set. Be specific about what the role must deliver in the first 90 days, then interview for exactly that instead of for a generic corporate communications job.
Structure Beats Rapport, Especially Here
A structured interview, where every candidate answers the same questions and is scored against the same rubric, predicts on-the-job performance more reliably than an unstructured conversation, and asking the same job-related questions of everyone also keeps you within the EEOC rules against basing decisions on protected characteristics. For a role where rapport is itself a job skill, that gap matters more than usual.
Keep the conversation on published work the candidate offers, and avoid drifting into personal accounts, family, origin, or age. If you want the full list of questions to keep out of the room, see the guide to questions employers cannot ask. This is general information, not legal advice.
Interviewing Without an HR Department
At a large company this candidate meets a panel, a recruiter coordinates the scorecards, and a communications director judges the writing. At a small business the owner does all three jobs at once, usually in one hour, and often running the interview without having hired for this function before.
The candidate will be the entire communications department
At a large company a communications specialist sits inside a team with a manager reviewing every draft and a brand guide already written. At a small business they are the function: the website copy, the customer emails, the social channels, the announcement to staff, and the response when something goes wrong on a Saturday. That changes what you interview for. Self-direction moves from nice-to-have to a scored criterion, which is why it is on the rubric. Ask what they would look at in their first two weeks, and hire the candidate who wants to diagnose before producing.
Communications candidates interview well, which makes gut feel dangerous
Talking persuasively is the job, so the interview measures the skill and the performance at the same time. That is a real trap for an owner running the process alone: the most charming candidate is not reliably the best writer, and a quiet candidate can be the stronger operator. The defense is structure plus proof. Ask the same questions of everyone, score each competency against evidence rather than impression, and settle the writing question with a short paid test instead of a conversation about writing. The rubric and the test brief are in the last download.
Without an HR department, this hire usually inherits employee communication
In a company with no HR team, the person who writes well ends up writing the policy announcement, the benefits email, and the all-hands deck. Interview for that explicitly rather than discovering it in month two: ask how they have handled a change employees did not want, and how they would sequence an announcement across managers and staff. Once you choose someone, FirstHR handles the people side of bringing them on: send the offer for e-signature, run the new hire paperwork and onboarding workflow, and keep signed documents and interview records on the employee profile. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Two habits close most of the gap: ask the same questions of everyone, and make the writing test do the work that a communications director would otherwise do. Neither costs much time, and together they turn one founder's hour into something closer to a full hiring team's process. If the role also covers crisis work, the federal guidance on a crisis communications plan is a useful yardstick for judging what a candidate proposes.
From Interview to Onboarding
Once you choose someone, the work shifts from evaluating to hiring well: a clear offer letter, the new hire paperwork, and a first 90 days specific enough that a one-person function knows what to produce.
Score before you discuss
Fill in the 1-to-5 rubric immediately after each interview, with evidence, and have every interviewer score independently first.
Run the paid writing test
Send the same brief to every finalist, pay for the time, and score it on the same criteria you used in the interview.
Send the offer
Confirm the role, scope, pay, and start date in writing, with e-signature so you have a clean signed record.
Onboard for the first 90 days
Give the new hire access, context, and a clear list of what to deliver, so a one-person function starts producing quickly.
Onboarding a communications hire has one wrinkle most roles do not: they will hold the keys to your public channels from week one, so access and context both need deliberate handling. Give them the introductions before you give them the passwords, and keep a written record of what access was granted to whom. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR, so for now those interview notes and scorecards are worth filing with the onboarding documents rather than leaving them in an inbox.
Collect the paperwork
Signed offer, I-9, W-4, and policy acknowledgments, stored where you can find them later.
Set channel access carefully
This hire will hold the keys to your public channels. Grant access deliberately and keep an owner account of your own.
Book the context meetings
Introductions to sales, support, and leadership in week one, so the messaging comes from the business, not from guesswork.
Agree the first 90 days
Write down two or three things the role must deliver by day 90, and review against them rather than against output volume.
FirstHR connects the offer, e-signature, new hire paperwork, and the onboarding workflow in one place, and keeps signed documents and interview records on the employee profile, so a small business can run hiring through to onboarding from a single system. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a marketing, content, or social media tool, so pair it with those. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR. Once your questions are set, browse the rest of the hiring templates for the posting, the evaluation form, and the offer.
Key Takeaways
Score a communications specialist on writing, messaging, digital and measurement, internal comms, judgment under pressure, and self-direction.
Push past the portfolio: for every sample, ask who the audience was, what the goal was, and what happened after it published.
Settle the writing question with a short paid work sample, given to every finalist on the same brief and scored on the same criteria.
Charm is a job skill in this role, which is exactly why an unstructured conversation misleads more here than elsewhere.
Decide specialist or manager before you interview; with nobody setting direction, you need manager-level judgment either way.
Anchor pay to the federal occupation, which reported a median of $74,750 a year in May 2025, then adjust for scope and market.
Frequently Asked Questions
What questions should I ask a communications specialist candidate?
Ask questions that test six things: writing and editing, audience and messaging strategy, digital channels and measurement, internal communication, judgment under pressure, and self-direction. Strong openers include: walk me through a piece you wrote and who it was for; if we hired you tomorrow, what would you look at in your first two weeks; how do you decide which channel a message belongs on; what do you measure and what do you ignore; tell me about a message that did not land and what you changed; and how have you communicated a change employees did not want. Every one of these asks for a real example rather than an opinion, which is what makes them useful. Pair the interview with a short paid writing test, because a work sample settles the writing question better than any answer about writing can.
How do I test writing skills in a communications interview?
Use a short paid work sample rather than relying on the conversation. Give every finalist the same brief at the same stage, keep it to 60 to 90 minutes, pay for the time, and set a clear deadline. A good brief has three parts: rewrite a short announcement for a specific audience, adapt it into one post for your main channel, and write three sentences explaining who the audience is and what was changed. The third part matters most, because it exposes the thinking behind the words. Score the test on accuracy, clarity, structure, audience fit, and whether the brief was followed. Keep the exercise job-related and standardized across candidates, and avoid asking for speculative work on a live project you intend to publish. The downloadable scorecard on this page includes a ready-made brief.
What is the difference between a communications specialist and a communications manager?
A specialist mainly executes: writing, editing, publishing, managing channels, and supporting campaigns, usually with someone else setting direction. A manager owns the strategy, the budget, and often other people, and is accountable for whether communications achieved a business result. At a small business the line blurs, because a first communications hire frequently does specialist work with manager-level autonomy and no one above them to review drafts. Decide which you are hiring before you interview, because it changes both the questions and the pay. If nobody will set the direction for them, you are hiring for manager-level judgment even if the title says specialist, and you should weight strategy and self-direction heavily on the scorecard.
How much does a communications specialist earn?
Communications specialists are classified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics within public relations specialists, an occupation BLS notes is also called communications specialists. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey put the median annual wage at $74,750 in May 2025, about $35.94 per hour. The lowest 10 percent earned under $44,110 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $135,150, with the 25th percentile at $56,260 and the 75th at $100,370. Pay varies with experience, industry, region, and the scope of the role. Corporate and agency roles and high-cost metros sit toward the upper half, while nonprofit and entry-level coordinator roles start well below the median. Use the federal figures as a baseline, then adjust for your market and the level you actually need.
What are red flags in a communications specialist interview?
The clearest red flag is a portfolio the candidate cannot explain: if they cannot name the audience, the goal, and the outcome for a piece, the sample is unverified. Watch for candidates who describe only output volume rather than results, who cannot name a single message that failed, or who become defensive about edits to their own writing, since editing is constant in this role. In the crisis questions, be wary of anyone who would draft a public reply before verifying the facts or who would argue with a critic in a public thread. Also weigh careless errors in their own application email or writing sample, and any looseness with confidential information during the interview itself, because discretion is part of the job rather than a bonus.
Should a small business hire a communications specialist or use a freelancer?
It depends on how much steady work exists and how much internal context the work needs. A freelancer or agency fits well when the need is project-based: a website rewrite, a launch campaign, or press support for one announcement. An employee fits better when communication is continuous, requires deep knowledge of your business, or includes internal work such as policy announcements and employee updates, which is hard to outsource. Many small businesses start with a freelancer and hire in-house once the coordination overhead exceeds the cost of a salary. If you hire in-house, interview for self-direction as hard as you interview for writing, because a first communications hire at a small company operates without a manager reviewing drafts.
How long should a communications specialist interview be?
Plan 45 to 60 minutes for the main interview, plus a separate paid writing test. That is enough time to cover two or three questions from each set that matters for your role, ask real follow-ups, and leave room for the candidate’s own questions, which reveal how they think about the work. Depth beats breadth: a handful of questions with genuine follow-up tells you more than a rushed list of twenty. Most small businesses run two rounds, an initial conversation and a final interview after the writing test. Score immediately after each interview while the answers are fresh, and if more than one person interviews, have each person score independently before the group compares notes.
What interview questions are off-limits when hiring a communications specialist?
Avoid anything that probes characteristics protected under federal law, which the EEOC enforces: age, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy or family plans, disability, and genetic information. In practice that means no questions about how old someone is, whether they have or plan to have children, where they are originally from, their religious observance, or their health. Communications interviews carry an extra trap, because the conversation is naturally social and often drifts toward personal social media accounts and blogs. Discuss the published work a candidate offers as a sample, and keep the rest of the conversation on writing, messaging, and judgment. Asking every candidate the same job-related questions is the simplest way to stay both fair and consistent. This is general information, not legal advice.
