How Can You Stop Hiring on ‘Vibes’?

If you’re growing your agency and starting to make more hires – or perhaps even your first one – chances are, you’ve never had much training on how to actually run an interview.

You might be the founder, or part of a small leadership team. But that doesn’t mean you’ve got a hiring playbook ready to go. Most agency leaders figure it out as they go along – and more often than not, that means relying on ‘vibes’ or gut feel.

But that only gets you so far. What if your radar’s off? What if someone dazzles you in the room but turns out to be totally wrong for the role?

For Jo Carter, co-founder of Concept Onyx Recruitment, the key is learning how to dig deeper.

“By asking the right questions, you can interpret tone, body language, and responses – and that gives you a much clearer sense of whether someone’s actually right for your culture and clients,” she says.

In this session, Jo will help you turn casual chats into confident decisions. She’ll show you how to:

• Ask smarter questions that get beneath the surface.

• Spot red flags – in what candidates say and how they say it.

• Judge real potential, not just how polished someone seems.

• Get clear on whether someone’s truly the right fit – for the role, the team, and the chaos of agency life.

If you’ve ever left an interview thinking, “They were nice, but I’ve no idea if they can do the job…” – this one’s for you.