We just hired two rockstars…

…and it was the fastest and easiest interview process we’ve ever had.

No recruiters…
No endless screening calls…
No stupid questions from candidates who clearly applied to 200 jobs that morning…

And it's all thanks to a simple "Are You Sure?" pre-interview email we sent just before the first interview.

I'll show you the email we sent and even give you a template you can "swipe" and send to your next round of applicants…

…but first, let's break down exactly what happened.

Last month, we posted an opening for an Account Manager role at The Scalable Company.

We received 100s of applications…18 of which were actually qualified.

In the past, the next step would have been to schedule a dozen-plus interviews, only to have half the candidates no-show or show up not even knowing what job they're interviewing for.

(Thanks, AI-powered mass-apply tools!)

I don't know about you, but we're freakin' sick of that nonsense.

It's a giant waste of everyone's time, and it drags out the hiring process for the people who are a fit.

So, instead of jumping straight to interviews, we sent every approved applicant this "Are you sure?" email:

❝

Subject: Next steps for the Account Manager role

Hi [Name],

Thanks for applying for the Account Manager position at The Scalable Company. Your application looks great, and I'd love to find a time when we can do a more formal interview.

Before we book a time, I want to share a few key details to make sure this role is actually what you're looking for:

  • This is a full-time, remote position (not part-time, not hybrid)

  • A typical week includes 20-24 hours of client calls, 10-12 hours of prep and follow-up, plus internal meetings

  • Onboarding takes 3-4 weeks. Full ramp to capacity is 90-120 days.

  • A full client load is 75 clients

  • Salary band is X−Y, plus [benefits summary]

  • We're hiring two people for this role

If this all sounds good and you're still excited, let me know and I'll send over some interview times.

Looking forward to connecting,
Chris

That's it.

No tricks…no pressure…just radical transparency before anyone wastes a minute on a Zoom call.

Of the 18 candidates who received it:

  • 3 never replied, and…

  • 5 wrote back and self-selected out. (They were looking for part-time work, or the salary wasn't what they expected. Totally fine. We saved each other an hour.)

But here's where it gets interesting…

Two candidates replied with questions that were answered directly in the email they were replying to.

One asked: "Is this full-time or part-time?"

Another asked: "What's the salary band?"

Some people say there's no such thing as a stupid question.

I disagree.

A stupid question is a question that someone asks when the answer is quite literally staring them right in the face.

I want to be clear, there's nothing wrong with asking questions. But if you can't be bothered to read a short email from the company you're supposedly excited to work for…

…that tells me everything I need to know.

It's not just about being "detail-oriented," it's about caring…give-a-damn.

Maybe you're OK hiring people who see your role as "just another job," but we're not. And if reading one email feels like too much effort…you're probably not going to thrive in a role that requires 20+ hours a week of client communication.

(Ask me how I know this matters. 🙂)

Needless to say, these people were not invited to the next round of interviews.

That left 8 qualified applicants for us to interview.

  • 2 found other roles before we could interview them

  • The 6 we interviewed were outstanding

  • We hired the best 2 (but I wish we could have hired all 6)

18 → 6 interviews → 2 great hires. Zero wasted hours.

Most companies treat hiring like a sales pitch. They hide the hard stuff…the hours, the pay, the grind…because they're afraid candidates will run.

But the candidates who run when they see the truth? Those are the ones who would've quit in 90 days anyway.

The pre-interview "Are You Sure?" email doesn't just filter for interest. It filters for fit, self-awareness, attention-to-detail, and give-a-damn…before you ever get on a call.

⚡️ Action Step: Before your next hire, write your own "Are You Sure?" email. List the 5-7 things that would make the wrong candidate say "never mind"…and send it before you schedule a single interview. You'll cut your interview load in half and the people who show up will actually want to be there.

Try it once. I think you'll be surprised by how much time you save.

-Ryan

Ryan Deiss
Co-Founder and CEO, The Scalable Company

P.S. Here's the exact template we use. Fill in the brackets and send it before your next round of interviews:

❝

Subject: Next steps for [Role Title] at [Company Name]

Hi [Name],

Thanks for your interest in the [Role Title] position. Your application looks great, and I'd love to schedule a [length] interview with [Hiring Manager Name + Title].

Before we book time, here are a few key details to make sure this role aligns with what you're looking for:

  • [Full-time/Part-time], [Remote/Hybrid/On-site], [Location requirements]

  • Here's what a typical week looks like: [Break down the actual hours and activities]

  • Onboarding and training takes approximately [timeframe]

  • Ramp time to full capacity is [timeframe]

  • [Key metric or workload detail, e.g., "A full client load is X accounts"]

  • Salary band is [actual range], plus [benefits/variable comp summary]

  • We're currently hiring [number] for this role

If this all sounds good and you're still excited about the opportunity, let me know and I'll send over some times.

Looking forward to connecting!

[Name + Title]

P.P.S. I’m looking for 5 business owners who want to work 1-on-1 with my team and me to install a custom “operating system” (and a team of “AI Employees”) in the next 6 weeks, so your business can scale and so you can exit the day-to-day. Click here for the details.

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