How to Assess a Paid Ads Executive Before Interviewing

Finding out how to assess a Paid Ads Executive before interviewing can save your organisation thousands in wasted media spend and recruiter hours. Traditional CV sifts and keyword filters miss the one thing that matters: can the candidate make smart, data-driven decisions under pressure?

In this guide you’ll learn a repeatable, research-backed process that uses scenario-based assessments to surface top performers before you ever pick up the phone.

Why CVs and Certifications Don’t Predict Paid-Ads Performance

Google and Meta certifications look reassuring, yet Schmidt & Hunter’s landmark meta-analysis shows that education and credentials correlate only 0.10 with job performance.

SHRM’s 2023 Hiring Report found that 67 % of UK recruiters admit they have “limited confidence” that a Google Ads certification translates into profitable campaigns.

Work-sample testing—letting candidates demonstrate the exact behaviours you need—correlates 0.51 with job performance, five times stronger than credentials.

The Five Competencies Every Paid Ads Executive Must Demonstrate

Before you build a work-sample test, define the non-negotiables. For paid ads we consistently see five drivers of success:

• Commercial Acumen: Can they set KPIs aligned to gross margin, not just ROAS?
• Data Slicing: Do they isolate segments and run controlled experiments?
• Budget Allocation: Can they re-allocate spend mid-flight when demand shifts?
• Copy & Creative Iteration: Do they write ad variants grounded in customer insight?
• Platform Agility: How quickly do they adopt new features without sacrificing performance?

Turn Competencies into Mini-Scenarios

Map each competency to a mini-scenario. For example, give candidates a £20 k Google Ads account on the verge of missing its CPA target and ask them to record a 3-minute Loom video explaining the three changes they would make in the next 24 hours. Grade with a rubric that scores their reasoning, not the final answer.

Designing a 30-Minute Scenario-Based Assessment

Time is money, so keep the assessment under 30 minutes yet high on cognitive fidelity. SkillProof clients typically use a four-part flow:

1. Context Video (90 s): Show a short screen-share of a live ad account with a looming Q4 spend cap.
2. Situational Judgement (8 min): Present five branching dilemmas, e.g., “You notice £2 k daily spend on a keyword with zero conversions—what is your first action?” Each choice unlocks follow-up data, mimicking real life.
3. Data Response (12 min): Provide a CSV export and ask them to calculate incremental revenue from a geo-bid-adjustment test. Let them use any tool; you’re scoring approach, not Excel wizardry.
4. Strategic Recommendation (7 min): Require a 150-word summary of next-month budget shift plus one risk mitigation.

Proof It Works

Our 2024 internal study of 312 paid-media hires shows that candidates in the top quartile of this exercise deliver a 27 % lower blended CPA in their first 90 days compared to bottom-quartile peers.

Scoring Matrix: How to Remove Bias and Stay Compliant

Align each section to a 5-point rubric: 5 = expert, 3 = competent, 1 = poor. Have two independent raters; inter-rater reliability above 0.80 is considered fair.

Weight the sections to mirror job impact:

• 40 % strategic recommendation
• 30 % data response
• 20 % situational judgement
• 10 % context awareness

Anonymise candidate details until scoring is complete to reduce affinity bias, a recommendation echoed by the UK’s Behavioural Insights Team.

Red Flags That Only Scenarios Can Reveal

Look out for:

• Vanity metrics focus (CTR, impressions) without tying to profit.
• Over-reliance on automated bidding with zero exclusion layers.
• Cannot articulate a testing hypothesis in plain English.
• Ignore brand-safety or policy compliance.

These behaviours rarely surface in polished portfolios but become obvious under scenario conditions.

Embedding the Assessment into Your Existing Hiring Funnel

Send the link immediately after the application form; completion rate averages 78 % when mobile-friendly.

Automatically progress candidates who score ≥ 70 % to a short video intro, cutting recruiter screening calls by half.

For senior hires, add a live case round where they present a 90-day roadmap; the earlier scenario score becomes a benchmark, reducing panel subjectivity.

Final Checklist Before You Advertise the Role

• ☐ Map the five core competencies to business OKRs.
• ☐ Build 4–6 branching scenarios grounded in real account data.
• ☐ Calibrate rubric with hiring manager and finance partner.
• ☐ Test the assessment internally; aim for 65–75 % completion in ≤ 30 min.
• ☐ Set a pass mark linked to performance, not labour-market availability.

Assessing a Paid Ads Executive before interviewing is no longer a nice-to-have. With media inflation running at 9 % YoY, every mis-hire compounds your cost base. Scenario-based tests give you objective, defensible data that CVs simply cannot.

SkillProof generates AI-powered, scenario-based assessments tailored to any role. Try it free.