Hiring an Editor: Publisher Guide for Conducting the Interview

Prioritize candidates who demonstrate strong organization, deadline management, and storytelling ability. Watch for red flags indicating poor time management, lack of initiative, or weak local connections. If the candidate is a strong fit, discuss the next steps for training and onboarding.

Introduction & Overview Script

Hello [Candidate Name],

Thank you for your interest in the Editor position for [Publication Name] City Lifestyle! I’d love to give you a better understanding of what City Lifestyle is and what your day-to-day as an Editor will look like.

City Lifestyle is a franchise business with over 200+ publications across the U.S. As a local publisher, I focus on running and growing [Publication Name], and I rely on a great team—including an Editor—to help bring high-quality content to our community.

As a local magazine, we get the benefits of corporate support while maintaining creative control over content. City Lifestyle provides layout design, printing, distribution, and ad production support, allowing us to focus on connecting with our community and telling engaging local stories.

How Content Works at City Lifestyle

Editors work closely with the Publisher to select stories that align with our publication’s vision, highlighting both local community interests and supporting advertisers. While we follow City Lifestyle’s editorial themes and brand guidelines, our goal is to curate content that resonates with our audience and complements the businesses and individuals we feature.

Your Role as an Editor

As an Editor for [Publication Name], your main responsibilities will include:

• Planning and assigning content—You’ll manage editorial themes, conduct interviews, write articles, copy edit all articles, and coordinate with freelance writers and photographers. You will also help creatively feature our advertising partners in content and help develop creative content ideas. 
• Managing deadlines—You’ll work within our set production cycle to ensure all content is uploaded and print-ready by deadline day.
• Working efficiently—We encourage Editors to work smarter, not harder, which means editorial interviews can be conducted in person, over the phone, or through email. The editor is not required to attend all photoshoots, so as long as there is clear communication with your freelance photographers and clear direction is given, you should be able to trust your freelance team to get the photos they need. This requires a clear plan and communication with our team.

Collaborating with me as the Publisher—Together, we’ll ensure that the magazine reflects the best of [Local Community] and delivers an engaging reader experience.

Our magazine is direct-mailed to homes at no cost to readers, which means our content must be highly engaging and relevant. Our mission is to ensure the magazine is truly for the community, by the community.

I’d love to hear about your experience and how you see yourself fitting into this role. Let’s start with a few questions…

Interview Questions

Experience & Organizational Skills

1. This role involves meeting deadlines and managing contributors. Do you have experience in deadline management and working with a team to meet deadlines?
   1. Desired Response: Mention specific examples of successfully managing deadlines and contributors. Expresses confidence in time management and multitasking. Shows familiarity with editorial workflows or project coordination.
   2. Red Flag Response: Struggles to provide an example of past deadline management. Expresses discomfort with delegating or working with contributors.
2. How do you organize yourself or others to meet deadlines?
   1. Desired Response: Mentions using tools like calendars, checklists, or spreadsheets. Discusses a structured approach to breaking down deadlines into manageable tasks. Mention follow-ups with contributors to ensure timely submissions.
   2. Red Flag Response: Has no clear system for staying organized. Mention procrastination or last-minute scrambling. Lacks experience with coordinating deadlines.

Content & Visual Direction

3. If you assigned a photographer to shoot a local restaurant feature, what 5-6 photos would you request to best capture the space?
   1. Desired Response: Mentions exterior, interior, plated dishes, staff in action, ambiance, and unique décor. Understand the importance of storytelling through visuals. Explain how photos enhance reader engagement.
   2. Red Flag Response: Only mentions basic food shots without considering environment or storytelling. Fails to understand how photography complements editorial content.
4. The editor is responsible for guiding freelance writers and photographers to match the magazine's visual and editorial style. What kind of photo direction would you give for the following editorials?
   1. A local charity event
      1. Desired Response: Candid shots of attendees, keynote speakers, volunteers in action, and key moments of the event.
      2. Red Flag Response: Only suggests posed group photos without storytelling elements.
   2. A home tour of a local entrepreneur
      1. Desired Response: I would suggest capturing wide shots of the space, close-ups of design details, lifestyle shots of the homeowner, and functional areas like a workspace.
      2. Red Flag Response: Mentions only generic room photos without personal or storytelling elements.

Qualifications & Commitment

5. Do you live within 15-30 miles of the publication city?
   1. Desired Response: Yes
   2. Red Flag Response: No (Candidate does not meet location requirements.)
6. What is your experience with content creation, writing, and working with a team?
   1. Desired Response: Has some experience with writing, managing a deadline, and coordinating people. Creativity and being able to think outside of the box are great assets for this position.
   2. Red Flag Response: No experience at all and doesn’t like to interact with people.
7. This position requires approximately 40 hours per month. Do you have the time to commit?
   1. Desired Response: Yes (Clearly states ability to commit.)
   2. Red Flag Response: No (The Candidate may struggle to meet deadlines.)

Community Engagement & Future Goals

8. How are you connected to your community?
   1. Desired Response: Mentions local involvement in events, businesses, or organizations. Shows understanding of what makes the community unique.
   2. Red Flag Response: States no local involvement or has just moved to the area. Cannot provide local story ideas.
9. What are your 3-5 year personal or professional goals?
   1. Desired Response: Expresses interest in growing their editorial career. Mentions developing leadership or creative skills.
   2. Red Flag Response: States they are using this as a temporary job with no long-term commitment. Does not have a clear professional vision.

Closing Questions

10. Do you have any additional questions for us?
    1. Desired Response: Asks about next steps, publication workflow, or long-term growth.

Red Flag Response: Asks no questions, indicating low engagement or lack of interest.