How do I hire a video editor?

Treat hiring as filtering, not gambling. Write a job ad that screens out anyone who didn't read it (a phrase every applicant must include), interview everyone left on craft, communication, reliability and fit to see whether they can think, then pay your top two for a small test edit to see whether they can deliver. Never hire on a showreel alone. Once you've hired, spend the first thirty days on a style guide, a file structure and one way of reviewing work.

What should a paid test edit for a video editor include?

Give your top two candidates the same footage, the same brief and the same deadline, pay the fee on delivery whether or not you go ahead, and build in one round of consolidated notes so you see how they take feedback. Ask them to say how long it took. Score each test against the brief on following the brief, story, craft, fit with your style guide, communication, how they handled notes, and reliability.

Field Guides / Team

How to hire a video editor: interview to filter, pay to decide

Q: Should I hire a video editor based on their showreel?

Not on the reel alone. A showreel proves someone cut something well once. It doesn't prove they can hit your brief, in your style, on your timeline. A small paid test job proves that, and it's the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy on a hire.

Treat hiring as filtering, not gambling. Write a job ad that screens out anyone who didn't read it, interview everyone left to see whether they can think, then pay your top two for a small test edit to see whether they can deliver. Never hire on a showreel alone, and once you've hired, spend the first thirty days on a style guide, a file structure and one way of reviewing work.

Why do owners stay stuck in the edit?

Owners stay stuck in the edit because their own standard won't let the work go, and because when they do hire, they bet on a reel.

You can't scale your business if you're going to stay on the tools. Building a business means the business produces the income without you having to shoot or edit. You can still choose to do parts of it. You just don't have to.

The hardest part is usually your own standard. Owners take an edit to 110% when 85% would satisfy the brief and give the client the outcome they wanted. Start the hand-off with the low-level work that shouldn't be yours anyway: client changes, lower thirds and social cut-downs.

The second reason is how the hire gets made. A reel looks good, the candidate seems keen, and the owner says yes. Or they swing the other way. Owners often put every candidate through the full process, then discover halfway that two of them were never ready, having burned time and goodwill.

Still deciding whether you can afford the hire at all? Start with making your first hire.

How the two-step hire works: interview, then a paid test

The two-step hire uses an interview to filter and a paid test to decide. An interview, or a short written exchange, tells you whether someone can think. A small paid test tells you whether they can actually deliver.

A showreel proves someone cut something well once. It doesn't prove they can hit your brief, in your style, on your timeline. The paid test does, and it's the cheapest way to find out before the stakes are real.

How to hire a video editor: the method, step by step

Hiring a video editor takes five steps. The first three steps filter, and you only pay at step four.

Write the ad so it does the first filter for you. The ad below is adapted from the one Matt Smolen, one of our VBA coaches, wrote to hire editors for Balloon Tree Productions, his Melbourne production company. It sets the quality bar before the task list, separates required tools from nice-to-haves, lists the workflow tools so nobody guesses, states the paid trial, and ends with a phrase every applicant must include. Change the phrase so it's unique to you.
Discard every application without the phrase. The phrase is the first test of whether someone reads a brief and follows an instruction.
Interview everyone who's left, and record it. Cover four things: craft, communication, reliability and fit. Read the transcripts side by side afterwards. Look for a clear process, questions about the work, and someone who talks about story first. A scattered portfolio and a heavy lean on AI to do the cutting are signs someone isn't ready yet.
Pay the top two for a small test edit. Same footage, same brief, same deadline for both, using the test brief below. Build one round of notes into the test, because you'll be giving this person notes every week.
Score the test against the brief. Fill in the scoring sheet for each candidate before you compare them. Done looks like a written decision on each candidate with one line of why.

Copy and paste: the job ad (adapted from Matt Smolen's, Balloon Tree Productions)

Video Editor (mid to senior), long-term role

[Company name] | [City]-based (remote)

[Company name] is a [city]-based video production company making [the work you make: commercials, branded content, social, internal comms, podcasts].

We work with [the kind of clients you serve], which means our quality bar is high, our expectations are clear, and our team takes a lot of pride in what we make.

The role. You'll start with [social and short-form content: cut-downs and content repurposed for each platform]. As you settle in, you'll support client projects as overflow and take ownership of whole edits where it fits. You'll work alongside [who reviews your work]. You'll be briefed clearly and trusted to craft the story, submit versions, take feedback and refine.

What we're looking for. A mid to senior editor who knows how to tell a story, not just cut clips; works efficiently without sacrificing quality; brings ideas to a brief; takes ownership of their work; and communicates clearly. This is not a junior role. You should be comfortable making creative decisions and taking footage beyond what's asked.

Tools and workflow. Required: [your edit software, and the level you need]. Nice to have, not required: [motion graphics, design, sound design]. Workflow tools we use: [email and file storage], [review platform], [project management tool]. We have a morning check-in, then talk as needed through the day.

Location and availability. We're based in [city]. Ideally you can work aligned with [time zone] or with strong overlap. Deadlines are set clearly per project (no constant fire drills).

Trial and growth. We run a paid trial project before we hire. The goal is a long-term role of [hours a week, or full time].

Important application note. To show you've read this carefully and can follow instructions, your application must include the phrase "[your unique phrase]". Applications without it won't be considered.

Copy and paste: the paid test brief

Thanks for the interview. We'd like to pay you to cut a short test before we decide.

The job: [deliverable, for example a 60-second social cut-down] from [footage, with link].

Format: [aspect ratio], [length], [captions or none], exported as [spec].

Style: follow the attached style guide. [Reference edit link] shows the look we're after.

Deadline: [day and time, with time zone]. Please tell us how long it took.

Fee: $[amount], paid on delivery whether or not we go ahead.

Process: upload version 1 to [review platform] by the deadline. We'll send one consolidated set of notes within [time], and we'd like version 2 back within [time].

Questions: ask anything you need before you start. Asking is part of the test.

On delivery, add two lines on the choices you made and what you'd do with more time.

Copy and paste: the test edit scoring sheet

Candidate: [name]. Test: [deliverable].

Score each line 1 to 5, against the brief.

Followed the brief (length, format, export, deadline): [ ]

Story (the cut tells a story from start to finish): [ ]

Craft (pace, sound, finish, captions): [ ]

Style guide (looks and sounds like our work): [ ]

Communication (questions before starting, a clear note on delivery): [ ]

Took notes (version 2 deals with every note and breaks nothing new): [ ]

Reliability (on time, said how long it took): [ ]

Total: [ ] out of 35

Would version 2 go to the client with light notes from me? [Yes or no]

Decision: [hire or no], because [one line].

What to do in the first thirty days with a new editor

The first thirty days with a new editor build the conditions they'll work in: a style guide, a file structure and one review process. Matt's ad sets out the same order: short-form first, then overflow on client projects, then whole edits where appropriate.

Week one: the style guide and the file structure. Hand over the style guide below, the folder template every project uses, and access to your review and project tools. First jobs are the low-level work from earlier in this guide.
Weeks two and three: brief, version, notes, refine. A morning check-in each day, then talk as needed. Every job gets a clear brief, the editor submits a version, you send one consolidated set of notes on your review platform, and they refine. Set deadlines per project.
Week four: the first edit they own. Where it fits, give them a whole edit from brief to delivery, and your job is the review. Any note you find yourself repeating goes into the style guide.

How many rounds the client gets, and how to count them, is in revision rounds. Your editor works to the same definition of a round: one consolidated set of changes.

Copy and paste: the one-page editor style guide outline

[Company name] editor style guide

1. Who we make work for: [clients]. Three edits that show our standard: [links].

2. Look: fonts [ ], colours [ ], lower-thirds template [file], logo use [rule].

3. Sound: music sources [library], dialogue levels [spec].

4. Captions: font, size, position [rule].

5. Formats and exports: aspect ratios [ ], export settings [ ], delivery format [ ].

6. File structure: every project uses [folder template]. File names follow [job number_client_deliverable_v01].

7. Versions and review: versions are numbered v01, v02 and so on. Every version goes to [review platform]. Notes come back as one consolidated set per version.

8. Communication: morning check-in at [time]. Questions go in [project tool].

9. Done means: the brief is met at the standard the client asked for. Flag anything you'd push further, then deliver.

A worked example

One member was hiring a part-time remote editor, around 20 hours a week, and had four candidates. The plan was to put all four through a paid test. The advice was interview to filter, pay to decide.

Candidate	What the interview showed	Next step
A	A clear process, asked questions about the work	Paid test
B	Real-world experience, talked about story first	Paid test
C	A scattered portfolio, leaning on AI	No test
D	Not ready yet	No test

Two paid tests instead of four, which halved the test fees.

The mistakes that undo it

Three mistakes undo the two-step hire, and each one puts you back in the edit.

Paying every candidate for a test. Test fees and review time go on people an interview would have filtered out. Interview first.
Making exceptions to the filter phrase. Once a good reel buys a pass, the phrase stops filtering, and you're back to sifting every application by hand.
Handing over the hero edit first. A new editor on your biggest client's main edit, before they know your style, sends you straight back to the timeline. Start smaller.

The rule of thumb for hiring an editor

Never hire an editor on the reel alone. A small paid test job is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy on a hire.

The benchmark: the ad filters on one phrase, the interview filters on four things (craft, communication, reliability, fit), and only the top two get paid to test.

Hold yourself accountable

Which of these have you taken on or put in place recently?

Your job ad has a quality bar, a paid trial and a filter phrase unique to you.
You interviewed and read the transcripts before paying anyone for a test.
Your test brief and scoring sheet existed before the first candidate saw the footage.
Your editor got a one-page style guide and your folder template on day one.

Your one move this week

What's the one thing you can commit to implementing this week? If you're not sure, start here.

Fill in the one-page style guide outline for your business, using three of your recent delivered jobs as the reference edits. Your first editor will need it on day one, and so will the test brief.

One thing executed every week creates 50 strategic moves a year.

Questions like these come up regularly on our weekly Elite Boardroom calls. If you'd like someone to hold you to account each week, and to learn from a group of peers who run video businesses too, the Boardroom is for you.

Related tools and guides. How many revision rounds to include, The three revision emails, All Field Guides.