"More of a self-starter creative ads director."
By George Barnett Reid 👀 · September 26, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
"More of a self-starter creative ads director."
That was the entire reason given.
Not: they can't run DSP. Not: their numbers were soft. Not: the ACOS story didn't add up.
A vibe.
Here's the problem with vibe rejections. They're unfalsifiable. There's nothing to fix, nothing to test, nothing to check the next candidate against.
And they're usually standing in for something the person hasn't articulated yet. Often that they don't actually know what the role is.
The fix is boring. Write down the three things this person must be able to do on day one, before you look at a single CV.
If someone fails on those three, reject them fast. That's a good rejection.
"Self-starter" is not one of the three.