I think that something else to take into consideration is that hiring good people is a non-trivial problem. Folks can do well in a interview and seem amicable a

I think that something else to take into consideration is that hiring good people is a non-trivial problem. Folks can do well in a interview and seem amicable and then turn out to be incompetent and/or jerks later. So there is substantial risk in hiring. It seems like knowing for certain that someone is competent and works well with the rest of the team is worth A LOT.