Again, this depends on field, but a lot of academic hiring, at least at the level of faculty, is about branding of sorts, of building up a story of them being o

Again, this depends on field, but a lot of academic hiring, at least at the level of faculty, is about branding of sorts, of building up a story of them being on a meteoric trajectory of genius so brilliant it can't be contained by fate or circumstances of any sort. I've read it referred to as the madonna-whore complex, which is quite accurate. It's hard to explain unless you've been on the side of faculty hiring, but it's very much about looking like the next super-Einstein-Nobel Winner in a room full of people who will never attain anywhere near that much fame (but who think they have), in a scientific process that is really about incremental contributions anyway. What a brilliant way to describe it. But I must add that industry has the same problems. I work in big tech and we have people who are brought into leadership coming from a hot startup because they are perceived to be John Galt figures, and they turn out to be unqualified status seekers.