5 ms·

I am struggling to see what you are trying to say here, especially since you use somewhat arbitrary way to group people by race and sex. Can you clarify? Is th

I am struggling to see what you are trying to say here, especially since you use somewhat arbitrary way to group people by race and sex. Can you clarify? Is the founder white? Does he/did he live in a majority white country (you mentioned a college in Switzerland, a country which is most likely 90% white)? If so, why is that weird and why does that matter? Unless you think that "white men" are fungible, using this category makes no sense.

wccrawford 3y ago
My impression was that they think they've discovered nepotism, but what they've actually discovered is networking.
- poszlem 3y ago
  I'm a bit perplexed by the notion that it's somehow a problem when the founder hires his friends and former colleagues when starting a company with just 6 employees.
  - sriram_sun 3y ago
    Noone within the team was a founder.
- sriram_sun 3y ago
  The "room mate" network is pretty exclusionary and self selecting.
  - mcpackieh 3y ago
    Networking inherently excludes anybody that isn't in the relevant network, what are you expecting?
- johnnyanmac 3y ago
  It's a razor thin line and we can't really tell unless the roommates were horribly unqualified for the job. But I'd probably hire in a similar way for a startup. Not because of nepotism, but because I know the kinds of peope I want to hire are massively productive and good at their respective fields, I'd be honored if they could do that work under me. (note: no real plan to do this and half my friends aren't in my specific domain regardless).
- kaitai 3y ago
  For heaven's sake, think a little. This is an empirical discussion of hiring heuristics that result in a certain system. It's not just networking (generally used to refer to development of professional connections, though yes people use it to refer to smoking weed together or engaging in the same sport) and the poster didn't say nepotism either. It is certainly favoritism (hiring people you already know and like without necessarily casting a wider net) and it's clear that there are structural effects from it that develop on gender and race lines (you're in the men's hockey team together, you're in a fraternity or sorority, you're in an ethnic club). What sriram_sun said is entirely factual, and a lot of us get left out of the networks for various reasons. That's also just factual. The fact that folks here are all "oh you're just jealous, you're calling it nepotism" -- nah, it's just facts, and there is no need to get emotional about it. There is nothing inherently wrong about hiring people you know -- like any move in a game, it has knock-on effects. If you'd like to help broaden networks, just do it. And for those who feel defensive about it, consider the phrase "hit dogs holler".
sriram_sun 3y ago
It was shocking to me that room mates could get hired that easily. This was the bay area. My comment is highlighting structural imbalances as they exist in society right now. Even though networking as a way to grow, it is not an option for a lot of people until much later in their careers. That is because of social conditioning.
- deleted 3y ago
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- deleted 3y ago
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- secondcoming 3y ago
  You're really grasping at straws here. You sound like you'll be a problematic employee for the totally bizarre reason that you're jealous of how other people got hired before you.
  - seabass-labrax 3y ago
    That sounds like plain envy to me, and it's not bizarre (although it might well be unhealthy) to be envious of those with better opportunities than you. As for whether that is associated with being a problematic employee, well, problematic can also mean profitable when envy is a powerful motivator.
    - sriram_sun 3y ago
      Like I said above, it made me more empathetic, not envious. However, I'm pointing at instances like this so that hiring managers with a enough resources also consider other pipelines.
      - seabass-labrax 3y ago
        Oh quite! I myself am outside of the networks of industries I want to be in. There is an altruistic side to getting the job you really want - you'll be more motivated and probably better able to do well in it. Industries that operate exclusively with networking lose out on most of that altruism.

wccrawford 3y ago

My impression was that they think they've discovered nepotism, but what they've actually discovered is networking.

poszlem 3y ago
I'm a bit perplexed by the notion that it's somehow a problem when the founder hires his friends and former colleagues when starting a company with just 6 employees.
- sriram_sun 3y ago
  Noone within the team was a founder.
sriram_sun 3y ago
The "room mate" network is pretty exclusionary and self selecting.
- mcpackieh 3y ago
  Networking inherently excludes anybody that isn't in the relevant network, what are you expecting?
johnnyanmac 3y ago
It's a razor thin line and we can't really tell unless the roommates were horribly unqualified for the job. But I'd probably hire in a similar way for a startup. Not because of nepotism, but because I know the kinds of peope I want to hire are massively productive and good at their respective fields, I'd be honored if they could do that work under me. (note: no real plan to do this and half my friends aren't in my specific domain regardless).
kaitai 3y ago
For heaven's sake, think a little. This is an empirical discussion of hiring heuristics that result in a certain system. It's not just networking (generally used to refer to development of professional connections, though yes people use it to refer to smoking weed together or engaging in the same sport) and the poster didn't say nepotism either. It is certainly favoritism (hiring people you already know and like without necessarily casting a wider net) and it's clear that there are structural effects from it that develop on gender and race lines (you're in the men's hockey team together, you're in a fraternity or sorority, you're in an ethnic club). What sriram_sun said is entirely factual, and a lot of us get left out of the networks for various reasons. That's also just factual. The fact that folks here are all "oh you're just jealous, you're calling it nepotism" -- nah, it's just facts, and there is no need to get emotional about it. There is nothing inherently wrong about hiring people you know -- like any move in a game, it has knock-on effects. If you'd like to help broaden networks, just do it. And for those who feel defensive about it, consider the phrase "hit dogs holler".

sriram_sun 3y ago

It was shocking to me that room mates could get hired that easily. This was the bay area. My comment is highlighting structural imbalances as they exist in society right now. Even though networking as a way to grow, it is not an option for a lot of people until much later in their careers. That is because of social conditioning.

deleted 3y ago
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secondcoming 3y ago
You're really grasping at straws here. You sound like you'll be a problematic employee for the totally bizarre reason that you're jealous of how other people got hired before you.
- seabass-labrax 3y ago
  That sounds like plain envy to me, and it's not bizarre (although it might well be unhealthy) to be envious of those with better opportunities than you. As for whether that is associated with being a problematic employee, well, problematic can also mean profitable when envy is a powerful motivator.
  - sriram_sun 3y ago
    Like I said above, it made me more empathetic, not envious. However, I'm pointing at instances like this so that hiring managers with a enough resources also consider other pipelines.
    - seabass-labrax 3y ago
      Oh quite! I myself am outside of the networks of industries I want to be in. There is an altruistic side to getting the job you really want - you'll be more motivated and probably better able to do well in it. Industries that operate exclusively with networking lose out on most of that altruism.