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> This whole “we hire the best of the best” […] should be eradicated asap. This in particular has always perplexed me. Every company says they only hire the be

> This whole “we hire the best of the best” […] should be eradicated asap. This in particular has always perplexed me. Every company says they only hire the best, but then if that’s the true, then like basically everyone with a job is “the best”.

josephg 2y ago
Do many companies say that? Ive barely heard of any companies which turn away good (but not great) candidates. I know Netflix and Google at least used to - and a lot of very small startups started by good people. But most places I’ve done consulting work at seem very happy to hire whole teams of average talent.
TideAd 2y ago
What they're really saying is, "we make an effort to hire smart/effective people, as opposed to the places that don't and as a result have a soul-crushing mediocrity culture". Places that actually hire people that approximate "the best" are known by reputation, and don't have to say that.
- nradov 2y ago
  What places have that reputation where it's actually deserved? For any large company it's mathematically impossible for people to be "the best". Once a company reaches the scale of, let's say, Google then almost all of the employees will be mediocre.
latentsea 2y ago
It's technically always the best the could find with the time and money they were willing to spend.
anabab 2y ago
And then you face candidates with a few years on their resume who cannot perform a dfs when explicitly told to! (This is where some of my screenings end up after a few rounds of simplifications/hints for the initial problem) I have a hypothesys that there is a huge layer of companies who do not "hire the best" because this is not crucial for them and I just do not have experience of what is going on in there, having only exposure to the people who did pass this filter in the software-first companies I have worked at (and I have always enjoyed working with people I have landed with in every company). I do not feel strong enough to do a deeper research on this hypothesis though.
000ooo000 2y ago
It's just self congratulatory bullshit that, like you have pointed out, doesn't stand up to 8 seconds of actual thought. "We only hire the best" -> "I'm judging who is best" -> "I must be pretty good then"

josephg 2y ago

Do many companies say that? Ive barely heard of any companies which turn away good (but not great) candidates. I know Netflix and Google at least used to - and a lot of very small startups started by good people. But most places I’ve done consulting work at seem very happy to hire whole teams of average talent.

TideAd 2y ago

What they're really saying is, "we make an effort to hire smart/effective people, as opposed to the places that don't and as a result have a soul-crushing mediocrity culture". Places that actually hire people that approximate "the best" are known by reputation, and don't have to say that.

nradov 2y ago
What places have that reputation where it's actually deserved? For any large company it's mathematically impossible for people to be "the best". Once a company reaches the scale of, let's say, Google then almost all of the employees will be mediocre.

latentsea 2y ago

It's technically always the best the could find with the time and money they were willing to spend.

anabab 2y ago

And then you face candidates with a few years on their resume who cannot perform a dfs when explicitly told to! (This is where some of my screenings end up after a few rounds of simplifications/hints for the initial problem) I have a hypothesys that there is a huge layer of companies who do not "hire the best" because this is not crucial for them and I just do not have experience of what is going on in there, having only exposure to the people who did pass this filter in the software-first companies I have worked at (and I have always enjoyed working with people I have landed with in every company). I do not feel strong enough to do a deeper research on this hypothesis though.

000ooo000 2y ago

It's just self congratulatory bullshit that, like you have pointed out, doesn't stand up to 8 seconds of actual thought. "We only hire the best" -> "I'm judging who is best" -> "I must be pretty good then"