I acknowledge what you say at a micro level. Most knowledge-based businesses have some flexibility in hiring when "super stars" come along. I think this is esse

I acknowledge what you say at a micro level. Most knowledge-based businesses have some flexibility in hiring when "super stars" come along. I think this is essentially just noise contained in the cost of doing business, though. The reason why I think this: This behavior would break down if things really changed at a macro scale. If there were suddenly lots of people who are great at doing penetration testing or code audits or whatever your particular specialty is, you would raise your standards and start to turn more people away. Another way to look at it is supply and demand. If there really were demand for people - rather than just a permanent watchfulness for grabbing up above average people when you can - basic economics would predict that salaries would increase. Generally speaking (there may always be some very small, localized exceptions) this is not what is happening.