"You want to avoid hiring a weak or bad employee, and you want to avoid not hiring a good employee who merely looks bad on paper." Yes, but the first is a much

"You want to avoid hiring a weak or bad employee, and you want to avoid not hiring a good employee who merely looks bad on paper." Yes, but the first is a much more serious problem. It's unlikely that a small company will founder if it misses a good hire, but a bad hire can certainly destroy it. Better to err on the side of caution.