One framing that has helped me internalize this idea is realizing that me and [prospective EA-aligned employer] are on the same side, and we have (generally) the same goals. If there was another candidate much better than me, I should prefer them to be hired over me being hired. In my experience this has helped shift my focus from “I need to get hired so I can make the most impact” to “I need to become the best possible candidate so that EA organizations/community have a better talent pool to draw from so that they can make the most impact”. This framing feels especially helpful in very competitive fields like technical ai safety.
One framing that has helped me internalize this idea is realizing that me and [prospective EA-aligned employer] are on the same side, and we have (generally) the same goals. If there was another candidate much better than me, I should prefer them to be hired over me being hired. In my experience this has helped shift my focus from “I need to get hired so I can make the most impact” to “I need to become the best possible candidate so that EA organizations/community have a better talent pool to draw from so that they can make the most impact”. This framing feels especially helpful in very competitive fields like technical ai safety.
Well said!