Though I understand the challenge and have this experience (see my other comment) I do see three related cases where it might be even more critical for a start-up or uncertain initiative to hire (and fire) well.
First, hiring in some novel organizations in nascent cause areas might have an effect on the development of a whole field. If there are only a few players, making a wrong hire could change the reputation of the whole space and slow down or reverse progress for the cause. E.g. If you’re in wild animal welfare and provide credibility through employment to someone using unscientific methods or who is vocal publicly about highly controversial solutions to wild animal suffering, that could be disastrous for the development of wild animal welfare science. I could see similar risks in EA community building.
Conversely, if you hire the best, it could become easier to attract more high talent, accelerating the path to impact.
Second, in interventions where the reward of success is enormous but the risk of no or negative impact large, it seems critical to hire the best you can get.
And third, if you’re starting an org that’s trying something new, and you hire someone with average expertise, skills, or drive, or there’s a mismatch between competencies needed and offered, your endeavor might fail. This might lead you, and outsiders, to incorrectly believe the whole intervention isn’t tractable.
But, if you have short timelines and just need warm bodies who can be easily replaced, I’d likely also invest less in recruitment.
But yeah, I mostly relate to the frustrations of the impossibility of doing some of these ideal recruitment practices.
Though I understand the challenge and have this experience (see my other comment) I do see three related cases where it might be even more critical for a start-up or uncertain initiative to hire (and fire) well.
First, hiring in some novel organizations in nascent cause areas might have an effect on the development of a whole field. If there are only a few players, making a wrong hire could change the reputation of the whole space and slow down or reverse progress for the cause. E.g. If you’re in wild animal welfare and provide credibility through employment to someone using unscientific methods or who is vocal publicly about highly controversial solutions to wild animal suffering, that could be disastrous for the development of wild animal welfare science. I could see similar risks in EA community building.
Conversely, if you hire the best, it could become easier to attract more high talent, accelerating the path to impact.
Second, in interventions where the reward of success is enormous but the risk of no or negative impact large, it seems critical to hire the best you can get.
And third, if you’re starting an org that’s trying something new, and you hire someone with average expertise, skills, or drive, or there’s a mismatch between competencies needed and offered, your endeavor might fail. This might lead you, and outsiders, to incorrectly believe the whole intervention isn’t tractable.
But, if you have short timelines and just need warm bodies who can be easily replaced, I’d likely also invest less in recruitment.
But yeah, I mostly relate to the frustrations of the impossibility of doing some of these ideal recruitment practices.