“I’ve seen this debate play out many times online, but empirically, it seems to me like EA-ish orgs with a lot of hiring power (large budgets, strong brands) are more likely than other EA-ish orgs to hire people with strong track records and relevant experience.”
Based on speaking to people at EA orgs (and looking at the orgs’ staff lists), I disagree with this. When I have spoken to employees at CEA and Open Phil, the people I’ve spoken to have either (a) expressed frustration about how focused their org is on hiring EA people for roles that seem to not need it or (b) defended hiring EAs for roles that seem to not need it. (I’m talking about roles in ops, personal assistants, events, finance, etc.)
Maybe I agree with your claim that large EA orgs hire more “diversely” than small EA orgs, but what I read as your implication (large EA orgs do not prioritize value-alignment over experience), I disagree with. I read this as your implication since the point you’re responding to isn’t focusing on large vs. small orgs.
I could point to specific teams/roles at these orgs which are held by EAs even though they don’t seem like they obviously need to be held by EAs. But that feels a little mean and targeted, like I’m implying those people are not good for their jobs or something (which is not my intent for any specific person). And I think there are cases for wanting value-alignment in non-obvious roles, but the question is whether the tradeoff in experience is worth it.
“I’ve seen this debate play out many times online, but empirically, it seems to me like EA-ish orgs with a lot of hiring power (large budgets, strong brands) are more likely than other EA-ish orgs to hire people with strong track records and relevant experience.”
Based on speaking to people at EA orgs (and looking at the orgs’ staff lists), I disagree with this. When I have spoken to employees at CEA and Open Phil, the people I’ve spoken to have either (a) expressed frustration about how focused their org is on hiring EA people for roles that seem to not need it or (b) defended hiring EAs for roles that seem to not need it. (I’m talking about roles in ops, personal assistants, events, finance, etc.)
Maybe I agree with your claim that large EA orgs hire more “diversely” than small EA orgs, but what I read as your implication (large EA orgs do not prioritize value-alignment over experience), I disagree with. I read this as your implication since the point you’re responding to isn’t focusing on large vs. small orgs.
I could point to specific teams/roles at these orgs which are held by EAs even though they don’t seem like they obviously need to be held by EAs. But that feels a little mean and targeted, like I’m implying those people are not good for their jobs or something (which is not my intent for any specific person). And I think there are cases for wanting value-alignment in non-obvious roles, but the question is whether the tradeoff in experience is worth it.