Executive summary: Drawing on over a decade of experience as a hiring manager and grantmaker in the EA ecosystem, the author outlines unconventional but effective hiring practices—such as unstructured interviews, flexible work tests, and informal or conflicted references—arguing that context-sensitive, information-rich, and adaptable approaches outperform standardized “best practices” borrowed from other industries.
Key points:
Unstructured interviews can yield deeper insight than rigid formats, allowing hiring managers to adapt questions to each candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, and reasoning style—especially valuable for high-skill roles.
Work tests are underused for roles requiring soft skills but can be powerful when tailored to mimic real work; they provide richer signals than traditional interviews despite being harder to design.
Informal and wide-ranging references—including from peers or acquaintances outside formal referee lists—often offer the most candid and useful information, especially in small ecosystems like EA.
Conflicted sources shouldn’t be ignored entirely; instead, evaluators should weigh their input proportionally, since people with conflicts often also have the best information.
Quantification in hiring can help clarify priorities and trade-offs but should guide rather than dictate decisions, as numerical models rarely capture all relevant qualities.
For applicants, the author advises discreetly seeking candid feedback from potential colleagues or former employees, since manager fit strongly influences job satisfaction.
Overall hiring philosophy: adapt best practices to EA’s small, high-stakes environment; borrow selectively from startup culture; and consult experienced hirers to refine bespoke approaches.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: Drawing on over a decade of experience as a hiring manager and grantmaker in the EA ecosystem, the author outlines unconventional but effective hiring practices—such as unstructured interviews, flexible work tests, and informal or conflicted references—arguing that context-sensitive, information-rich, and adaptable approaches outperform standardized “best practices” borrowed from other industries.
Key points:
Unstructured interviews can yield deeper insight than rigid formats, allowing hiring managers to adapt questions to each candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, and reasoning style—especially valuable for high-skill roles.
Work tests are underused for roles requiring soft skills but can be powerful when tailored to mimic real work; they provide richer signals than traditional interviews despite being harder to design.
Informal and wide-ranging references—including from peers or acquaintances outside formal referee lists—often offer the most candid and useful information, especially in small ecosystems like EA.
Conflicted sources shouldn’t be ignored entirely; instead, evaluators should weigh their input proportionally, since people with conflicts often also have the best information.
Quantification in hiring can help clarify priorities and trade-offs but should guide rather than dictate decisions, as numerical models rarely capture all relevant qualities.
For applicants, the author advises discreetly seeking candid feedback from potential colleagues or former employees, since manager fit strongly influences job satisfaction.
Overall hiring philosophy: adapt best practices to EA’s small, high-stakes environment; borrow selectively from startup culture; and consult experienced hirers to refine bespoke approaches.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.