Faith, Purple haired feminist 🧋   1d ago
I wish more people got hired just for being decent people you want to have around instead of everything having to be about ROI all the time. One of my favorite coworkers is the local office manager. She's probably the "least important" by capitalist BS metrics but she's also one of the kindest people you'll ever meet. She makes me want to show up to work.
Show threadAJ Sadauskas
@faithisleaping I'd go a step further.

There's an argument to be made that companies should hire people who have particular desirable traits, and then train them up to fill roles or perform tasks as needed.

So you would, for example, recruit someone who is good at problem solving, critical thinking, and dealing with people, and then you'd train them to be a project manager.

Or you would recruit someone who is creative and artistic, and then train them to be your graphic designer or marketer.

So instead of hiring people with particular skills to fill particular roles, you'd instead hire people with desirable traits and then train them to fill roles as needed.
Apr 3 at 3:01amWeb
Show threadmcSlibinas1d ago
@aj @faithisleaping like building football team? 🤔
Show threadJoelBarr1d ago
@aj @faithisleaping I like that idea. I teach high school and I think schools at all levels can do more to help students identify their interests and aptitudes and start working on the skills that support those. They still have to study all the subjects to have a broad base of knowledge, but learning about their own personalities and strengths can help guide them as they start to specialize. Plus kids love finding things they're good at.
Show threadDr. 🏔️❄️🗺️📊🎨⛷️🧗🏻‍♂️🛶1d ago

@aj @faithisleaping

I absolutely agree - however, I've kind of hit the other end, where I'm now locked out because "not the right guy".

The approach has a flip side: if the role becomes vacant and someone from outside turns up with all the tickets, it's harder for them because they're not yet mates.

It's a crushing loop: too skilled / not skilled enough / hmm not quite a fit could probably be but we know [person] over there.

Doubly weird as a field scientist, who has to have every skill..

Show threadDr. 🏔️❄️🗺️📊🎨⛷️🧗🏻‍♂️🛶1d ago

@aj @faithisleaping

**I don't have *every skill*. A ... broad array ... is necessary for traversing between shipping manifests and writing papers and inducting people into power tool usage and writing for grants and living in close company with a lot of other people for weeks on end.

The useful summary might be: I totally agree that hiring practice should look for more creativity and flexibility. Be more creative and flexible,

Show threadAlex Zakhlestin 🇵🇹1d ago
@aj @faithisleaping I feel that most of the small companies still hire people this way. We absolutely did.
Fortunately, not everyone is bound to the VC world.
Show threadclew21h ago

There’s another thing — if you’re “fancy” enough being a glue person means you “have leadership and management potential” and *do* get hired for it. (Conversely, I was once in a company that promoted from admin and front desk into project management when it noticed people doing the work, even if they didn’t have a degree or “looked wrong”. It was AMAZING.)

@aj @faithisleaping

Show threadfanksway14h ago
@aj @faithisleaping Judging a skill set is significantly easier than judging character. Furthermore, you rely on the faulty premise that character traits are set in stone.
Show threadMorgan ⚧️12h ago
@aj @faithisleaping I'd love that because then I would no longer be simultaneously too old to get a job (not in school) and too young to get a job (no experience)
I frequently come across job descriptions that I think I could do well but I just haven't done specifically before (or haven't done in school or at a job but have done at home) so I'm completely unappealing to the hiring managers or the LLM they're using to filter out resumes.