Side-stepping the Secretary Problem, unwittingly
18 hours ago
- The Secretary Problem in hiring is based on optimal stopping theory, where once rejected, an applicant cannot be recalled; the author's team unknowingly bypassed this constraint.
- They allowed candidates to reapply after a cooling-off period and offered opt-in learning support, including curriculum and office hours, for those interested in learning Clojure.
- Out of about 300 applicants, they hired 5 people who became productive within a month and stayed for 4-10 years, with many later moving to other roles or starting their own companies.
- Key practices included a max 24-hour communication SLA, never ghosting candidates, and using async decision-making with a two-person 'hell-yes' standard to advance candidates.
- They prioritized written communication and reading comprehension, gave small coding assignments (15-minute jobs), and protected candidates' time by avoiding lengthy assignments.
- They filtered for initiative and curiosity, offered 'office hours' to rejected candidates, and maintained a transparent, respectful process that encouraged reapplication.
- The approach created positive word-of-mouth, indirectly attracting additional talent, and the author argues that non-zero-sum hiring should be the default in any industry.