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Comment by nashashmi | Hacker News Reader

FWIW, she did this in April and talks about it as her most successful campaign yet. I don't think she got a job at Airbnb, but she did get an interview.

Unfortunately, the kinds of talent she showcases on her website is the kind of talent "RESERVED" for higher ups. I see "too much ambition" there and HR may not exactly be willing to approve of her.

(Such is the impression I have received from working in big corporate like places.)

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Too much ambition is bad?

Can be, if it seems likely that the ambition would cause them to leave the company, especially if within a year or 2 of hiring. There are a lot of costs to hiring someone (both money-wise and in opportunity cost) and if they seem likely to leave in less than 2 years than the company could end up net-negative for hiring them.

In corporate environments, there is too much management bureaucracy. A person with lots of ambition entering a weak or insignificant subsection of the company can quickly feel out of place.

However, when you have the veterans who have already done something great, an ambitious person may seem like a rare opportunity to do something big again.

In the words of Ip Man, it is difficult for a student to find a great teacher. It is more difficult for a teacher to find a great student.

It can be.

Too much ambition can lead to losing sight of practicality, burn out, high stress, anxiety, depression, high turnover, as well as losing site of the bigger picture.

Your higher-ups must be more talented than most.

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