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Comment by brador | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if they psychologically test for and target these traits during recruitment.

After their internal memos about valuing "connecting people" over anything else (like safety) leaked[1], some of the comments by Facebook employees were almost cult-like[2]:

> Leakers, please resign instead of sabotaging the company

> How fucking terrible that some irresponsible jerk decided he or she had some god complex that jeopardizes our inner culture and something that makes Facebook great?

In particular, this included comments about wanting a loyalty test "screen" in their hiring process:

> Although we all subconsciously look for signal on integrity in interviews, should we consider whether this needs to be formalized in the interview process?

> This is so disappointing, wonder if there is a way to hire for integrity. We are probably focusing on the intelligence part and getting smart people here who lack a moral compass and loyalty.

[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-memo-the-ugly-andrew-b...

[2] https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/30/17179100/facebook-memo-le...

That last one really drives me nuts. Isn't having a moral compass almost the opposite of loyalty (at least in cases where both are involved)? Maybe not 100% opposites, but enough that it would seem they don't belong together like that...

It's interesting that they use the word "integrity", when I would consider integrity standing up against your employer (if they are doing something bad). They seem to be conflating "integrity" and "loyalty".

This would seem to make the most sense, as it's the same line of thinking around why only 1 out of thousands at the NSA would be a whisteblower (see: Snowden); despite the shady shit that they were (and probably still are) undertaking.

Also, non-disclosure agreements really fuck people in the overall scheme of things. If you worked for Facebook and came out tomorrow showing some really shady shit that they were doing, it's conceivable that no other company would ever want to hire you. (I think the term is "black-balled" but not sure if it's still in use, today?)

(Whistleblower laws only protect government workers and do not affect the commercial industry. Even then, the whistleblower laws only go so far...)

So, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

> you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

If having integrity and an interest in the public good aren't strong enough arguments to avoid working for these companies, then perhaps this one is.

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