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Comment by toss1 | Hacker News Reader

Yup, this is the one thing that struck me wrong in the essay.

After spending multiple paragraphs about how they found that they had to dig much deeper into the background of every exec, getting 10+ references from reports, peers, and their managers, and developing specific lists of red flags . . .they end the section with: "Takeaway: Always trust your gut on people. "

Yes, for sure, if you 'gut' tells you something is off about someone, seriously consider and trust that also, but what was really effective was not gut-trusting, but gathering more hard data and observations to evaluate.

Just seems like the author didn't really think it through.

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This is just garden-variety narcissism (btw, not trying to accuse the author of anything, I think we all feel this way sometimes) telling you that when you made the right decision, you were right and even when you made the wrong decision, you were actually right all along, you just let your true self be overridden. In reality, a lot of difficult decisions involve you being on both sides of the decision at different times, so it's very easy to look back on any wrong decision you made and decide that the real issue was not trusting yourself.

I'm also a bit surprised that she's throwing the "big company executive" under the bus here, given that it's very easy to identify who this is. She doesn't seem to be merely saying that the fit was the issue, given this:

> 1. They frequently use the wrong pronoun “I” followed by “[contribution to the company]”.

> 2. You dread having 1-1s with them.

> 3. They blame you or their peers.

> 4. They complain laterally and downwards.

I have hired before. A few times. "Trust my gut" is still the best predictor of success for me. Every hire i have talked myself into didn't end up working out. Nowadays for hiring, i live by, "if it's not a strong yes, it's not a yes"

Agree that a 'gut feeling' that something is off is not to be ignored; it's likely just factors unconsciously processed.

That said, how much of your 'Strong Yes' assessments are on your gut and how much on you have enough info to see that this candidate is qualified, enthusiastic, and a good fit? Also, how many times have those failed to work out and how many have 'Weak Yes' candidates actually worked out in the end? Those counter-examples might be worth looking into...

I think it’s trusting your gut when it says „no”, not that you can trust only your gut when it comes to hiring. Wasn’t clear but that’s how I understand it and agree.

Indeed likely!

But in an article for publication it seems best to say something like "Trust your gut when it says "No", and get lots of data when you don't have strong gut feelings", rather than just that general trope...

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