[gregrata]

> because someone knows someone and has worked with them for a long time only

And this is the #1 thing that gets a near auto-hire from me. I'm not saying don't interview them, but most interviews don't really tell you what it's going to be like working with someone. On the other hand, WORKING with someone (for a long time) 100% tells you what it's like working with someone.

If someone has worked a long time with someone else and is willing and wanting to do so again, then hire them.

My experience is, most interviews suck trying to figure out how someone is going to do on the job. Working with someone a long time and wanting to work with them should weight heavier than anything else

[tptacek]

I can't tell if you're saying "look at their resume and see if they've successfully worked on teams for extended periods of time" (don't do this; it's a debacle of a signal) or "hire them if you yourself have worked with them before" (this works fine but network hiring can lead to brittle teams that fall apart as soon as 1-2 people move on).

[sethammons]

I read it as someone already with the company has prior work with the candidate and wants to work with them again.

[gregrata]

Correct. Best way to know what someone is going to be like to work with, and how good they are, is to work with them. Interview is that helpful

[gregrata]

> WORKING with someone (for a long time) 100% tells you what it's like working with someone

Not sure how that's not clear...

[sarabande]

Someone I've worked with before and whose work quality I respect may get an "auto-hire" from me, but that doesn't necessarily translate to a "auto-hire" from the team that is going to be working with them. I'm fine introducing good candidates I know if into a recruiting process, but not forcing them through just because I know them. In that sense, I want them to be able to demonstrate their abilities in an interview to the rest of the team, as well.

[gregrata]

And yeah, I have strong opinions on this - I've been on both sides of the table for a long time, and don't think the average interview is a good indicator of how they'll do in the job.

I wrote a book about this :) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FJ6N8P1