[PragmaticPulp]

I worked with a guy who made several million dollars from a prior startup and didn't need to work any more.

He was a good guy, wrote good code, was fun to work with. But at the same time, his FIRE status was front and center every time it came to task assignment and other issues. His manager was always afraid to give him un-fun tasks or push back when he was behind schedule for fear he'd quit. Not a great dynamic for the rest of the team who didn't have as much leverage and therefore received a disproportionate amount of the un-fun work.

If a candidate came to me suggesting that they didn't need this job but they only wanted to work if it was fun, I'd honestly have to proceed very cautiously. The last thing I want to do is hire a candidate who opens with an indirect threat that they're going to leave the second the job isn't fun any more. We have one of the better team environments, but I can't guarantee that work will always be fun and never require some hard weeks or months to get things done.

I'd personally not mention it. It's not only irrelevant to the hiring discussion, but it's a weird warning shot to your future manager before you're even hired.

[sillysaurusx]

Apparently -- I only heard this once, so take it with a grain of salt -- it's why a Walmart manager is typically cautious when someone with qualifications wants a job. "You want a job as a cashier? Uh huh, I bet you won't show up for your shifts, since you don't need to."

I always thought that was kind of interesting, that being overqualified for a Walmart job might make it harder to just get a Walmart job. (I briefly considered it in a pinch but decided to drive for Uber instead.)

[elihu]

The other reason for the manager to be cautious is that the applicant may quickly become a manager, and the old manager will be out of a job. Or maybe the manager's manager will be out of a job.

[popinman322]

I'm generalizing my own experience here, but I imagine it typically takes time for people to reach the conclusion that they want to leave. What if they enjoy some of those "un-fun" tasks? Or maybe they take pride in their work? Or maybe they just like writing code? Or maybe they enjoy working with their coworkers?

I think maybe his manager misplayed and could have approached this from a different perspective. "Ah, I have someone who I can keep at the same pay who is willing to work for the hell of it." Or something like that. Definitely feels like that's the kind of thing you could negotiate with an employee who's joining just for the work and not for the money.