[seabass-labrax]

That sounds like plain envy to me, and it's not bizarre (although it might well be unhealthy) to be envious of those with better opportunities than you. As for whether that is associated with being a problematic employee, well, problematic can also mean profitable when envy is a powerful motivator.

[sriram_sun]

Like I said above, it made me more empathetic, not envious. However, I'm pointing at instances like this so that hiring managers with a enough resources also consider other pipelines.

[johnnyanmac]

Startups are an inherently risky venture that lacks the money and management to hire everyone they want. It's a horrible example.

Consider the empathy from the other side: I'm working in a stable job and my friend approached me saying he's got this big idea. May not even be funded yet. Do I use my part time to help on his dream in hopes that we get funding and maybe expand on the idea? That's a lot of trust and energy being put into another person.

On the end of the "nepotee" it really depends on the person and what you know. And it takes a certain style of mind to get on board that idea. That isn't the same in getting fast tracked to some cushy Google job.

[zo1]

If I was allowed, I'd consider an alternate hiring pipeline looking at IQ scores and doing anonymous interviews in air gapped rooms so we could blind hire.

But hey, government doesn't let me. So instead I'm going to assume experience by minorities is suspect due to discriminatory hiring practices like AA and DEI, and continue to hire mostly white and asian males because they're the most disenfranchised groups atm, especially in South Africa.

[seabass-labrax]

Oh quite! I myself am outside of the networks of industries I want to be in. There is an altruistic side to getting the job you really want - you'll be more motivated and probably better able to do well in it. Industries that operate exclusively with networking lose out on most of that altruism.