[Irregardless]

It's an interesting story and really shows an unusual level of determination, but I'm stuck on this part:

> So, just to recap, that’s about 5 months and 9 interviews/meetings and countless hours spent working on projects/reports/presentations.

> by proving himself capable for the role, he hacked the process.

I don't see a hack so much as I see a broken process that made a single task monumentally difficult and time consuming. Employers everywhere have a problem with relying on credentials or experience rather than recognizing ability and potential, which is understandable given time and budget constraints. If someone could figure out a way to help companies quickly pick talented but inexperienced individuals out of a pool of applicants, THAT would be a hack. A pretty amazing one for employees and employers, too.

[redwood]

I think it would probably be better to just make "temp to hire" the norm and start lot's of people, keep those who seem to excel.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about cut-throat competition and giant classes feeding into one position.

I'm just thinking you can't tell how someone's going to do until they're in, and you should be able to get them in quicker and easier to find out. Finally, a lot of good people can learn quickly.

I suppose what I suggest is real hands-on mentorship which is not the norm in American management today...

[vsloo]

I agree. The previous startup I used to work at had a horrible candidate selection process. Amar's case is too one-off for it to be a hack but at least it was possible.