This "we only hire the best in [city name]" truly frustrates me and frankly it is such a big turn off for me. I've interviewed with a few of these, and when it comes to salary negotiation they always give the reason: "we really want you, but the number you give us would create disparity/inequity between the current employees."<p>Alright, let's look at the word "best." Is there anything better than best? Maybe bestest or most best? Come on, you CANNOT have a team of people where everyone is "the best." If you decided to make an offer to me, that means I am the best then? Everyone's best is different, therefore salary needs to be different for each "best." If I am the best, then what's the problem with me getting what I asked? If you want to give off the hype that you're a "big boy" company then back it up with real big boy money! But oh no, if you work for us, then that means you can use our "awesome" brand to sell yourself later. Like Google or Facebook.<p>This is exactly like the usual situations: "I have a great idea, could you make this web app for me for free or for 2 small bags of peanuts? It will be the BEST addition to your portfolio." Remember those people?<p>I know, it is negative. But I get so enraged sometimes thinking about this kind of cliche and messaging some new "startups" are using. If you want to hire the best, then pay top money. You're not Google--get over it!
I'm trying to think of what the phrase means to me:<p>"We only hire people with demonstrable (1) CS knowledge equivalent to a BS CS from a top5 school (2) a track record of productivity exceeding their peers in a challenging environment (name-brand internet co, vc-backed startup, etc)"<p>There are places that set the bar that high for some of their engineering groups (rarely all groups). I wonder what percentile this corresponds to.<p>Clarification edit: "CS knowledge equivalent" doesn't require actual degree.
I can't count how many companies I've seen post jobs in the past month that use this bromide. It's getting a bit timeworn now. Do these companies really feel that using this phrase improves the quality of their hires?
If you have to say that you're hiring the best, you're not. Programmers may be less social than most, but word still gets around. If you're truly the best, you won't need to advertise that fact, programmers in the area will already know and will be beating a path to your door.
Anyone using worn-out catch phrases in interviews is not "the best". Which means, they didn't hire "the best" recruiters to do their supposed hiring of "the best" for all other types of employees. Which means, they're liars.
Agreed. The "best" is relative... likely based on perceived capability and anticipated compatibility within the existing culture of an organization.<p>I'm curious to know what assumptions are made that define "best". To me, I look for team dynamic as an indicator.