Why companies keep hiring the guy everyone hates

Hi! I’m Peter, CEO of Kickresume, and these career-related stories caught my attention this month — and might catch yours too.

We were hiring for a new role. So, we met with three candidates for an informal chat over coffee like we always do. 

The first had the most experience. He probably could’ve started the next day and done the job well. But also… a bit arrogant. Talked over me, nitpicked my wording “just to be precise,” and was kind of rude to the waitress — which is a personal pet peeve.

The second had some experience. Decent guy, but the vibe wasn’t quite there.

The third? Had some transferable skills but was the least qualified on paper. And he was the first to admit it. But he asked thoughtful questions, connected the dots quickly, and clearly knew how to think. Plus, the conversation just flowed. 

Guess who got the job?

Apparently I’ve been using elite military wisdom this whole time

I went with the third candidate. And honestly, I didn’t even hesitate.

And afterward, it struck me —This wasn’t a one-off thing. We’ve done this before. Actually, now that I think about it, we’ve done it a lot at Kickresume.

It’s become kind of a pattern: we keep choosing people who are a great culture fit, even if they don’t have the exact skillset yet.

Which reminded me of a graph I’d seen a while ago from a talk by Simon Sinek on business leadership. 

Here’s a short backstory:

Simon used to work with the Navy SEALs — arguably the highest-performing teams on the planet — and asked them a simple question:

“How do you choose who makes it onto SEAL Team 6?” (That’s the elite unit, the best of the best)

In response, they sketched out this chart, and said they’d always prefer someone on the right side of the chart. Even someone with moderate performance and high trust over someone with high performance and low trust.

When I looked at it again, I realized: this is exactly what we’ve been doing at Kickresume. We keep leaning toward people on the right side of that chart.

Now, we’re not Navy SEALs — we’re a tech company. 

So, in our world, that “trust” axis basically translates to culture fit: how well someone works with others, shares credit, communicates, and contributes to the kind of team we want to build.

Of course, the dream hire is high performance and high culture fit. But that’s rare. 

So our default has become: find someone who’s a great fit, shows initiative, and is eager to learn — even if they’re not fully there skill-wise yet. Because they’ll get there.

Maybe it's not the best system, but so far, it’s working pretty well.

We rarely let anyone go, and people rarely leave. The majority of our team has been with us for 5+ years (and a lot of them are still with us since we started).

But…I started wondering how others handle hiring decisions like this.

Oh right — the exact opposite.

Sure, he’s toxic… but have you seen his KPIs?

If you’ve been reading these newsletters for a while, you’ve probably noticed I like to take the occasional jab at corporate. And today is no different! 

The thing is, most big companies really do seem to operate entirely from the left side of the chart. Let me explain.

It starts right at the beginning. Large companies get hundreds, sometimes thousands, of resumes. And what’s on a resume?

Skills. Certifications. Achievements.

A.k.a. performance, performance, performance.

So the very first round — arguably the most important one — is based entirely on what you’ve done, not who you are.

Then comes the interview. Usually a 20-minute video call with standard questions you can rehearse the answer to. It’s all very formal. Very… performative. 

So, unsurprisingly, they end up hiring based on performance.

And once you’re in? You’re evaluated on, you guessed it — performance. These are literally called performance reviews.

And you may wonder… but why is that bad? 

Well, when companies hire people who are great at their job it can create teams that don’t feel like teams. 

The employees feel no connection to each other, or to the company. And the company doesn’t feel connected to them either. 

The outcome is predictable – high turnover. 

People leave as soon as a better offer shows up (or just to escape a toxic environment). And companies let people go just as quickly — because they’re just a number.

What “culture” does that create? You guessed it, a pretty toxic one.

And that, shockingly, isn’t great for the company. Or for the people working in it.

Okay, rant over. Here’s the part that might actually be useful to you. 

How to hire (or get hired) without hating yourself later

There are a couple of things you can take from this, whether you’re looking for a job or trying to hire someone without breaking your team.

If you’re looking for a job:

And you’re just starting out, your resume probably won’t scream “high performance.” Because, well, you’ve only just begun. That’s normal. But it also means your best shot might be with smaller companies. These are places where there’s more room to show who you are and what you could grow into.

If you’re more experienced and looking for a much-needed change (and want to make sure it’s actually a company you’ll enjoy working at) don’t forget that interviews go both ways. Seriously, interview them back. 

If you’re hiring:

Yeah, resumes are useful for the first filter. No arguments there.

But once you’re in the interview, drop the script. Make it a real conversation. See how they think. And if someone isn’t 100% there yet skill-wise, but seems sharp and willing to learn, maybe don’t write them off just yet.

And, don’t reward performance alone. Pay attention to who people trust. The ones others go to for help, advice, or when something’s on fire. Those are usually the ones holding the team together.

This isn’t expert advice, by the way — it’s just what I would do if I were looking for a job and wanted to make sure it’s a good one.

As a token of appreciation for your excellent scrolling skills, here’s a 20% discount code for Kickresume Premium. 

Catch you later! 

Peter