Here are some examples of feedback that make me feel great about not extending an offer to a candidate.

• “Sure, he was a little overbearing, but he’s brilliant!”
• “She hasn’t really stayed at a job more than a year, but there was always a good reason.”
• “He didn’t know the newer frameworks, but he’s a Javascript ace!”
• “She couldn’t show us samples of any of her previous work because it was all confidential and private, but she definitely knew what she’s was talking about.”

Let’s take them one at a time, through the eyes of the ghost of hirings future.

Personality Mismatch

A common tool for hiring is to score candidates in a number of different areas, based on specific skills, fit, experience, etc. When it comes to personality and fit, there is no compromising. People can learn new skills, but don’t adapt their personalities as easily. One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, and a scoring system doesn’t work here. If the fit is wrong, just say no; regardless of all of your other areas of measurement.

Potential outcomes: Office wars, crappy morale, poor performance

Short Stays

A “short stay” is different for different fields. In technical fields, less than 2 years is a short stay. Some folks do run into a bad string of luck: a closed startup, a miserable manager, or a personal emergency that requires making a change. But generally, where there’s smoke there’s fire. Even if the candidates leave on their own accord, not staying could then be a sign of someone not willing to maintain their own work, or someone who gets bored too quickly. Ramp-up isn’t cheap, so short stays can really set you back.

Potential outcomes: Poor quality work, office in-fighting, crappy morale

Dated Skill-sets

Candidates who don’t keep their skills modern at all times cannot be top performers. It’s impossible to know everything, but not at least knowing some new things can show a lack of drive. I’ve heard excuses here like “I don’t really need it for the job I have,” or “It’s been too much between the hours on the job and the schedule with the new baby.” Regardless of the reason, this spells trouble. It leads to bad decision-making, since the well of options is somewhat empty for these people. If they don’t have a routine of regularly reading blogs or consuming other sources of information to build their skill-sets, then say no, thank you.

Potential outcomes: Work that must be tossed, work done “the hard way,” work that nobody wants to maintain

Lack of Reviewable Experience

Always check prior work when it’s possible for the role you’re filling. If a candidate can’t show the work, how do you really know that they’ve done what they claimed? Almost anyone can find references to vouch for them, but showing work is different. It may sound completely legitimate that a designer’s work was done for a product that hasn’t launched, or that a developer’s work was for a non-public system. But, without proof of prior success, do you really want to gamble on their future success?

Potential outcomes: Poor performance, poor quality work, death to your company!

Why No Is Great

When you build a great team, the team needs to know you don’t settle. The early hires you make create the culture of greatness (or pain) in your organization. The best advertisement to get candidates to work for your company is the set of employees already on the team, and so you’ll need it to be a great ad. Saying no to pretty good candidates reminds the team how special they are; and makes it more desirable for great talent to join. And it makes the team confident they won’t have to carry the burden of the bad folks that come in.

What If I Really, Really Need to Make That Hire Now?

Don’t compromise. Hire a short-term contractor if you must, but don’t leave holes in your foundation.

About DNAinfo.com

DNAinfo provides incredible coverage New York City and Chicago neighborhoods. We’re also building a new, stealthy product to help neighbors connect and stay informed. And we’re hiring! Front and Back-end engineers, Python & PHP, a UX lead, reporters and salespeople. Learn more at http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/about-us/careers/jobs-dnainfo-neighborhood-reporters, or contact me at hal@dnainfo.com.