u/NovelAd3122

A few years ago, I was hiring for a customer success role at the SaaS company I worked for. After several rounds of interviews, I narrowed it down to two candidates.

One had the kind of resume that usually makes the decision easy—big-name companies, relevant experience, and strong references.

The other didn't have that same pedigree, but every interview with them turned into a conversation. They were honest about mistakes they'd made, explained how they worked through challenges, and asked thoughtful questions about the role instead of trying to give the "perfect" answers.

When it came time to make the final decision, I went with the second candidate, even though it felt like the riskier choice.

A year later, it turned out to be one of the best hiring decisions I'd made. They took ownership, built trust with customers quickly, and became someone new hires naturally looked up to.

That experience made me realize that the easiest hiring decisions aren't always the best ones.

Has anyone else had a hire that completely changed the way you evaluate candidates?

I'm looking for legitimate ways to earn a little extra income online. I'm not expecting to get rich—just something that could realistically bring in around $100 a month. For those of you who've actually done it, what worked for you, and what should I avoid?

I have done the hiring for a SaaS company for quite some time now, both for customer success roles and operations roles. And one specific hiring experience that I had really changed my view of hiring.

We had two finalists for the same role. While one was clearly stronger on paper and at having worked for bigger names and everything seemed to tick off in their favor, the other was a bit unconventional but explained the problem solving process, setbacks and teamwork better than the first one.

As it turns out, we chose the latter, and he ended up being one of our best hires ever.

Ever since that experience, I try to place more value on understanding the mind of the candidate and not focus as much on trying to hire someone whose resume ticks all the boxes.

I wonder whether any of you have experienced something similar in your hiring careers, recruiters and hiring managers?