Every time I look back at my past jobs, I notice something that doesn’t quite add up. Many of the people holding certain positions weren’t actually performing well, some were making the company losing money and clients, others weren’t even meeting basic or average expectations. Yet they stayed in the company, continued getting paid, and somehow remained secure.

At the same time, I’ve seen people who seem genuinely capable struggle to get hired or promoted. Some were even retrenched despite showing stronger potential or work quality. And some just resigned.

So it makes me question, when we hear about how bad the job market is, with people sending out thousands of applications and going through 20+ final round interviews… what exactly are we celebrating here? What are the real criteria being used to hire and retain people?

Because from the outside, it doesn’t seem to be purely about performance or capability.