Compare candidates
Candidate comparison is distorted by charisma. Argumont holds work samples, references, and the option to wait on the same criteria.
decision
Hiring is a high-cost decision under weak evidence
Most hiring debates overweight charm and underweight work samples. Argumont compares named options, including 'do not hire yet,' against criteria you can defend later.
What this decision type is
A hiring decision is not a personality contest. It is a forecast of contribution, cost, and team risk. The candidate you like is one option. Another candidate, a contractor, or waiting are others.
Argumont does not replace interviews, references, or legal hiring process. It structures the argument after you have that material.
Common mistakes
Interviewers often treat confidence as competence. Fluent talkers score well in unstructured conversations and poorly on actual artifacts.
Teams also fail to score the option of not hiring. An empty seat can be cheaper than a wrong full-time seat.
What evidence matters
Work samples, references that describe failure modes, compensation versus expected output, and time-to-impact in this specific environment. Culture fit claims should be marked as opinions unless they are tied to observed collaboration.
How Argumont evaluates it
Criteria such as role fit, evidence of skill, time to impact, compensation risk, team chemistry, retention, and option cost keep the discussion on inspectable dimensions. Scores stay as whole numbers with reasons.
Example criteria
Role fit
Match to the actual work of the next two quarters.
Evidence of skill
Artifacts and references, not self-report.
Time to impact
How quickly contribution shows up here, not in the abstract.
Compensation risk
Cost versus expected output, including equity.
Retention
Whether the person is likely to stay through the learning period.
Common risks
Halo from pedigree
Brand-name employers substitute for evidence of this role.
Urgency tax
A deadline manufactures a hire that would fail a slower process.
Example decision
Should we hire candidate A, candidate B, or keep a contractor for six months? Compare evidence of delivery, not interview energy.
Questions
- Does Argumont decide who to hire?
- No. People decide. Argumont records the contest of reasons, including the option not to hire.
Related pages
Which candidate?
A hire is a decision with a long tail: ramp time, team load, and the cost of being wrong. Scoring after you already like someone is not scoring.
Founders
As a founder you are paid to decide under scarcity. You are also the person most in love with the current story. Argumont is the structured opposition that a co...
Decision bias
Confirmation bias, sunk cost, authority bias, and recency show up in almost every material choice. Process is how you make them more expensive to indulge.
Decisions
These pages are not a directory of keywords. Each one describes a kind of choice, the evidence it needs, how Argumont scores it, and where to go next.
Compare hiring options
Argumont challenges assumptions, researches evidence, compares competing approaches, and identifies the strongest decision.
Compare hiring options