> E.g. "I am average compared to other engineers". For an early stage startup, average is not enough.
If you bailed them on this, you're process is seriously flawed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
As Kruger and Dunning conclude, "the miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others"
Historical references
Although the Dunning–Kruger effect was put forward in 1999, David Dunning and Justin Kruger have quoted Charles Darwin ("Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge") and Bertrand Russell ("One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision") as authors who have recognised the phenomenon.
Asking people what they think of themselves is just 1 input. It is not a binary decision. Rather, you need to get as many data points as possible on whether the person is very productive or not and then make a call on whether to hire them.
If you bailed them on this, you're process is seriously flawed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect As Kruger and Dunning conclude, "the miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others" Historical references Although the Dunning–Kruger effect was put forward in 1999, David Dunning and Justin Kruger have quoted Charles Darwin ("Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge") and Bertrand Russell ("One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision") as authors who have recognised the phenomenon.