Why Steven Bartlett's best hire had almost no experience on paper

Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett is known for taking calculated risks—and he applies the same approach to hiring.

Bartlett, the founder and host of the popular podcast The Diary of a CEO, revealed in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday that one of his best hires ever was someone whose "resume was just two lines long" and whose "experience was zero."

The candidate had excelled in a questionnaire about company culture and values that Bartlett requires all applicants to complete, he wrote on LinkedIn.

During the interview, the person admitted they didn't know the answer to one of the questions, Bartlett said. But within hours, they followed up with an email explaining they had researched and figured it out on their own.

Small Gestures, Big Impact

He also noticed that she had thanked the security guard by name on her way into the office and sent a thank-you note to everyone after the interview, Bartlett added.

"Six months later? She's one of the best hires I've ever made," he said. The lesson he took from the experience: "Hire for what's hardest to teach."

"You can train someone on your systems in a month. But you can't teach someone in a month to want to win, to work hard, and to be ambitious," Bartlett said.

Mindset Trumps Education and Skills

After 15 years of hiring, Bartlett has learned that finding someone who fits the company culture and mindset is far harder than hiring for experience, skills, or qualifications.

The practice of sending a thank-you email after an interview—which Bartlett praised in his current employee—recently sparked an online debate.

Some argued that the tradition is forced and that norms have shifted in the post-pandemic world. Matt Grimm, co-founder of Anduril, posted on X that sending a thank-you note was "completely irrelevant" and that he didn't care if a candidate sent one.

Others countered that it signals genuine interest in the role and that failing to send one could hurt a candidate's chances.