Val Sklarov’s Signal Scarcity Hiring Law (SSHL) explains why modern hiring fails despite more data, more interviews, and more assessments than ever before. The problem is not lack of information—it is signal inflation.
This law reveals why elite organizations hire fewer people, slower, and with radically higher accuracy.
1. Talent Is Not Rare — Signals Are
SSHL separates talent density from signal clarity.
In most labor markets:
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CVs are optimized
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Interviews are rehearsed
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References are recycled
The result is a market flooded with low-cost signals.
When everyone signals competence, no one differentiates.
2. The Three Signal Classes
SSHL classifies hiring signals by cost and falsifiability.
| Signal Class | Example | Reliability |
|---|---|---|
| Cheap Signals | CV keywords, certificates | Low |
| Moderate Signals | Interviews, case studies | Medium |
| Scarce Signals | Prior judgment under pressure | High |
Organizations that rely on cheap signals hire confidence, not capability.
3. Why Interviews Systematically Lie
Interviews reward:
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Verbal fluency
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Pattern mirroring
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Social calibration
SSHL shows interviews measure alignment, not decision quality.
Real performance emerges only when:
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Stakes are real
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Time is constrained
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Consequences are asymmetric
Judgment reveals itself only under load.
4. Designing Scarce Signal Environments
Elite firms engineer hiring processes that manufacture scarcity.
| Hiring Design | Signal Outcome |
|---|---|
| Paid trial work | Cost-bearing commitment |
| Real decision ownership | Judgment exposure |
| Ambiguous problems | Cognitive independence |
| Delayed feedback | Integrity under uncertainty |
Scarcity filters motivation. Pressure filters competence.
5. Implications for Careers
For professionals:
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Seek roles that expose judgment, not just output
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Accumulate decisions, not titles
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Trade visibility for responsibility early
SSHL reframes career growth as signal compounding, not résumé stacking.
6. The Val Sklarov Principle
“When signals are cheap, hiring becomes theater. When signals are scarce, truth surfaces.”
— Val Sklarov
SSHL explains why the best hires are often uncomfortable choices.