A friend recently took a job with a large Wall Street investment banking firm—Goldman Sachs. He was telling me about their hiring and orientation process and I thought I’d share a bit of the story.

Apparently, being hired by Goldman requires as many as 20 interviews. These aren’t “are they capable” interviews. There are only a couple of those at most. These are chemistry interviews. People you will never see again if you get hired (and certainly won’t if you don’t) evaluate the candidates on whether they “fit” the culture of the company. Many capable and high caliber people don’t get a job offer because they don’t fit the culture.

I’m reminded by my own experience of late that there are three critical things to evaluate in a new hire:

#1. Capability: Can they do the job? (You can be fooled here.)

#2. Character: Can they be trusted? (You can be fooled here.)

#3. Chemistry: Is there a sense of “like” between all the parties? Are they “a fit”? (If you get fooled here—and I have—it’s your own fault.) If you are too eager to fill a position your desire will override your good sense and you are likely to make a mistake.