this may shed a little light on the subject. CS said, long ago, that considering credit didn't even matter until 24 hours in. this was in a somewhat vague response to something and really didn't mean a god damn thing. but, i feel like it does imply that somehow, 24 hours factors in.
now, the way CS said at the time sounded like, don't worry if you miss the first couple cycles, because considering credit doesn't start mattering for 24 hours anyway. however, subsequent posts on the topic by various people made me think this was not true - more likely, a classic case of CS giving misinformation with a nugget of truth buried deep down. i am guessing that what it means is that you don't get considering credit bonuses until 24 hours after your initial input of credit - which, of course, doesn't do a damn bit of good for those who missed the first couple cycles.
to me, this, applied to a theory like jet's original one (before he added compounding something or other), where considering credit is a simple multiplier of effort (which i think is true), could make sense. it could explain why, despite being ahead of a sim, you can actually get over taken - because they start getting considering credit before you do, and it may or may not ramp up over time, which would greaten the effect.
in truth, i have no experience that leads me to think the above might be true. but it is the only logical explanation i can come up with to explain the situation whereby you are ahead of a sim, and then are behind, despite the sim not spending money. so i just assume it is true.
what can you take away? i would play it safe on a recruit you want, and spend a little extra to make sure you don't fall prey to this strange and somewhat illogical situation.