Job Interview: Pace your thinking, don’t go too fast, it could ruin your chances!

So, you have a job interview or a big meeting coming up with the boss or an important client. You’ve done your homework and you’re prepared, primed, and pumped up. But have you thought about your thinking speed?

We all know that interviews and high-stakes meetings can be stressful, and when nerves flare up, our tendency is to think and talk too fast, leading to our blowing that meeting that we prepared so hard for.

In his now classic book “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” Daniel Kahneman takes a deep dive into how we think – and teaches us how we can think more effectively. According to Kahneman, one of the biggest problems is that we tend to think too fast.

When your brain reacts and responds automatically and instinctively – almost thinking without really thinking, that’s what he calls “thinking fast.” This is how we think most of the time. On the other hand, “thinking slow” is when your brain hits the pause button and takes a moment to consciously reason, consider, question, analyze, and decide, before responding or acting. Of course there are stupid entities out there who would have some atrocious reasons to justify their thinking fast and effective.

Of course “thinking fast” is a good thing. We couldn’t possibly – and wouldn’t want to – have to over-analyze every little thing before responding. But, on the flipside, how often do we make mistakes because we jump to conclusions or have knee-jerk reactions when we might have benefitted from pausing, even momentarily, to devise a more thoughtful and well-considered response?

So how can you leverage the power of “thinking slow” in your next job interview or meeting? One way is by simply remembering this extremely effective behavioral interviewing technique called “PARLA.”

With the PARLA technique, you might start by finding out more specifically what the job opening entails; and then, focusing on just one of the biggest challenges you might face in that position, you respond with a real-life story that illustrates how you’ve successfully solved similar challenges before. PARLA stands for Problem, Action, Result, Learning, & Application:

P – Problem: Here’s a problem or situation I faced previously that’s similar to that of this role;

A – Action: Here’s the action I took;

R – Result: Here’s the result or outcome of that action;

L – Learning: Here’s what I learned from that experience;

A – Application: And (the most important and relevant part to the interviewer) here’s how I would apply what I learned from that prior experience in this new role.

Let’s say the interviewer asks you, “Why do you think you can do this job and why should I hire you over anybody else?” What often happens, in your excitement and enthusiasm to convince the interviewer that you’re the right person for the job, you excitedly blurt out something like, “Because I have a degree in x, and five years’ experience, and I’m a hard worker and team player, and blah blah blah.” Not only are you thinking fast, you’re talking fast, and often just rambling on. And that’s what everyone else does.

Instead, differentiate yourself by pausing for a brief moment and thinking slow…slow enough to come up with a thoughtful and winning PARLA-based response that’ll make you stand out from the crowd. Focus on one – just one – key aspect of the job, and respond with something like this:

“You had mentioned that one of the key responsibilities and greatest challenges of this position was X. Well, one time, in my last job I faced a similar challenge. Here’s what I did… Here’s what the outcome was… Here’s what I learned… And here’s how I would apply what I learned in this role….

Even if things didn’t go well in the Results phase, what’s important is that you took an Action to address a Problem, and you Learned something valuable that you can Apply going forward. And, in truth, that’s really what the interviewer is looking for.

By the way, PARLA is not just for use when BEING interviewed; it is actually a classic behavioral interviewing technique that was originally designed for the interviewer to use to interview YOU. If an interviewer ever starts a sentence with, “Tell me about a time when you faced a situation in which…” you will know that that is exactly what they’re doing…and what they are looking for in terms of a response! So (not to give away any behind-the-scenes interviewing secrets), now that you are aware of this very popular interviewing methodology, you are now equipped to respond more effectively going forward.

Seizing the opportunity to tell a true, well-structured personal story using the PARLA format will capture and hold the interviewer’s attention, shows that you can think on your feet, and demonstrates with poise and confidence that you have what it takes to do the job…because you’ve been there before.

That’s the power of “thinking slow” in action.

“You have to learn the rules of the game; then you have play better than anyone else”

Thinking about Thinking (Smart thinking enabled): De Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats”

Of all the different management, leadership, communication, innovation, and thinking tools, tips and techniques that I’ve learned over the years, nothing has affected me more, or has had more practical applications, than Edward de Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats” model.

De Bono, the guru of “thinking about thinking,” originated this framework that I now use, either consciously or unconsciously, literally every single day. It’s one of the best examples of how we can use visual and metaphorical thinking and communicating to solve real-world challenges.

The model in brief: There are six metaphorical “hats” — each a different color. Each hat represents a different type of thinking. By metaphorically taking off or putting on a different hat, you can intentionally and strategically switch to a different type of thinking.

Here are the six hat colors, and a brief overview of what type of thinking each represents:

1. White Hat: Neutral; objective; facts; data; information; objectivity

2. Red Hat: Emotion; gut feeling; intuition; passion; subjectivity

3. Black Hat: Cons; critical; caution; risks; costs; weaknesses; disadvantages

4. Yellow Hat: Pros; optimism; benefits; strengths; advantages

5. Green Hat: Creativity; innovation; brainstorming; new ideas; possibilities

6. Blue Hat: Process; structure; thinking about thinking; next steps

The Six Thinking Hats method can be applied in many different types of situations, for example:

• In a meeting: as a formalized, structured process (e.g., a group brainstorming or strategy session)
• In a one-on-one discussion: as a common language that will encourage dialogue and minimize conflict
• In your own mind: as a way to frame your own thinking, separate fact from emotion, and make better decisions

When used in a group, it enables what De Bono calls “parallel thinking,” which occurs when all members metaphorically “wear” the same color hat at the same time. This dramatically improves communication, minimizes conflict, and fosters innovation.

How do the Six Thinking Hats do this? The best way to understand it is through a real-life illustration:

Say you’re in a meeting, trying to reach a decision. Instead of the normal chaos and conflict caused by endless debate, cross-talk, shooting down ideas, etc., what if we were able to say:

“Let’s temporarily put aside our Red Hats (our emotional reactions), our Black (negative/critical) and Yellow (positive/supportive) opinions, and all put on our White Hats to first objectively identify the objective facts and relevant data, before we start jumping to possible solutions (Green Hat) and proposing next steps (Blue Hat).”

Once agreed, from there the group can efficiently, and with minimal conflict and debate, run the situation through this simple and logically sequenced series of questions:

1. White Hat: What are the facts about the situation at hand?

2. Red Hat: How do people feel, emotionally, about the situation?

3. Black Hat: What’s not working — and why?

4. Yellow Hat: What is working – and why?

5. Green Hat: What’s new (ideas, possibilities)?

6. Blue Hat: What’s next (where do we go from here)?

(Note: You don’t necessarily always have to use the hats in this exact sequence; but this is an example of a very common and effective approach.)

By enabling parallel thinking —  by having everyone wear the the same color hat at the same time (and headed together in the same direction) — you will see how much more orderly your meetings will be, and how much more quickly you can reach decisions and get things done!

And if you assign one person in the meeting to be the Blue Hat leader, that person (regardless of organizational role or rank) will serve to make sure that things run smoothly, stay on track, and that everyone plays by the rules.

Using this methodology, my company and clients have successfully conducted numerous executive-level strategy meetings, facilitated cross-functional team-building and brainstorming sessions, and helped hundreds of individuals maximize the effectiveness of their own decision-making skills, along with their ability to more effectively conceive and communicate ideas.

Here’s a question that may hit close to home: How might you use the Six Thinking Hats in your job search?

Let’s say that you were presented with a potential job opportunity. What kind of question might each Thinking Hat pose to help you make the best possible decision?

1. White Hat: What are the objective facts about the position and the company (title, salary, benefits, location, industry, work environment, department, new manager, etc.)?

2. Red Hat: How do I feel about this opportunity; what is my gut telling me (am I excited, nervous, hesitant, concerned, etc)?

3. Black Hat: What don‘t I like about it, what’s bad about it — and why (i.e., what are the negatives or concerns associated with the White Hat facts and my Red Hat feelings)?

4. Yellow Hat: What do I like about it, what’s good about it – and why (what are the positives associated with the White Hat facts and my Red Hat feelings)?

5. Green Hat: What are the various options, alternatives, choices available to me (i.e., what’s going through my mind in terms of what-ifs, and out-of-the-box possibilities; what does it look like if I visualize actually taking this job)?

6. Blue Hat: What are the next steps; where do I go from here (when do I have to make a decision by, what do I have to do next, what actions should I take)?

Although this is just one simple and common example, you can easily see how using the Six Thinking Hats to frame your thinking can go a long way toward maximizing your effectiveness – and enhancing your confidence – when it comes to making any decision.

It is important to note, however, that while it takes just a few minutes to learn this seemingly simple model, it takes time, training, and much practice to truly master it.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. - Lao Tzu

Management Goon: Cover Letter – How not to read it!

There is one key rule in management: never hire anyone desperate or stupid enough to work for someone like you. Unfortunately, at some point in your management career you may need to replace an employee who was smart enough to quit.

If and when this happens, you will probably come across something known as a “resume” and its useless cousin, the “cover letter.”

Back when people used typewriters and an archaic delivery system known as the Indian Postal Service, cover letters served the important function of protecting resumes against damage caused by psychotic postal workers.

Since the advent of email sometime around 1972, resumes have been sent via email. Today, the purpose of a cover letter is to avoid attaching a resume to a completely blank email, which is frowned upon in some cultures.

You will recognize a cover letter by its adherence to the following format:

Beginning: Blah-blah-blah. Blah-blah-blah.
Middle: Blah-blah-blah. Blah-blah-blah-blah.
End: My resume is attached.

While most managers read only the resume, you should always print out and read the cover letter as well. This is a handy way to kill time and avoid doing actual work. Perhaps more important, it can serve as inexpensive gift wrap, lining for a birdcage, or holiday party confetti.

Under no circumstances should you pay attention to the following:

Ability to structure a coherent sentence
Typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors simply indicate that the candidate is either not particularly detail oriented or not particularly bright. Hey, as long as you know how to type “LOL” and “RU free 4 lunch?” you’ll probably be just fine here, right?

Hidden insights into character
Ramblings about being pursued by CIA operatives and/or having one’s brain scanned by aliens are probably just conversation fillers. Similarly, threats of physical violence against you or the company are often just idle boasts.

Knowledge of the company
The rocket scientists over in HR claim that a candidate should display some basic familiarity with the company or industry in which the company operates. But seriously, if the candidate knew anything about the company, why would he be applying?

Ability to persuade, sell, or inspire
Last time I checked this was a workplace, not Hallmark Channel. Next.

Above all, try not to think too deeply. About anything. Ever. No one ever got promoted by thinking.

If you want to make enemies, try to change something – Woodrow Wilson

Background checks in India - Why they Fail!!

In a growing economy like India, companies are often seen in a mad rush to hire in the hundreds. Tight timelines for hiring and cost-consciousness often tempt recruiters to go easy on checks and verification.

And it is not hard to get fake documents in the country. There are close to 7500 companies in India, which operate just for providing fake employment and educational certificates, according to a report by First Advantage, a background screening company.

The company discovered this startling number during the process of education verification on prospective hires that it conducted for its clients. Among the discrepancies found in the second quarter of 2014, anomalies related to employment, address and education antecedents were at 60.4%, 15.9% and 6.0% respectively.

Who does these checks in India?

In India, the prevalent norm is for human resources (HR) to conduct a reference check from past employment based on the information provided by a candidate. The authentication of residential addresses, educational and criminal records is typically outsourced to third party background verification companies.

These agencies usually take between seven and 10 days to give a report and charge between Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 3,000 per candidate. The fee goes up in case of extensive checks and for senior level hires.

Despite the growth in the number of screening agencies, most companies are yet to give pre-employment background checks the importance it deserves.

About 90% of organized sector undertake some form of checks while 95% companies in the unorganized sector are still hiring without any background check.

Learn from IT firms

Executives involved in background checks say IT and ITES, banking and financial services and FMCG sectors are way ahead of their peers in sectors such as telecommunications, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, healthcare, travel, education and entertainment.

It is an investment as background checks help in safeguarding organizational assets, promoting safety at workplace, reducing turnover owing to right hiring, safeguarding company reputation, avoiding legal action and inspiring confidence in customers and shareholders,

IT companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies and Wipro are known to show zero-tolerance towards corporate fraud and fraudulent employees. Punitive actions include termination of services and blacklisting such candidates and recruiters.

In fact, the industry body for technology companies, National Association of Software and Services Companies, maintains a centralized database of IT and ITES employees and third-party verified information on education, experience history and personal details of these professionals.

Job portals such as Naukri, Monster and communities such as CiteHR forums also alert users of blacklisted candidates. But this is not enough for carrying out checks. There is no single platform for non-IT/ITES companies where details of fraudulent candidates and recruiters can be found.

Also, what makes the process of background verification difficult and cumbersome is the lack of a centralized repository of information, defined processes and procedures to conduct checks at educational institutes, police stations or courts.

But with newer forms of white collar crimes emerging, perhaps it is time that companies go the extra mile and conduct thorough background checks on prospective employees. 

Better to be safe, than sorry.

When a thing is done, it's done. Don't look back. Look forward to your next objective.

Become a better Manager - Keep your hands on skills razor sharp!!

It starts when you land your first management position. Suddenly, you’re splitting your time between telling other people what to do and actually doing stuff yourself. And as you climb further up the chain, the balance shifts and you spend more and more time managing people, projects, budgets, and bosses. Then, one day, you realize that the unthinkable has happened: you’ve been so busy managing a team that you’ve let your hands-on skills deteriorate.

As you advance in your career, you will frequently hear that it’s not your hands-on skills, but rather your ability to lead your team to success that matters. I would never suggest that leadership ability is not critical to your advancement. It certainly is. But I would also suggest a supplement: pick a skill and keep it sharp. Keep it razor sharp. Having a relevant, current, hands-on skill is one of the best things you can do as you advance your career.

Recruiting Magnet

The single most important thing you need to do as both an advancing and established manager is to recruit and retain the very best talent. The best talent always has options and is always looking for the most engaging, rewarding, and interesting place to work. As a recruiter, you’ve got to present your organization and — more importantly — yourself as the most interesting person for whom to work. You need to let your candidates know that you’re going to challenge them. One of the best ways to do this is to show them just how much you challenge yourself.

Hands-on technical candidates want to know that their potential manager is going to give them the opportunity to work with current technology. What better way to demonstrate that than to be hands-on with current tech yourself? Candidates want to know that when they get excited about some new coding design pattern, their boss will engage with them about it. Furthermore, where are you going to find these very best candidates? Like all good recruiters, you’ll do best if you meet them where they are. You are far more likely to find like-minded candidates by staying hands-on with a current technology, and attending MeetUps and other groups yourself.

Find Something You Love

I joined The Times Group in 2008 as Corporate Head – Gujarat, India. I knew nothing about Corporate Culture or anything about driving Corporate Sales and Content Validation or Communication at Corporate level. I was just plain good in Motivating and adapting very fast to any environment. To learn the skills to a new level, I went to Indian Institute of Management (IIM) – Ahmedabad for a Management Development Program and started loving every aspect of my role in the Company. Wanting to round out my development background, I chose to learn Communication Strategies and Men and Women at Work. It empowered me to excel in my selection of candidates for my core team. Introductions made for great opportunities to continue that. I not only learned how to hire Managers and Executives for Corporate team but also to evaluate their skills.

So I went to IIM – Ahmedabad again and took some classes. I figured that there might be some students worth considering as candidates and at the very least, I’d learn a bunch. While it turned out that none of my fellow students were a good fit, I had learned enough that when I began my search for a full-time hire, I was able to attract a truly talented PhD-holding Corporate Strategist who was able to bring our ideas to life.

People Want to Know

Shortly after I joined KForce Inc and was placed in X Projects at Google Inc, my boss wanted to introduce me to the board of directors as the newest addition to the team. After giving a bit of preamble about how important technology is to our mission and how excited he was to have me on board, he relayed the story of me taking an Corporate Strategy class and how I had a team that defied odds and was able to work at 110x (x being the Cost to the Company to maintain the team). His real story to the board was that he hadn’t just hired another Program manager, but rather someone who is current, relevant, and would be able to attract talent to push the mission forward. The board’s reaction was universally approving.

Razor Sharp, Always

It’s an enormously worthwhile endeavor to keep learning new skills, even if you choose one that you don’t employ in your current gig. Whether it’s during one-on-one sessions or at a full team lunch, the boss who can talk turkey is the kind of manager who retains their best talent. If you can think of this as a hobby and not as work, all the better. Think of the glow on your face when you tell your friends about your favorite hobby. Now imagine having that same glow when you are relating your new skills to your colleagues. It will help you recruit, retain, and relate to the very best candidates. No matter how high up the technology food chain you get, having a few razor sharp skills will always pay dividends.


Good Management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive; that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.

Job Hunt Simplified - The Approach

Job Hunt Simplified

In this economy, just showing up no longer counts. Jobs are no longer doled out to the deserving. Instead, they’re given to those that are the most qualified, the best prepared, and who prove that they want it the most.

This is my way of telling you not to start the job hunting process unless you’re willing to make it your relentless pursuit to end up in a hiring manager’s short list — the top three candidates of all the people who applied for a given job — every single time.

Tall order? Maybe. Achievable? Absolutely.

So what can you do today that will make an immediate and positive impact on your job hunt? Start refining the jobs you’re going to apply for.

GET REAL:

When candidates come into my office, I always ask what jobs they’re applying to. Nine out of ten times, the person has virtually no strategy around their company selection. Many can’t even remember where they’ve already applied. While this chaos and inability to focus may be caused by the ease of one-click applying (we call that “impulse shopping”), there is a better way.

Stop and really consider each role before you hit “Apply”. Do you really have a shot at it or are you just wishing? If it’s the latter, keep digging and networking. You want to begin to train your brain to consider the roles where even upon viewing you know you have a good chance of not only being invited in to an interview, but short listed for final rounds. Once you start evaluating companies based upon your ability to make it onto the short list, you’ll begin to evaluate the jobs you’re targeting in a whole new light.

Also, be sure not to become dejected if you make it to the late rounds but don’t ultimately get the offer. Honestly, you should feel as though you’ve won just by making into the top three. After you make it beyond that point, it’s as if a brand new interview process starts — one that’s based much more on personality, company fit, and how much you click with the hiring manager. And even if you don’t land the offer, you’ll still be in their memory and they’ll likely call you when a similar position opens up. The lesson here is that you can’t win every time, but if you interview well, you’ve done some good work that might just pay forward down the line.

Here’s how to step back and get laser-focused so you can win, place, or show. Let me make it real for you.

1. Create a “Target” spreadsheet in Excel.

Column A = Target Company

Column B = Target Title

Column C = Date Applied

Column D = Priority

Your Excel should look like the image below;-)

2. List the last 20 jobs you’ve applied to or have your eye on.
Only fill in columns A, B and C. If this takes more than 30 minutes, you’re doing something wrong, and I’m not talking about your Excel skills.

3. Prioritize. 

Go to the Priority column (“D”) and assign a rank to each job, with #1 being the one you believe you have the best chance of landing based upon how much your professional chops match the company’s needs. If you find any jobs on the list that can’t legitimately see yourself landing, assign them a zero.

4. Sort. 

What jobs made it to the top of your list? Are you excited about them? Do you believe that you have a better than average chance of making it onto a hiring manager’s short list based on the qualifications assigned to the role? If so, you’re in a good place to continue on. If not, you should be real with yourself and try this exercise again with more realistic jobs. This isn’t to say that you can’t have an occasional stretch position on your list. You certainly can and should, but each job can’t be a hail mary.

Over the next month, challenge yourself to re-prioritizing each time you apply to a new job. Spend 80% of your time focusing on the 20% of the jobs you can land and excel at.  Soon you’ll naturally begin to narrow down that enormous list of jobs from long shots to sure shots.

The Takeaway

Do the critical prep work worthy of the “best you” and pick the roles where you know you can actually win, place or show. It’ll be a heck of a boost on your job hunting confidence when you start earning your way into the winner’s circle, time after time.

A goal is a dream with a deadline....   Napoleon Hill