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”
