Sorry, you’re left with random thoughts again.
Sorry, you’re left with random thoughts again. I was planning to write something a bit longer this week, but can I be honest? Time just slipped away from me — it happens on occasion. I think it’s because I went into the office more than I usually do, and that threw me off my usual routine.
Tell me about a time…
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been helping my company do graduate recruitment. I find it quite fascinating as someone who has been through the graduate scheme myself. Invariably, I end up thinking about whether I was as competent as the people that I’m now interviewing. I probably wasn’t, but we’ll swiftly move on for now.
Back when I joined the company, we all had to do an in-person assessment centre, where everyone would come in suited and booted, ready to put their best foot forward. While not perfect, I think virtual assessment centres can still do the job — I know for definite that if I was looking for a job, I’d prefer to interview virtually than in-person.
I usually like being interviewed — maybe that’s arrogant of me, but it might be because I like to speak to people. Maybe it’s more likely that I like talking about myself, but anyway I digress. I don’t mind being an interviewer either, and actually, I’ve led quite a few interviews in previous voluntary roles that I’ve held.
I find that some candidates forget to do the fundamentals. I don’t know why — it might be nerves, a lack of confidence or any other reason. I’ll probably write about this in more detail in a future piece… For me, active listening, clear responses and sufficient preparation go a long way in interviews. And of course, some light-hearted humour doesn’t damage your chances either (at least in my experience).
Is Wordle getting harder?
I’ve seen this a lot on Twitter in recent weeks — there seems to be a conspiracy theory that the New York Times have made Wordle harder after acquiring it.
I don’t believe it, to be honest. I don’t think NY Times would have anything to gain by making a game harder. It just doesn’t make good business sense to me to drive people away from the game that you want them to play. Having said that, I don’t think it’ll remain free forever — like most of the internet, I can imagine that they’re either going to:
- Monetise and sell advertising space — you may start seeing adverts for things that you’ve recently Googled or searched for on Facebook. I’m not sure how much I care about adverts, so long as it doesn’t ruin my experience.
- Ask you to subscribe to NY Times — this one is less than ideal for me; ideally, I don’t want to be paying a subscription to play a word puzzle game.
I wouldn’t say that I’m addicted to Wordle, but I am addicted to telling the entire world that I have solved today’s Wordle. I think I’m currently on a 25-day streak (yes, I’m bragging).
Not Manchester United again…
Yes, I know some of you will loathe me for talking about Manchester United, yet again. But I wasn’t joking when I said being a Manchester United (and football) fan is a huge part of who I am. Recently I’ve been thinking about what drives success.
We’ll take United’s midfielders as a case in point: on the one hand, you’ve got McTominay — a hard-working, athletic and no-nonsense midfielder. On the other hand, you’ve got someone like Donny van de Beek — he probably also works hard in training but for whatever reason, he didn’t get a look in at United before leaving on loan in January.
I’m sure you’ve heard the famous quote about talent and hard work before:
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
I think the quote is half right — I think what’s core to both getting better at your talent and working harder is attitude. Being disciplined, having the right mindset and applying yourself correctly are the pillars to being successful.
I can understand why a leader would prefer someone with the correct attitude and hope that they can teach the more technical aspects of their job. I think it would be a nightmare to have someone on your team with a shocking attitude. I think that’s why Elanga is getting his chance in this United side while Martial got shipped out after multiple underwhelming performances.
I’m disappointed in humanity
I’m not a geopolitical expert, but I feel like I should acknowledge what is going on in Ukraine right now. I have little to no understanding of the geopolitical context and history between Ukraine and Russia, but I will say that an invasion is the last thing I expected to happen in 21st century Europe. Having studied and watched documentaries about the two World Wars that plagued the 20th century, I was convinced that would be the last time human civilisation was so careless. But obviously, I was wrong.
I, like everyone else, am hoping that the situation is resolved sooner rather than later because I don’t believe we can afford to have another World War. For now, my thoughts are with the Ukrainian people in what I’m sure is a horrific and disturbing time for them.
Keval’s Corner
In Keval’s Corner, I will share three things: a song that I’ve had on repeat; an interesting book/ article/ report that I’ve read; and a question for you to respond to below. This week in Keval’s Corner:
🎵 Listen to this: Tequila — Dave
📖 Read this: Geography in Russia and Ukraine
🤔 Respond to this: How do you consume information?
