On one hand, the bad guys are definitely “bad”, in the sense that they believe in “bad” things.
For examples, corrupted officials believe that all man are selfish and it is justified to leverage the power for his own good. They might even believe that this is the only way they could stay as official.
Thanos believes that the only way to restore the Universe is by eliminating half of the lives randomly.
…
We need to take note that the things bad guys believe in are just “bad” to us. They themselves do not think for a bit that what they believe in is bad or wrong.
Bad guys have to work for it too, just like the good guys.
They have to stand firmly with what they believe in, turning a blind eye to all the “good” in the world. From this angle, being a bad guy is much harder than being a good guy.
They have to think and work very hard too. Otherwise, the good guys will out-work and out-think them and ultimately out-power them.
I read about this famous bad guy in Chinese history.
He was thinking and working all the time and he was so good at what he did.
Many initiatives and plans were executed flawlessly under his mastermind.
So many creative ways to satisfy everybody and secure their support were invented by him.
Fate does not only determine where we will end up, but also how we will get there.
At least, it feels like that sometimes.
I had a chat recently with an ex-colleague, who I am working with now for the next month or so.
Like me, he was in a very comfortable position in life.
Like me, he could not just enjoy it, feeling it was wrong and insecure to relax like that.
Like me, he “got out of his comfort zone”.
Unlike me, he did not experience any major set-back.
But like me, he was also struggling a bit, questioning himself why he could not just go with the flow and had to put himself in the struggling situation.
On the contrary, I also know people who are really good at enjoying life.
They may not make a lot of money, but they feel everything is in control. Even if something goes wrong, they just know that they will be ok.
I sincerely admire their sense of security and how relaxed they are.
I cannot help thinking sometimes that this may be the right way with life.
I tried to categorize the two types of people based on the background or traits, which did not really yield any convincing results.
If anything, first-generation immigrants exhibit more behaviors towards the former, while locals with big families tend to lead towards the latter.
This makes logical sense though.
Immigrants have to sort out many things all by themselves in the new environment, while having a big family locally means help and support on many issues, big and small.
If you have attended job interviews before, have you ever wondered what people who sit on the opposite side of the table or camera are thinking, while you show off your experiences and smart responses?
I conducted 15 interviews in the past 4 working days.
I have conducted interviews before, but never of this scale or intensity.
Interviewing candidates and trying to pick the right one is hard work.
First of all, you have to write the JDs and fix the title, grade, pay range…
Then, you have to go through several dozens of resumes to pick the candidates for interviews.
Then, you have to prepare the questions for the interviews so that you give the candidates opportunities to showcase their qualities and fit.
Then, you have to make yourself available, which could mean a lot of rescheduling and over time.
During the interviews, you have to explain the role and your expectations to the candidates, 15 times of the same conversation.
You have to ask candidates questions and listen to their responses and observe their behaviors.
Then you have to tailor the subsequent questions and try to have a conversation.
Then you ask them whether they have any questions and answer them.
All the while, you are trying to have a good read on his/her fit, and form your opinion and fill in the evaluation form.
Meanwhile, you try to make the interview a good experience for the candidates, so that they do not feel frustrated or a waste of time afterwards.
After the interview, you have to compare notes with other interviewers and see whether you miss any important points and seek confirmation on points you are unsure about.
If there are written cases, you have to prepare, distribute and grade them…
Of course, HR will always come with admin procedures you have to follow.
Interviewers go through all the hard work and struggles to select the right candidate for the position.
So they really want you to succeed. That means their job is done.
So do yourself a favor and come ready to show your best qualities for this job.
And sometimes, just showing your commitment is enough.
After the first two days, we were so frustrated as we could not see any good candidate.
One of the directors said:
If any of the internal candidates went to the database (they all have access to) and came with a simple analysis telling me this was how I saw your area, the job would be his.
If any of the external candidates told me I had been doing nothing but reading about your company and role and this was what I found out so far, the job would be his.
Unfortunately, no one did.
And the process had to go on.
I really feel bad for the three internal candidates. The role is a promotion for them and they could just grab it with some initiative on their end.
Therefore, prepare, show your commitment and help the interviewers select you and end the process.
