Intuition: Do you use it?

Paul in Cannon Beach

I am a firm believer in intuition. Call it what you will. I think our brains are far more complex and wonderful than we realize. I think HR draws intuitive people because we deal with people and we must gather information which is often very nuanced.

Here are some examples:
- When you just know what someone is about to say.
- When you "dislike" an applicant and you can't say why.
- When you know you meet an applicant and you know they are perfect for the job
- When you can sense an employee is struggling.
- When you know what to say and when.

HR decisions should be based on solid, documented objective criteria. That said, intuition can be a helpful tool. A type of HR radar if you will.

By the way, if you poke fun at me for offering these opinions, I can definitely say I COULD SENSE IT AHEAD OF TIME!

ray a

Or what not to say and when not to say it. That I'm still working on. Watch it Beagle, I'll get even.

HRsage

Dang, I thought this was about that new razor that's on the market. x:D

I do agree, Paul. I think a lot of good HR people know how to read people and can act accordingly. I have a manager that is convinced that I'm psychic, because I can really read her well.

ritaanz

The next thing you will want to know is where we keep our crystal ball. How about Tarot cards? palm reading, hand writing analysis?

If there was a way I could get a look at an applicants hand and not scare the hell out of 'em, I'd try that. Would go hand in hand with that gut feeling you get when you interview.

What do you think about that Paul?

Whatever

Of course I use it. In interviews, it starts with the handshake. Also, it's complementary (and this drives my kids crazy) to the eyes on the back of my head. x;-)

JudyT929

I did recruiting for a large law firm for years, the non-attorney staff and always hired based on my intuition. I could just sense what type secretary would work with any particular type of attorney and I had about a 99% success ratio. Too bad I've not had the same good intuition with the men in my life...

deniseE

I do...it's indespensible....and i wish i'd listen to it more often...but sometimes "logic" takes over....

Cinderella

I believe in intuition, and I believe I have it. However, I don't always listen to it (usually to my detriment). I try to be very careful with it because sometimes I'm afraid I'm listening to stereotype-tapes in my head instead of intuition (a person I grew up around was very, very racist and prejudice of all types of groups).

Paul in Cannon Beach

Again, I am not saying you make judgements based on intuition alone. That would be reckless and unfair.

I don't even think intuition is always even "mystical". I think intuition is the sum of our experiences, observation, and knowledge working quietly behind the scenes to analyze situations and predict outcomes.

Palm reading is a great example. Palm readers are frauds but they do know human behavior. They know that 80 percent of us will travel in the next six months, 70 percent of us will choose the number 7 when asked to pick between 1 and 10, most women think they are overweight, most people have a sick or dying friend or relative, etc... Its more about using data than voodoo.

I think anyone who is observant has mentally filed away thousands, if not millions, of pieces of information that their brain sifts through and makes conclusions subconsciously. That is intuition.

Researchers studying facial expressions have used high speed cameras to discover that we make "micro expressions" when we are emotional. Micro expressions only last a mili-second but they betray our real feelings.

I wouldn't be suprised if observant people can pick up on these micro-expressions and actually "sense" when a person is lying or not expressing their true feelings.

I'm also pretty sure that not everyone has this ability or utilizes it. I've met people and known instantly something was not right while others think the person is just great. Usually I am right.

marc

I rely on my intuition but have a hard time distinguishing "gut feelings" from paranoia. Sometimes I should have listened and didn't and sometimes I listened and should not have.

Needs some fine-tuning.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Mark,

I read somewhere that you can try to develop your sense of intuition by trying to pick the fastest lane in the supermarket, freeway, etc. I don't know. My intuition never helps for that kind of stuff.

Another situation that has happened to me repeatedly is when I am going out. Just before I leave, I think "better take a jacket". But I don't want to carry a jacket around. So, I don't. And guess what? I should have taken a jacket.

This has happened to me at least 5 times. But then, I also live in Oregon and you should probably always take a jacket.

mbeam

Yes, it's that hard to define "gut instinct" that I warn our managers about going with on its own. Using our intuition along with hard facts to back up reasoning is tough to beat.

Also knowing the environment you work in and the culture makes a difference. When you've been with a company for some time, you get a "sixth sense" of what does and doesn't work based on some hard earned life lessons.