The 140 Second Interview

Q&A: 140 Seconds With Pizza Hut on Its 140-Second Job Interview

By Venessa Wong on March 07, 2013 – Bloomberg Business Week

You’d best talk fast. Pizza Hut is holding job interviews this Sunday at the Hilton in Austin and online on March 14 (via Google (GOOG) Plus), and it’s giving each candidate only 140 seconds. The position: manager of digital media based out of Plano, Tex. In addition to preparing your spiel, be prepared to show them everything on your phone.

How much can you really learn about a job candidate in 140 seconds? A lot, Pizza Hut (YUM) claims. To test the theory, we sat down for 140 seconds with Caroline Masullo, Pizza Hut’s director of digital and social media and the person who will be conducting the interviews.

Explain the thinking behind the 140-second interview.
It literally ties to the way people communicate on Twitter today. We need this person to be super knowledgeable in the social space. They need to be able to communicate with our consumers in fun, quick, concise ways. They need to be relevant, and they need to be on the cutting edge of the social space and keep us at the forefront. In terms of that short an amount of time, we need someone who knows who they are, what they are looking for, someone who’s super passionate, quick on their feet, able to communicate clearly in a short amount of time.

Will you show more mercy if they run over time than, say, the Academy Awards?
If I love them, absolutely.

So no band ushering them away.
We talked about having an air horn or something. If they are amazing, we want to hear what they have to say, but at the same time, we want to hear as many people as we can. The other benefit of giving people 140 seconds is we’ll be able to talk to tons of people within that 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. time frame.

Have you been practicing? Are you talking faster?
Yeah. I spend a lot of time in the social space, so I would say, you know, we’re pretty good at it as a brand. We already have a good presence on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram, so this is a space we’re familiar with.

But you’re not looking for a glimpse into the hearts and souls of these candidates.
No. Ultimately it’s like an elevator [pitch]. Tell me in 140 seconds why you think you should be the next manager of ….

Oh! Sorry, we’re at 140 seconds. Thank you for your time.

Wong is an associate editor for Bloomberg Businessweek.

Make the effort

Knowing Jesus and living like Jesus requires more effort on our part than just attending a weekly church service and or a weekly group session. And weekly volunteering doesn’t do it. As Jesus explains in the scripture below, that Pat Morley uses in his book, reading and learning the Bible help us to know the power of God.  

In the next section of the book Morley explains that ‘You can be transformed. God will change your life one verse at a time’. It’s all a result of reading the Bible. Find someone to help you if you need some help or guidance.

***************

Excerpt from the book ‘Man Alive’ by Patrick Morley

Section titled ‘What’s going on? - pages 10 - 12

Jesus gave us a picture of both the problem and the solution (to a question asked in the previous section. The question is: ‘What do men who lead powerful, transformed lives do differently than their lukewarm counterparts?) in His well-known parable of the four soils. A sower went out and scattered the seed of God’s Word on four kinds of soil: the hard path, the rocky soil, the thorny ground and the good soil.

Most men today would recognize themselves in the first three soils where the seeds don’t grow. Yet they honestly want to be like the good soil where the fourth seed fell – to be men “who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty or even a hundred times as much as had been planted” (Matthew 13:23).

What is keeping men’s lives hard, rocky and choked with thorns when so many urgently want more and when God created us for more – much more?

And, positively, what do men who lead powerful, “a hundred times” lives do differently than their mediocre counterparts? Jesus gave us an insight when He was speaking to a group of confused religious men. He said,

‘Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and

you don’t know the power of God.’ (Matthew 22:29)

Do you see it? Jesus made a direct connection between knowing the Bible and leading a powerful life. Lukewarm men are in error because they ‘don’t know the scriptures’ and therefore ‘don’t know the power of God’. Their capabilities don’t equal their intensions. Without the right training, their soil remains bare, stony and full of weeds. And as you’ll soon see, by ‘know the Scriptures’, Jesus was talking about a lot more than mere head knowledge.

On the other hand, transformed men ‘truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest’. Digging into the Word of God is easily the number one factor that differentiates men who have tapped into God’s power.  

What is a Disciple

Morley provides an easy to remember definition of discipleship. He also points out that disciples are pupils or learners not just attenders (of a church for example). Disciples are in the game for the long term. Attenders are not committed and will show up when convenient (I would have come but I couldn't get up early enough). You don't build churches, organizations or movements with the uncommitted. Ask any great leader.

**************

Excerpt from the book ‘Man Alive’ by Pat Morley.

 What is a Disciple? – P70 – 72

The word disciple comes from the Greek word mathetes, which means “pupil” or “learner.” When used in conjunction with Jesus, it came to mean “an adherent to the person and teachings of Jesus.”

To be a disciple of Jesus is the highest honor to which a man can aspire. When Jesus called Peter, James, John and the others, He called them to become what? Disciples. When Jesus left earth, the marching orders He left behind are to do what? “Go and make disciples.” (Matthew 28:19)

Discipleship includes both the moment of salvation and the lifelong process of sanctification.

Here’s an easy to remember definition. A disciple is…

·         Called to live in Christ

·         Equipped to live like Christ

·         Sent to live for Christ

 

Jesus said, “I will show you what he is like who comes to me [called] and hears my words [equipped] and puts them into practice [sent]” (Like 6:47 NIV).

Let’s break this down. First, a disciple is called to profess faith in Jesus Christ and abide in Him. This begins with the evangelism piece, or salvation. Without eternal life, religion doesn’t mean much. I know because I grew up in a “Christian” home that didn’t know Christ. We didn’t reject the good news, because we never heard it. Our church was focused on other things. The results have been devastating. To be called also includes deepening our relationship with Jesus.

Next a disciple is equipped by a process of ongoing spiritual teaching, growth and transformation. To not disciple (train and equip) people who profess Christ will almost always mean they become lukewarm in faith, worldly in behavior, and hypocritical in witness. Evangelism without discipleship is cruel.

Finally, a disciple is sent to live for Christ by becoming part of a community, loving others, bearing much fruit and doing good deeds. We each want to give our lives to a worthy cause. Once you have been with Christ – experienced the joy of His grace, the warmth of His love, the cleansing of the His forgiveness and the indwelling of His spirit – you inevitably come to a point where you can no longer be happy unless you are serving the Lord.

What I most like about this biblical description of becoming a disciple is that it’s actionable. It doesn’t get lost in glittering generalities.