All things being equal…doesn’t happen revisited

July 25, 2006 · Filed Under For the love of HR 

Todays blogswap post is brought to you Alise Cortez, co-writer of the Improved Experience blog. She writes much more intelligently in regards to why “all things being equal” is bad, bad, bad! This is a take off of my post on the same subject. Thanks Alise.

Yes, indeed, our tendency to rely on colloquial phrases like “all things being equal,” or any slang, is quite remarkable (and deserving of the suggested tongue-lashing).  While phrases like this are likely intended to fortify a sentence or mindlessly regurgitate common but senseless speech, they are really just useless utterances.

As someone who has studied French, Spanish, and Portuguese and now speaks Spanish daily in addition to my native English, I make a point not to use these kinds of phrases…precisely because I know how poorly they actually translate.  And (having lived internationally) I’m acutely aware of the struggle to make myself understood while desperately straining to understand someone else as we spoke a language that wasn’t native to me.

Those lessons remain with me now that I’m living back here in the good ole’ USA.  And when I speak with someone for whom I know English is a second language, I’m even more wary, as that person hasn’t had a lifetime of exposure to the cultural idiosyncrasies associated with the nuances of a phrase’s meaning.  I might argue that it’s debatable that any of us who did grow up with the phrase really understand it, either.

In that context, a periodic check of colloquial phrases or slang isn’t a bad thing.  One hallmark of adulthood is learning how NOT to say every thought that goes through your head; what we say and how we say it is a process of selective choice.  Monitoring your speech may result in a more “basic” form of messaging - however the alternative is still somewhat entertaining.  I can just see myself trying to explain to my Brazilian friends in Portuguese, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”  And no doubt leaving them wondering, “Now, why would I want to do something like that???”

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Comments

3 Responses to “All things being equal…doesn’t happen revisited”

  1. dano on July 25th, 2006 11:44 am

    can you tell me what does the phrase “you are over qualified” mean? i have been trying to find employment through a staffing co and after three interviews. this is what the staffing co. told me. i did not get the job. is this a red flag for future interviews???

    [Reply]

  2. Pats on July 26th, 2006 11:08 am

    When you are “over qualified,” that means you COULD do the job, but they are pretty sure that over the long term, you will not find it very challenging. You will be bored. Your attitude will go into a downward spiral. You will quit, sometimes in a surprisingly short time. They will be back trying to find someone else to do the job in no time.

    Remember their goal is to find someone good to do the job, who will stay for a while.

    [Reply]

  3. Your HR Guy’s Blog » on July 26th, 2006 12:21 pm

    [...] You go through sending your resume, following up and being a good overall job seeker.  And then you get to the part where the hiring manager or the recruiter gives you feedback regarding why you weren’t considered for a job.  As Dano writes: “can you tell me what does the phrase “you are over qualified” mean? i have been trying to find employment through a staffing co and after three interviews. this is what the staffing co. told me. i did not get the job. is this a red flag for future interviews??? “ [...]

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