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an alternative phrase to 'think on your feet'

im applying for a job and want to say that a previous job i had meant that i had to think on my feet. how can i put this in a more formal way?

Reply 1

Alex_101

9

say that it meant you had to improvise

Reply 2

Hanoi

15

'Think spontaneously'?

Reply 3

Bubblebeard

Say you're a flexible / adaptive stategist?

Reply 4

Kiddae

You cope well in unexpected situations?

Reply 5

T kay

3

Hanoi

'Think spontaneously'?

This.

Reply 6

thats_my_poison

OP

1

well what i mean to say is that i had to pitch proposals to ppl and then they would question it so i had to think on my feet to come up with ideas. would 'think spontaneously' still fit?

Reply 7

Hanoi

15

thats_my_poison

well what i mean to say is that i had to pitch proposals to ppl and then they would question it so i had to think on my feet to come up with ideas. would 'think spontaneously' still fit?

Yes, I guess you could say something like 'I was able to think spontaneously...'.

Reply 8

abc101

17

'Thinking spontaneously' sounds like you just come up with random thoughts and have a rubbish attention span.

Something about being able to make 'on-the-spot decisions' or working under pressure.

Reply 9

Mad Vlad

19

Improvisation, I'd say.

Reply 10

staticrhubarb

11

What's wrong with saying "Think on your feet"?

Reply 11

jinglepupskye

14

Adaptable to changing circumstances.

Reply 12

Reflexive

14

Think quickly or think under pressure?

Reply 13

ocpaul20

8

and if they asked you in the interview to give a 2 minute talk on collecting pink pigs, could you do it? That would be cruel, I admit. :-)

Reply 14

ForeverIsMyName

15

Keeping your head on a swivel?

Reply 15

yawn

17

ocpaul20

and if they asked you in the interview to give a 2 minute talk on collecting pink pigs, could you do it? That would be cruel, I admit. :-)

Of course I could: An applicant for a science course might not be able to, particularly if they were not an 'all-rounder' as far as academic prowess is concerned.

Every other subject allows for 'waffle' and one could waffle on and on about their imaginary collection of pink pigs - in fact, two minutes would hardly be long enough! :biggrin:

My alternative to the op phrase would be "quick on the uptake."

Toes?

lmao do not say "Think spontaneously". This makes it sound like you randomly drift into crazy random thoughts.
"Think on your feet" basically implies that you have initiative, you can work efficiently under pressure, and can improvise.

Reply 18

Morbo

17

"Used my brain to my advantage to come up with thoughts when I needed to..."

Reply 19

Eric Qin

11

think swiftly

an alternative phrase to 'think on your feet'

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