Human beings are very social creatures or so they say. In almost all interviews your characteristics towards a group or team environment will be called upon once or twice. Some few questions may lead towards the way you behave towards a team. So the big question is, ‘how do you behave around a team?’ This is not only applicable to those in the job market already but also to fresh job seekers at entry level. Back in college or university, there were group assignments and believe me, this will be very important.
In your CV, what will you list as your achievements especially if you came straight from college? What will you cite as an example of where you demonstrated that you can work with others? In almost every position you will find yourself, you will face a social environment. Even a programmer who sits in front of the computer most of the time is usually required to work within a team. How do you respond to this environment? If this question comes up in an interview, how will you respond?
There are some specific skills or traits that you must demonstrate as a team player. An employee with good interpersonal skills will have specific behaviors which if asked this question, then show that you posses them but remember that they can easily be seen by the people who are interviewing you from the moment you enter the room to the time you leave. If you posses some of these skills you may want to highlight them when asked this question. To be successful in a team environment you must:
1. Enjoy other people's company: This is basically being friendly and have various topics to discuss when you are with different groups. If you find someone who enjoys football, how do you blend in?
2. Be non-judgmental and accepting: Avoid criticizing people especially if you do not like some behaviors they demonstrate. You need to find ways of highlighting it to them in a friendly way that should be seen non-partisan.
3. Be a listener: In most conversations especially with people from the corporate world, be the silent listener and contribute only when asked to. The way you intervene conversations is very important. Do not come to a conversation and appear to take over what did not belong to you.
4. Be likeable: Smile and laugh to jokes. Be presentable and let people easily enjoy sharing thoughts with you. Appreciate intellect and learn from others. Be ready to be told what to do and if you have a contrary opinion, be easy on how you go about presenting it.
5. Be empathic: This is a virtue that is lacking so much in the corporate world but if a manager is empathetic, junior staff tend to refer to him easily and want to work with him/ her. Empathy is the ability to be in someone’s shoes. It also calls for compassion.
6. Accept other opinions: People consider their opinions very important and thus when they are thrashed, they feel let down and unappreciated. Accept other people’s thoughts and if you have a contrary opinion, be easy on how to quash the other opinion.
In answering this question in an interview, I will presume that you posses the above traits and if you don’t or you miss one then in an interview room appear to be having it while strongly remaining yourself. I want to give examples of how you can respond to this question:
1. "I enjoy motivating people by praising them for their achievements and I accept others' opinions if even if they differ from mine."
2. "I enjoy other peoples company and I enjoy discussions with others."
3. "I think that team work increases efficiency at work."
Be a man or woman of very few words in this case because if you go talking a lot, you may expose your weaknesses. When citing a trait that you posses, please accompany it with an illustration.
Otherwise, all the best from HCC
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