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Completely agree with you. Preparation is key. I'm not sure why I struggle to answer these questions. Maybe I could be better at telling stories. On the other

Completely agree with you. Preparation is key. I'm not sure why I struggle to answer these questions. Maybe I could be better at telling stories. On the other hand, I feel like it could be more to do with my ability to talk about myself. For example, when asked of my major achievements and challenges, I think of scenarios where we over came problems as a team. I think more in "we" than "I". I feel like many of these questions are looking for answers in the form of "I did all these amazing things". Further to that, maybe I just don't rate myself as much as I should do. In the past, interviewers who spend the time to go deep have historically said something along the lines of "wow, you've done all this. Why didn't you tell me earlier". I had one person say "It's like getting blood out of a stone". So maybe I need to be more self-promotional. Gotta back yourself right?

bluGill 8y ago
We vs I is an interesting question. If the company really values teams, then saying we and pointing out your place on the team is better than successfully convincing them that you did it alone. Beware of this though. Some companies will say they value teams, but the reality is they do not. Others value it so highly they hide that, lest you hide that you don't work well with teams but need the job enough.
- Blackstone4 8y ago
  Agreed. I feel like the best thing to do is say we overcame these challenges as a team and this is the role I played. And these were my personal challenges.
HeyLaughingBoy 8y ago
Maybe I can add some context. A bullshitting interviewee loves the "we did this" type of answer since it deflects the question from him. So a good interviewer will dig in and ask "that's great, so what was your specific role in resolving that situation?" The interviewer isn't interviewing your team, he's interviewing you so he needs to know about your specific skillset, responses to situations, outcomes, etc.

bluGill 8y ago

We vs I is an interesting question. If the company really values teams, then saying we and pointing out your place on the team is better than successfully convincing them that you did it alone. Beware of this though. Some companies will say they value teams, but the reality is they do not. Others value it so highly they hide that, lest you hide that you don't work well with teams but need the job enough.

Blackstone4 8y ago
Agreed. I feel like the best thing to do is say we overcame these challenges as a team and this is the role I played. And these were my personal challenges.

HeyLaughingBoy 8y ago

Maybe I can add some context. A bullshitting interviewee loves the "we did this" type of answer since it deflects the question from him. So a good interviewer will dig in and ask "that's great, so what was your specific role in resolving that situation?" The interviewer isn't interviewing your team, he's interviewing you so he needs to know about your specific skillset, responses to situations, outcomes, etc.