Fatal Answer to a Commonly Asked Interview Question

Photo: Pulpolux on Flickr

Over the last 12 years, I have successfully placed hundreds of employees in new careers and realized early on in that I couldn’t send out candidates to interviews without properly coaching. Case in point: I had a great candidate with an excellent background, an accountant, who I sent to one of my clients for an interview. When he reviewed her resume he wanted to meet her right away.

After the interview I follower up and asked the employer if he would like to make this candidate a job offer. He hesitated and said, “We really liked her, but I’m not sure she would work well with the group.” When I questioned his response he said, “When I asked her if she worked better in a group setting or by herself,” she replied, “I am not one who needs a lot of help. I can work on my own. With my experience I can accept assignments and get them done with minimal supervision.” Unfortunately, the client translated this to mean this candidate would be a loner.

Before recommending this candidate, I personally spent 1.5 hours interviewing her. She was a lovely lady, someone everyone would enjoy working with. I called the employer back and explained the candidate was trying to convey she could work on her own without requiring much of his assistance. Even so, the employer still refused to hire her.

Moral of the story? When asked if you work better in a group or by yourself I recommend this answer, “I do well in both settings. I don’t require much supervision but really enjoy working with my colleagues in a group project setting.”