Job Interview Action Tip - Put Yourself On The Team

Job Interview Action Tips are short, quick and actionable tips that you can use right away in your next job interview.

Imagine yourself... 3 weeks from now, it’s day one at your new job.  You’re meeting your coworkers for the first time.  You’re sitting down with your new boss and talking about what your first few assignments and responsibilities.  Pretty great place to be, huh?

Well, you should be putting yourself in this mindset before you even interview for the job.  Here’s why.

Job interviews in general and the normal set of behavioral interview questions that you will be asked are designed to test your ability to perform in the job role.  Simple idea, right?  Well, you should orient yourself to think along those lines as well.  Put yourself on the team mentally and frame your thoughts and statements from this point of view.

Job Interview Gold - There’s no I in Team

So use “We”.  If you’re on the team, you frame your questions around what you will be doing in as a member of the team.

So, what kind of projects will we be working on as company grows?

How often would we meet to discuss team and individual goals?

What are some examples of our team goals?

You and the Hiring Manager

You should be trying to establish a relationship with the hiring manager in your interview.  This is an obviously beneficial thing.  More importantly, you should be establishing the right relationship.

Placing yourself on his or her team and as a direct report makes it easier to imagine you doing the job.  You might ask…

Suppose I start in 2 weeks from today, what sorts of projects you would assign me?

Can you tell me about some of the other members of the team and how I may fit into the structure here?

I enjoy being a go-to person and mentor to junior staff.. is there anyone on the team that I can help out in this way?

In Closing…

So, like any tactic like this, it’s never a good idea to force something you’re not comfortable doing.  Even if you never utter the word “we” in the interview and don’t place yourself on the team in the statements that you make, if you are thinking along these lines, you will feel much more confident on the day.

In your mind, the interview is already over and you’re just talking to your boss or team member.  How nice is that?