Teamwork Job Interview Questions
These days companies are looking for employees that not only have the required experience and excellent knowledge of their subject but more importantly individuals with the ability to work well with others and thrive in a team environment. To be successful in your career you must be excellent team player and have the ability to lead, manage and motivate the employees. Each of us has been part of some kind of team or group from the early age of our lives. Perhaps it was at school or afternoon club or perhaps at university or it was in your first job where you started to be aware of different roles and responsibilities members may have.
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It is important to note that the term 'team' refers to group of people working together towards commonly defined goals whereas the term 'group' applies to individuals who come together for personally focused but unifying relationship. Hence, distinguish between these two. Below we will provide advice on how to handle questions involving teamwork – nevertheless you are welcome to view our complete guide on how to answer job interview questions where you can find advice and answers to wide range of behavioural competency questions.
How to answer teamwork interview questions
In preparation for your interview think of a last team in which you worked with others - what role were you asked or did you choose to play? How did you involve and work with others to ensure success? Note that there is no right or wrong answer to this question nevertheless when you are presenting your answer make it evident that you are capable of taking lead in co-ordinating, delegating and supervising tasks and perhaps remaining accountable for getting the job done.
In addition to the above, communicate lots of other positive aspect of effective team player such as respecting the opinion of others and being sensitive and having loyalty to all members. Demonstrate that you are fully capable to inspire others to make them to become committed to the goals. Showcase that you can appreciate the efforts and that you draw attention to people’s success. Indicate that you have the ability to get most of your team.
Additionally, you may want to talk about how you allocated roles and responsibilities and how you did decide who should do what to get the best of the people. Nevertheless, don't overdo it and be careful not to come across as person who dominates the others with strong views and opinions as this could be destructive as other members would feel isolated from the main goals and mission which in turn may lead to lack of engagement and commitment. To put the above into practice see sample answer to above job interview question.
Teamwork example answer
Situation
At my last job working in advertising agency I was part of the team working on designing promotional campaign for new account. I was mainly responsible for translating client needs into detailed product features.
Action
For my team, I was able to create project vision and made sure that everyone on the team understood what the client wanted so that we would be delivering campaign in line with client requirements. During the team meeting sessions, I tried to get everyone involved in coming up with new and creative ideas and created an atmosphere where there were not wrong ideas or answers. I was actively listening to what each member had to say, acknowledged his or her ideas and provided prompt feedback. Thus, I made sure that everyone was fully involved in the task and that the team was working closely with shared vision and trust.
Result
That way, I was able to make the best of each team member abilities and delivered the advertising campaign that exceeded forecasted sales by 20 per cent in the first month of campaign.