Strategy Statement:
The interviewer wants to know more about what limitations you might have regarding people that you can deal with.
Sample Response:
The co-worker who confused me the most was the one who came to work, did their job, and went home when it was time to go home. What was missing was any sense of excitement, personal pride, purpose, commitment, or happiness. Although thoroughly competent, this person was almost impossible to work alongside of. Others made the statement that it was as though “the oxygen was sucked out of the room”. The co-worker wasn’t negative or cynical, didn’t participate in rumor-mongering, and could be counted-upon to get the job done. At the same time, it was never made clear why they chose to work in our office at all. Nothing made a difference from one day to the next. I suppose what affected me the most was that there was no “tomorrow” with this individual. Everything was “today”, and had I been interviewing this person for their position, I feel that my chief concern would have been how the person would influence the division’s future growth and/or development. In order to work with them, I simply had to acknowledge that this was who they were, and to try to turn what I saw as a limitation into an opportunity. Cut and dry tasks were confidently delegated to this individual, while project development and creative input fell to others.
Copyright 2010. North Pacific Technology Group LLC. All rights reserved.
The interviewer wants to know more about what limitations you might have regarding people that you can deal with.
Sample Response:
The co-worker who confused me the most was the one who came to work, did their job, and went home when it was time to go home. What was missing was any sense of excitement, personal pride, purpose, commitment, or happiness. Although thoroughly competent, this person was almost impossible to work alongside of. Others made the statement that it was as though “the oxygen was sucked out of the room”. The co-worker wasn’t negative or cynical, didn’t participate in rumor-mongering, and could be counted-upon to get the job done. At the same time, it was never made clear why they chose to work in our office at all. Nothing made a difference from one day to the next. I suppose what affected me the most was that there was no “tomorrow” with this individual. Everything was “today”, and had I been interviewing this person for their position, I feel that my chief concern would have been how the person would influence the division’s future growth and/or development. In order to work with them, I simply had to acknowledge that this was who they were, and to try to turn what I saw as a limitation into an opportunity. Cut and dry tasks were confidently delegated to this individual, while project development and creative input fell to others.
Copyright 2010. North Pacific Technology Group LLC. All rights reserved.
