Image of confused woman
This blog discusses why you should use “I” instead of “we” in interviews, at least if you want to land that job.
Mike: Doesn’t “I” make me sound selfish?
I have read books that emphasize using “we” in dialogue fosters teamwork. We just want to belong, don’t we?
I have even read clinical studies where people who use “we” vs. “I” are less stressed and live longer, healthier lives.
Totally confused, Mike.
Not for interviewing!
In my interview history, I continued to use “we”, not even realizing it.
I had very little success and felt dejected, angry and depressed
I finally reached for help from the world’s greatest salesperson, my brother.
He gave me a mock interview and said, “I have listened to you for 5 minutes and don’t understand what YOU do for a living”.
I felt totally confused and a little angry at him!
Image of storytelling
Why “I” wins the day
As my brother explained, when you keep using “we”, the interviewer has no idea of what your individual contribution to the activity was.
The interviewer can’t understand your skills and therefore can’t understand you. No job!
Think about it. When you hear “we” as the interviewer, how can you tell if a candidate is hiding under the accolades of his/her colleagues?
I want to know what “you” bring to the table because I am hiring “you”.
You must balance your individual contributions to the group and show you are a team player. Ironic isn’t it.
Then again, the whole interview process is ironic or maybe just plain foolish.