What Did the Candidate Actually Do? Finding the ‘I’ in the ‘We’
Sometimes when you are interviewing, you may find yourself stuck in the “we-eds.” That’s when every response from your candidate starts with “we” — “we” accomplished this or “we” struggled with that.
Candidates use “we” for two reasons: one noble and one nefarious.
Noble use: “I feel uncomfortable bragging, and I want you to think I’m a team player.”
Nefarious use: “I wasn’t that involved, but I’d like to take credit for it anyway.”
Regardless of whether it’s noble or nefarious, it is important to understand the candidate’s personal role.
Why?
Because you aren’t hiring the rest of that team. You are hiring this person.
How to get out of the “we-eds”
Fortunately, getting past the “we” phrasing is usually straightforward.
You: “What was the biggest innovation you drove at ABC?”
Candidate: “We ended up delivering a major revamp in our information design that dramatically improved the user experience. We saw a 35% increase in usage just from making the tool easier to use.”
At this point, it is critical that you avoid making any assumptions or passing any judgment on the “we” response. We don’t know whether our candidate is seeking undue credit or merely being humble.
Aim your questions squarely at the candidate’s role
There’s no need to say, “Hey, candidate, for this interview, can you kill the ‘we’ part and tell me what you did?” For many candidates, this might make them feel like they have to adopt an unnatural way of talking about themselves.
Instead, here’s your first follow-up:
“What was your biggest contribution to that effort?”
You have now invited them to talk about their own role, and most candidates will share this openly.
Some, however, still won’t feel comfortable — either because of extreme “humility programming” or, conversely, because they didn’t really contribute that much.
Candidate: “It really was a team effort — there were a lot of incredible people involved in that redesign.”
Here’s your next follow-up: “What wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t involved?”
Candidate: “Well, I guess we wouldn’t have had the idea, and the project wouldn’t have had a leader.”
Now we know!
After a round or two of this, most candidates will warm up to sharing their own personal contributions as the interview continues.
Bonus idea: Some candidates will tell you what they did, but they won’t tell you just how impressive the results were. There is a uniquely powerful tool to use in this situation:
Get a third-party perspective
Let’s say the candidate tells you about this redesigned user experience but seems a little bashful in talking about the impact it had.
You: “If I asked your CEO about that new information design, what would she tell me?”
Candidate: “Well, she told the whole exec team that it essentially saved the company. I think she’s crazy but that’s what she said.”
It’s all about getting to the truth artfully — not through brute force!
This post was originally published on LinkedIn.
Jordan Burton has 18 years of experience as an executive assessor and interviewing trainer, working with top VC/PE investors and high-growth startups to help them hire the best of the best. He has trained thousands of founders, leaders, and investors on hiring and interviewing skills. He leads Talgo’s business development initiatives, managing relationships with TPG, Sequoia Capital, TH Lee, Palantir, Scale AI, and over 50 venture-backed startups.
