-- Posted by Raspy at 6:14 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 Hi, I've got a job interview for a part time job in retail and they'll probably ask what is a time I've worked as a "team member" and as an "individual" What is a good response to each? Cheers -- Posted by lonewolf03 at 6:14 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 Well.. it depends.... what have you done? We don't know what you've done so it's hard to say. -- Posted by hotsaucii princess at 6:14 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 umm tell um ur a goos people person and ur willing to learn -- Posted by Energizer Bunny at 6:15 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 Well...thats self explanatory When did you work in a team? What was your role? and when did you work independantly? What did you achieve? -- Posted by justscott at 6:15 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 team member - football     individual - diving -- Posted by LEONIDOS at 6:16 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 say your good with people and can work on own initiative -- Posted by Raspy at 6:18 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 I've worked in retail before.. Stocktake= individual? Team= ?? -- Posted by linds2 at 6:24 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 depends on what experience you have. team member could be anything, partner for a project, on a team, a former job. etc. -- Posted by JennyColada at 9:36 am on Sep. 4, 2008 Rather than just saying "I did this. The end." What I look for when I ask those questions is to find out if you will work well on my team, and how you deal with teammate conflicts. Explaining a time that you have to help two teammates sort out a conflict ("I once did a school project in a group with two girls who HATED each other. I really wanted to get a good grade so I had all three of us sit down and we wrote down our duties, and I helped each girl on her part. I knew that the girls didn't get along very well, so I made sure they have plenty to do to keep themselves occupied with the project, so that they wouldn't focus on the other girl..."). Now, this doesn't mean that every answer of yours has to be an essay. Interviews are all about learning who you are, and why you would be the best candidate for a certain job. In my interviews, I'm not looking for necessarily the BEST application, but the best learner, the person who can BECOME my best employee. We have training for a reason, and no one expects you to have all the answers, expertise, and experience before you're hired. Showing that you are able to learn and absorb everything they wish to teach you really is important, but more importantly showing that you are a great person and a hard worker. No one wants to be surrounded by sour pusses who hate their job, even if they are the best at their jobs. Also, don't feel like you have to ramble on with an essay for every answer. I'm sure they will be happy to ask follow up questions as well. Also don't be afraid to revist the same idea in a few answers (sometimes you can talk about a group project for your "have you ever worked with a team" answer, but you can also explain it for the answer to "when is a time you had to overcome a struggle" or "when is a time you had to help two coworkers get along" or even "how do you deal with conflict within the workplace").