Part of my job is to conduct mock employment interviews with
our students. In advance of these
meetings, I ask the student to send me the job description of the job that they
are preparing into interview for. I also
take the time to research the company where they will be interviewing as
well. Often I will come across real
interview questions that the company has asked others in employments
interviews.
Recently, one such question really irked me. To paraphrase it asked; “Are you inherently introverted or do you prefer to work in a group?”
Talk about a misleading question! I am a proud introvert and I like to work in groups.
How should I respond to that? My
husband is also an introvert. He was
involved in several school clubs, and played competitive team sports as a
child. As an adult, he works in Sales
Development and is constantly working around people.
This leads me to the bigger issue; the misinterpretation of
who/what is an introvert.
Society thinks that we are: shy, withdrawn, work best alone,
can’t speak in public, and that we don’t like people.
In reality we are: quiet (sometimes), reflective, prefer to
observe before speaking out, are comfortable being alone, and we enjoy people.
I have worked my entire career (since the age of 15) in
customer service, client facing positions.
In fact the 18 months where I worked as a Human Resources Manager (and
rarely left the office) were the worst for me.
I worked successfully in retail sales, direct sales, recruiting, outside
sales, and now as a career expert. Most
people are shocked to learn that I am in fact an introvert.
Whereas an extrovert gets energy from being around a lot of
people and who may feel anxious when alone, the introvert is the exact
opposite.
After working with people all day, I need my “alone time” to
unwind and relax. When I don’t get it, I
get cranky and irritable. It’s not
unheard of for me to cancel plans because I would rather spend that time alone
than out with others. This is not to say
that as an introvert I don’t have many friends.
I do. Typically the introvert has
fewer “close” friends and many “acquaintances”.
Going back to the interview question; how should an
introvert answer it? I say honestly: “By definition I am an introvert. I do however enjoy working in teams, and as
you can see by my work history have done so very successfully.”
