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.

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