Gallup Mock Interview

Master 30 Gallup interview questions covering strengths-based assessments and behavioral scenarios.

Question 2 of 30

What does being competitive mean to you, and how competitive are you?

The Goal
Example Answer
Example Answer 2
What to Avoid
Pro Tip
Community Answers

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

The interviewer would like to know that your level of ambition is a match for the company and the job. The goal of your response is to show the interviewer that you will bring a consistent and appropriate amount of competitiveness to the role. Express that you view workplace competitiveness as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"Being competitive means that I am focused on winning. This can mean winning independently or as a team. On a scale of 1-10, I would rank my competitiveness at an 8. I like to compete internally, creating small personal milestones and connecting them to a time limit. For instance, if I complete the data entry for 50 new customers in under three hours, I reward myself with a quick coffee break. I often carry on this internal competition throughout the day until all of my tasks are complete. When it comes to being competitive in a team setting, I spend most of my time uplifting my coworkers and helping them succeed. When my co-workers win, so do I."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"To be competitive is to be eager to succeed. I have a competitive personality that stems from my years of participating in high school and college-level team sports. I learned to be competitive in my performance while encouraging my teammates to give their best. I am always striving to be better."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

Avoid giving the impression that you are a ruthlessly competitive person. The interviewer does not want to detect combativeness. Instead, they want to know that your level of ambition will complement the hiring company's values and align with the goals and personality of its existing team members.

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

When you answer, consider telling a brief story that supports your response. Be prepared to talk about a time you were placed in a competitive situation and thrived. Your example should be work-related. If you are new to your career, consider providing an example from school or sports.

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Anonymous Answer

For me, it means when peers challenge each other to be better or deliver better. I do not consider myself competitive, but I do like to show results, and I do put playful competition into play. For example, if we said completing performance reviews on time was a key metric, I would then post the results by department monthly. I find that departments naturally compete with each other to attain better numbers.

Rachelle's Feedback

This is an excellent example of creativity and competition in motion. Also, you present a very unique and thoughtful definition of competition.

Anonymous Answer

Competition, for me, stems from playing organized sports throughout my childhood and into high school. I find that I thrive off of healthy competition. I love competition because it motivates me to be the best. I am very naturally driven, but competition allows me to push further and achieve even greater results.

Rachelle's Feedback

It seems you have a great penchant for healthy competition, which is fantastic. This is a well-balanced answer.

Anonymous Answer

Being competitive means having a "winning" mentality in life and always having the desire to be #1and the best at everything you do. Competitive people are driven and perform best when in an environment that constantly challenges them and is surrounded by peers that push them to be better. I am a very competitive person in all aspects of my life.

Rachelle's Feedback

This is an excellent start, and it seems you are very passionate about the topic. Last, try to add in a recent example of a time when you were competitive. The concept is to 'show' vs. only 'tell.'

Anonymous Answer

I am very competitive to me this means winning and being the best, not only in my team but also in the company. It means to exceed my goals and targets and be ahead of the game. My manager had set an incentive to invite the most HCP's to a company organized training event. I worked overtime to ensure that I utilized all communication forms with healthcare professionals (email/phone/f2f, etc.). I was encouraging my colleagues to do the same.

Rachelle's Feedback

It sounds as though you have a healthy competitive streak! When it comes to the incentive that your manager provided, did you achieve what you set out to do? If possible, try adding in some tangible results (numbers, percentages, etc.).

Anonymous Answer

It means achieving/winning. I am a very competitive person. Always have been. I am keen to win and so at work means new business. I am a tenacious person but deliver and win in an empathetic way again bringing a solution to the customer that no one else brings, adding value.

Cindy's Feedback

Ok! This is an important quality to go into detail about. Do you have an example that could help inform your answer?

Anonymous Answer

Being competitive means aiming to be the best. Consistently working towards making a positive contribution. When I see someone successful, it drives me and inspires me to push further. To improve my skills and grow professionally and to stand out. I feel that if someone else can do it, so can I.

Stephanie's Feedback

Great start, but this response would be more impactful if you included a specific example. How has a competitive spirit showed up in your current work?

Anonymous Answer

I learned to be competitive with myself, to try to First time right, use the 1-10-100 rule. 1 means cost of doing non-quality x 1, 10 means cost of non-quality x 10 and same way x 100.
I strongly believe in continual improvement, as a leader, we combine our efforts to build a strong team using PRIDE (Purposeful vision, role model, Integrity, Develop and Empower) concept. Always push the bar using benchmarking techniques and never stop striving for the best.

Marcie's Feedback

You've done a great job of explaining what being competitive means to you. It also sounds like you're pretty competitive by nature. Is there an example you can provide of a time when you competed for something?

Anonymous Answer

Being competitive to me means having a strong desire to win. And this doesn't always have to be in the traditional sense as first over the finish line, but having the drive what to do better than previously, and overachieve. I am competitive, especially with myself I always want to push myself to do better than previously. I want to overachieve on my sales targets, I want to be hitting above my KPIs not just meeting them. I work with my colleagues in order for us to compete, and win against the competition, but not compete with each other, as we all have the same end goal. And I am not so competitive that I would do anything to win, like stepping on others or cheating in order to get the sale or promotion.

Discovery

29.On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the happiest, how happy are you as a person?

Discovery

Gallup Mock Interview

What does being competitive mean to you, and how competitive are you?

30Gallup Interview Questions & Answers

1.Do you think a chain of command is essential in the workplace?

2.What does being competitive mean to you, and how competitive are you?

3.Tell me about a time you felt successful.

4.Tell me about a time you felt uncomfortable or unprepared in your job.

5.What is the kindest thing a boss has ever said to you? How did the compliment make you feel, and did you agree with the praise?

6.Do you consider yourself a quick thinker? Tell me about a time your quick thinking saved the day.

7.Do you consider yourself to be direct and forthright with others?

8.Tell me about a time you provided honest feedback to a coworker.

9.Have you ever put your professional work ahead of your personal life?

10.How do you keep track of your day-to-day tasks and activities?

11.Would you prefer to earn a set salary or be offered uncapped pay based on performance?

12.What does integrity mean to you?

13.Give an example of a time you showed integrity on the job or in your personal life.

14.Walk me through your morning routine.

15.When a leadership opportunity presents itself, are you excited to jump in, or do you feel nervous?

16.What motivates you the most in your current role?

17.Name for me one task in your current job that you wish you could perform more often.

18.Do you understand what is expected of you in your current role?

19.How do you react when you do not have the materials or equipment needed to perform your work?

20.Would this job give you the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

21.How do you know if you're doing a good job?

22.How can we encourage your professional development?

23.What steps have you taken this year to encourage your professional development?

24.How often do you give yourself challenges outside of your comfort zone?

25.Do the values of our company align with what you view as important?

26.How do you gain buy-in from your co-workers when it comes to delivering quality work?

27.Do you have a best friend at work? Is it important for you to have close friendships within the workplace?

28.When you think about joining a new company, are you nervous about meeting new people, or is this an exciting thought for you?

29.On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the happiest, how happy are you as a person?

30.Do you consider yourself an overachiever? Why or why not?