How competitive are you?
The interviewer would like to know if you have a competitive spirit. Being a competitive person is an excellent thing if you are appropriately competitive in the workplace. Assure the interviewer that you have a tremendous competitive edge when necessary but are still able to balance that competition healthily.
"I think that on a scale of 1-10, I would rate myself as a 7 when it comes to being competitive. I love a great competition in the workplace when it comes to sales goals and breaking through last years' numbers. I am not competitive to the point that it would hurt my team or colleagues."
"I am competitive with myself and when it comes to the targets of the organization which I work. I like to set small challenges for myself, usually related to deadlines, on a daily basis."
"Competition in the workplace can be a great thing. I create small competitions with the staff, and I love to see how it motivates them. I then look at the numbers and see how much my workplace challenge has affected productivity, compared to the week before. I am a numbers person, so my competitive streak is satisfied by knowing I have improved productivity from week to week."
"I love to challenge myself to see how much I can exceed my sales targets for the day, week, and the month. Being in retail sales, I believe I have been conditioned to be quite competitive in the workplace."
"Competition is a healthy component to creativity. When I am competitive with myself, I come up with really great ideas that help my team to deliver incredibly projects to our clients. Of course, my approach is always welcoming and friendly."
"Being a sales professional, I am probably one of the most competitive people I know. I grew up playing competitive hockey and soccer so I focus a great deal on being the best that I can be to carry myself and my team. This attitude has always been a positive one, and I bring it to the workplace as well."
"I do not compete with fellow teachers, but I am always competing with myself. How many students can I help to overcome learning roadblocks? How quickly can I mark these papers? How can I improve efficiency in my classroom? Those are the competitively driven questions I ask myself on a regular basis."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I love winning, both individually and collectively. I am extremely competitive, but winning for me is the ability to help the organization have an impact. The competitiveness is to push others and myself to high levels of performance so that we can have great impacts.
Cindy's Feedback
Great take on the question. Winning isn't just an individual, but a team pursuit. Can you provide an example of how you've channeled your competitive nature so that the team wins?
