Interview Q&A: What Would You Bring to Our Team?
The question “What would you bring to our team” is a common one in a job interview situation, so it’s best to prepare an answer in advance of your big day. Luckily, this isn’t one of the toughest questions that can get lobbed at you in an interview situation—if you have an understanding of the company’s/team’s goals, and how you can tie your own personal career goals to theirs, you’ll find yourself on solid ground with devising an answer to the question.
Do a little research on the company/team. Review their website (especially the “About Us” section) and their social pages, and do a Google News search with the company’s name to see if they’ve been in the news recently. Jot down your key findings. Once you’ve wrapped your investigation and given solid thought to where you see yourself potentially going in the job, begin assembling an answer to the question.
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You don’t have to memorize your answer (although that is perfectly acceptable to do—just don’t make it sound too canned). But you do need to have a solid idea about how to answer the question “What would you bring to our team?”
Below are some additional tips for answering this question, plus some sample answers.
Tip 1:
Highlight what makes you exceptional and unique, and how it applies to the target job.
Answer 1:
“In addition to my experience, I’d bring a great attitude and a willingness to take on any task. At my last job, I was always looking for ways to help out. Whether it meant sweeping the floor, folding clothes, or rushing to help a customer, I always wanted to make myself useful. I’d bring this same energy and enthusiasm to your team, and predict I’d make an immediate impact.”
Tip 2:
Focus on one of your strengths, and then use a concrete example to show how you have applied it in a past job. Also, if you need a second or two to formulate your response in your head, consider repeating the question before answering.
Answer 2:
“What can I bring to the team? I can bring a non-stop, can-do attitude. In college, the artistic director of my theater company got sick just before our big holiday show, and I had to step into her position and pull the remaining pieces of the show together in just one week. I learned from this experience that I don’t blink when faced with difficult projects, and that I thrive in roles where I get to lead and multi-task.”
Tip 3:
Share a relevant accomplishment you achieved as part of a work team.
Answer 3:
“I’m very good at keeping all parts of a project moving forward and on target, and meeting management requirements. As part of the bid proposal team for one of our company’s biggest customers, I helped all team members meet deadlines so that the proposal came together in time to be reviewed by management before the client’s deadline. We ended up with a multi-million dollar contract, and all members of the team received performance bonuses.”
Tip 4:
Focus on one (or a few) of the key requirements for the job, and describe how you would meet that requirement.
Answer 4:
“One of the things that appeals to me about this job is the customer interaction aspect. I truly enjoy helping people resolve their problems, which in my experience has led to breakthroughs in how I can improve their experiences with a product. For example, when I worked at X Company, I discovered that one of our vendors had a potentially serious product safety issue. The vendor had a weak connector that was breaking, and this could have caused a fire or zapped someone with electricity. I assisted this customer and ensured that they stayed connected to the Internet, and in turn, learned exactly how to approach the problem, and fix it, should it occur with another customer down the road.”
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