Describe A Time When You Shared Something with Others
Have you ever shared an idea, property, or belonging with someone? What does it mean to share? When is the right time to share things with others? How do you feel after sharing something with someone? Do you expect something in return when you share? Is sharing ideas or things a good thing? Does sharing of information and other things lead to the growth of individuals, businesses, or companies? Who should you share something with? Should sharing be a one-off or a continuous process? These are questions that should resonate when individuals think about the process of sharing.
The workplace and life, in general, can get toxic sometimes; although creativity, innovation, and problem-solving are excellent skills to possess, teamwork, collaborative, and interpersonal skills are arguably better skills to have, so too is the ability and will to share with others. However, sharing things with others shouldn’t include divulging organizational secrets, exposing the company’s mode of operation, or revealing vital information to a rival company. You wouldn’t want to be the reason for an individual or organization’s downfall because you shared something crucial with the wrong people. Sharing should be a well-thought process.
Remember the old saying “sharing is caring”? It still holds very true even today; sharing depicts an individual’s love, care, and affection towards other people and helps to develop and maintain strong bonds and relationships. In relation, sharing things with others in an official setting can help to boost productivity and enhance the individual or collective growth of the organization. Your coworker may need some ideas to get work done; sharing such ideas with them can help the team to achieve its target on time. Also, you may be required to share accommodation for example with a new hire who is still trying to settle down.
It has been suggested that some of the interview questions that can be tough for candidates to answer are questions related to the job applicants’ behavior and working with others. This may be because some of these questions can be tricky; relatively, some roles and positions require and seek candidates with excellent people skills while others don’t. An example of such a question is to describe a time when you shared something with others. How do you refrain from giving a lame answer while responding? How do you make a viable point about your suitability for jobs that require you to share things with others? This article will provide tips on how to best approach the question without being vague.
Depending on the setting, to share simply means to use a resource or space together with someone. In other words, it refers to the joint or alternating use of something. Also, to share means to outrightly give something to others. This can be in the form of information, service, or technical assistance. When you give a portion of something to another or others, you have shared.
Why Do Hiring Managers Ask Candidates to Describe a Time When They Shared Something with Others?
Enumerated below are some of the reasons why interviewers ask the question;
- The employer expects you to highlight, buttress, and emphasize the interpersonal skills needed to succeed in the position or role.
- The interviewer expects you to use real-life examples to show what you do that makes you an excellent people person at work.
- The employer wants to decipher and learn how you process information and solve problems.
- Finally, the interviewer wants to know the skills you possess that can make you fit in well with the team.
Apart from highlighting your soft skills while responding, use the following tips to give a good answer to the question;
- Mention what you shared without ambiguity.
- Highlight the individual or people you shared with.
- Describe your reasons for sharing.
- Discuss how you felt after sharing.
- Mention the effects of sharing on the individual or people
Mention what you shared without ambiguity: Ambiguity has made several job applicants miss out on the job. Therefore, provide an unambiguous answer when responding to the question. The interviewer wants to have a first-hand understanding of your sharing and cooperative skills. Hence, try and state exactly what you shared with the colleague, friend, or acquaintance when answering. It doesn’t matter if you consider what you shared to be sufficient or not; just mention it. As much as possible, relate it to the role or organization you are interviewing with. Having read the responsibilities, duties, and requirements for the position, you can channel what you shared to fit into it.
Highlight the individual or people you shared with: Now that you have stated clearly what you shared, you should mention the individual or people you shared with. A title, position, or name can suffice. Even if it were a group of people, mention it. Sometimes, you might be required to share a piece of information, idea, or technique with members of your team. If your response is in that vein, try and highlight it. Don’t say “I shared some idea on data collection with the organization” for example. Rather, I shared valuable techniques on how to collect data with members of my team in the data collection unit of my organization can suffice.
Describe your reasons for sharing: Next, do you enjoy sharing things with others? Are you compelled or mandated to share ideas at work? Do you find contentment when you share things? Do you seek gratification by sharing things with others? Or did you share the idea or thing because the person(s) was in urgent need? Whatever your reasons are for sharing things or information, describe them in a few sentences. This is because there is a reason for every decision and action in life.
Discuss how you felt after sharing: When answering the question, elaborate on how you felt when you shared something with others. Remember, the interviewer wants to know your personality and come to terms with your interpersonal skills. Feelings are part of human life and since the question requires you to use a real-life experience, try and discuss how you felt. Be sincere, honest, and genuine when talking about your feelings. In contrast, don’t be negative; try not to say something that does not conform to the position or job you are interviewing for.
Mention the effects of sharing on the individual or people: It is important to state the effects of sharing the idea or information on the individual. Did what you shared help? Was the individual(s) better after you shared the things with them? How did the sharing affect the team and organization as a whole? Regardless of the nature of the sharing, it is imperative to discuss the effects on others.
- Do not exaggerate: Even though being a team player and sharing ideas is great, be careful not to exaggerate your abilities to work in a group. You don’t want the hiring manager to think you are not flexible and adaptable.
- Don’t be negative: If you have communication and personal relations issues at work, this isn’t the time to mention it. Employers and organizations look for new employees who can get along and exchange ideas with everyone.
- Don’t say something that doesn’t fit the job: Be sure that your response aligns with the job responsibilities and requirements. Doing the contrary can hinder you from getting hired.