How to Respond if the Interviewer Doesn't Want you to be Nice

Sometimes, the interviewer does not want you to say you are nice; he or she might need an employee who is competitive, or can firmly set high expectations for employees. If this is the case, personal anecdotes will once again help you to answer the question.

Even if the interviewer is looking for someone who is not nice, you still do not want to provide lots of examples of how you are mean or uncooperative. Rather, provide an example of a time when your firmness with an employee or colleague helped improve his or her performance. For example, you might describe a situation where you needed to intervene with an under-performing employee by establishing a plan for improvement, and perhaps eventually persuaded them to move on or fired them.

You can balance this response by emphasizing that you are still a cooperative employee, and that you listen to your colleagues and staff members. This will demonstrate that you are driven and firm, but that you are also fair and reasonable. Below is an example of this kind of response:

• While I am known to be understanding and cooperative, I am also known for being firm and setting high expectations for my employees. For example, I recently dealt with an employee who consistently turned in late and incomplete reports. After meeting with him to discuss how he could improve on his reports in the future, he still failed to meet my expectations. I ultimately fired him. While this was difficult, it was ultimately the right decision for the company and even for the struggling employee. I value being fair but firm over being nice in the workplace.

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