ARE YOU NICE?
In an article for the New York Times, Andy Lansing, president and chief executive of Levy Restaurants, said that he begins every interview with the question, “Are you nice?” Part of the reason he asks this question is that it startles many interviewees, who are not expecting to receive this question.
Imagine an applicant asked by the principal during an interview for a teaching position at a challenging charter school, “You seem like a sweet girl. How could someone so nice be able to deal with students acting out?” She’d say it is the hardest question she’s ever been asked during a job interview.
It’s a tricky question because sometimes the company wants to hire someone nice, and sometimes they don’t. Here are some tips on how to handle the interview question, “Are you nice?” so that you will not be caught off guard.
– How to respond if the interviewer wants you to be nice
Sometimes, employers will ask you this question because they want to hire “nice” people. If this is the case, the best way you can answer the question is to provide a personal anecdote about a time you demonstrated “niceness” at a previous job.
There are many kinds of “niceness” – being compassionate towards others, being a team player, being respectful of your boss or your staff, etc. Think of the job at hand, and what kind of “niceness” would be important at that job. Then provide an anecdote about how you have demonstrated that kind of “niceness” at work in the past, and how it helped you achieve something at work. For example, you can tell a story about how you were “nice” while working on a team project (perhaps you listened to every teammate, helped out a teammate who was frustrated, etc.), and how your kindness helped everyone work together and successfully complete the project.
You can balance this response by also describing how you use kindness to set high expectations for yourself and your staff, and hold your colleagues accountable. This will prove that you can also be tough and demanding. For example, you might want to describe a time when you used kind words rather than insults or punishment to encourage a staff member to improve his performance.
– 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 emphasising 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.
– If you’re not sure
Based on the job description and the interviewer, you can usually tell whether or not the interviewer is asking you this because he is looking for nice employees or firm, tough employees. However, if you are really unsure what the employer is looking for, provide an answer that demonstrates your ability to be both compassionate and firm at work. One anecdote that describes your niceness and one that describes your firmness will show the interviewer that you know which situations call for kindness.
– Think about it
The interviewer will ask you this question because he or she wants to make sure you will fit in with the company environment. Therefore, if you are offered the job, think carefully about whether the company environment is the right one for you. If you are a genuinely nice person, and the interviewer says he wants employees who are not nice, you might want to think twice about taking the job. The question “Are you nice?” will help both you and the interviewer decide if you are a good fit for the job.