Using "I" instead of "we" in job interview answers

I agree that using the word "I" in every sentence is not the way we normally talk about our work. If you kept going around say “I did this” and “I did that” you’d have no friends left at work!

But at interview, we want to know what YOU did. It’s not just a cosmetic swapping of the word “I” for the word “We”. Remember your interviewers weren’t there with you when you were completing the work. We won’t know exactly which parts of the work you completed yourself unless you make it really clear, by using sentences with “I” in them.

I am mentioning this a lot at the moment in both interview coaching and in reviewing examples on application forms. I often hear or read large sections of an answer when the person is conveying information about what went on, but not making it at all clear what the person themselves did.

​Of course, at interview, I can clarify with you what your role was and what you did. But my asking that and you answering that takes time - time that you put to better use by telling us more about what you did.