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I am asking a question for my friend; he is searching for a position in the corporate world.

Let's call him "Joe". This Joe guy does not think working in a team necessarily means the best product will be delivered, and this is his dilemma.

Before I duck him expressing his innate nature and say, hey be a team player, allow me to express his side.

In his experience, he has always shined while performing individually. Teams, in his opinion, are required only when gigantic projects are being built or collaborated on. With teams come additional responsibilities of making sure everybody is in sync with each other and the product they are engineering. You gotta conduct yourself all the time to everyones' satisfaction. Even if some guy in a team is a jerk, you have to tolerate him and work with him, even if he is slowing down the entire team. Individual work, on the other hand, means it is only him who is responsible for anything that goes wrong or anything that shines.

The problem is, this kind of a work ethic is not encouraged by many firms, and this average Joe is losing out on many lucrative job opportunities because he doesn't like to lie and openly says he does not perform at his maximum when working in a team, which is true.

How does a non-team player answer questions about team playing in an interview?

I am asking a question for my friend; he is searching for a position in the corporate world.

Let's call him "Joe". This Joe guy does not think working in a team necessarily means the best product will be delivered, and this is his dilemma.

Before I duck him expressing his innate nature and say, hey be a team player, allow me to express his side.

In his experience, he has always shined while performing individually. Teams, in his opinion, are required only when gigantic software projects are being developed or maintained. With teams come additional responsibilities of making sure everybody is in sync with each other and the product they are engineering. You gotta conduct yourself all the time to everyone's satisfaction. Even if some guy in a team is a jerk, you have to tolerate him and work with him, even if he is slowing down the entire team. Individual work, on the other hand, means it is only him who is responsible for anything that goes wrong or anything that shines.

The problem is, this kind of a work ethic is not encouraged by many firms, and this average Joe is losing out on many lucrative job opportunities because he doesn't like to lie and openly says he does not perform at his maximum when working in a team, which is true.

How does a non-team player answer questions about team playing in an interview?

I am asking a question for my friend; he is searching for a position in the corporate world.

Let's call him "Joe". This Joe guy does not think working in a team necessarily means the best product will be delivered, and this is his dilemma.

Before I duck him expressing his innate nature and say, hey be a team player, allow me to express his side.

In his experience, he has always shined while performing individually. Teams, in his opinion, are required only when gigantic software projects are being developed/maintained. With teams come additional responsibilities of making sure everybody is in sync with each other and the product they are making. You gotta conduct yourself all the time to everyones' satisfaction. Even if some guy in a team is a jerk, you have to tolerate him and work with him, even if he is slowing down the entire team. Individual work, on the other hand, means it is only him who is responsible for anything that goes wrong or anything that shines.

The problem is, this kind of a work ethic is not encouraged by many firms, and this average Joe is losing out on many lucrative job opportunities because he doesn't like to lie and openly says he does not perform at his maximum when working in a team, which is true.

How does a non-team player answer questions about team playing in an interview?

I am asking a question for my friend; he is searching for a position in the corporate world.

Let's call him "Joe". This Joe guy does not think working in a team necessarily means the best product will be delivered, and this is his dilemma.

Before I duck him expressing his innate nature and say, hey be a team player, allow me to express his side.

In his experience, he has always shined while performing individually. Teams, in his opinion, are required only when gigantic projects are being built or collaborated on. With teams come additional responsibilities of making sure everybody is in sync with each other and the product they are engineering. You gotta conduct yourself all the time to everyones' satisfaction. Even if some guy in a team is a jerk, you have to tolerate him and work with him, even if he is slowing down the entire team. Individual work, on the other hand, means it is only him who is responsible for anything that goes wrong or anything that shines.

The problem is, this kind of a work ethic is not encouraged by many firms, and this average Joe is losing out on many lucrative job opportunities because he doesn't like to lie and openly says he does not perform at his maximum when working in a team, which is true.

How does a non-team player answer questions about team playing in an interview?

I am asking a question for my friend and he is searching for a position in the corporate world.
He is an average Joe who goes about his daily life as a software programmer. This Joe guy does not think working in a team necessarily means the best product will be delivered, and this is his dilemma

Before I duck him expressing his innate nature and say, hey be a team player, allow me to express his side.

In his experience he has always shined performing individually. Teams, in his opinion are required only when gigantic software projects are being developed/maintained. With teams come additional responsibilities of making sure everybody is in synch with each other and the product they are making. You gotta conduct yourself all the time to everyones satisfaction. Even if some guy in a team is a jerk you have to tolerate him and work with him.Even if he is slowing down the entire team. Individual work OTOH means it is only him who is responsible for anything that goes wrong or anything that shines.

  The problem is, this kind of a work ethic is not encouraged by many firms and this average Joe is losing out on many lucrative job opportunities because he doesnt like to lie and openly says he does not perform at his maximum when working in a team, which is true. What would be your advise to him when he is asked the dreaded questions around team playing?

I am asking a question for my friend; he is searching for a position in the corporate world.

Let's call him "Joe". This Joe guy does not think working in a team necessarily means the best product will be delivered, and this is his dilemma.

Before I duck him expressing his innate nature and say, hey be a team player, allow me to express his side.

In his experience, he has always shined while performing individually. Teams, in his opinion, are required only when gigantic software projects are being developed/maintained. With teams come additional responsibilities of making sure everybody is in sync with each other and the product they are making. You gotta conduct yourself all the time to everyones' satisfaction. Even if some guy in a team is a jerk, you have to tolerate him and work with him, even if he is slowing down the entire team. Individual work, on the other hand, means it is only him who is responsible for anything that goes wrong or anything that shines. 

The problem is, this kind of a work ethic is not encouraged by many firms, and this average Joe is losing out on many lucrative job opportunities because he doesn't like to lie and openly says he does not perform at his maximum when working in a team, which is true.

How does a non-team player answer questions about team playing in an interview?