Competency question · Teamwork
Tell me about a time you worked in a team to reach a difficult goal. What was your role, and what was the outcome?
30 seconds to think2 minutes to answer
What they’re really asking
They want to know how you behave in a group when things get hard, not just that you’ve been in one. Your role and your own actions matter most, including how you helped other people do their part. “What was the outcome?” is a direct prompt: finish with a clear result.
How to structure your answer
- Choose a hard goalPick an example where the goal was genuinely difficult, such as a tight deadline, a setback or a disagreement, and your part in it was clear.
- Set the scene brieflySituation and task in two or three sentences: the team, the goal and what made it difficult.
- Spend most of your time on what you didSay “I” for your actions, including how you supported, organised or challenged others.
- Close with the outcomeSay how it ended, including any figure that shows the difference, plus one lesson about teamwork you still use.
For more on answering this kind of question, including the mistakes to avoid, read our guide to competency questions.
An example outline
This is an example outline, not a script. Use it to see the shape of a strong answer, then build yours from your own experience, in your own words.
- Situation
- Five of us had six weeks to build a working model of a water filter. One member left the course in week two.
- Task
- I was in charge of testing, and offered to take on his design work too so we wouldn’t fall behind.
- Action
- Split his tasks between the two of us with the lightest load. Set up a shared tracker and a 15-minute check-in twice a week. Paired with a teammate who was less confident with the software, so two people knew every part.
- Result
- Finished two days early and the model met the standard: 74%, one of the top marks. Learned to raise a risk early rather than hope it goes away.
Related questions
- Tell me about a time you worked with people outside your own team or organisation to get something done. How did you build the relationship?Teamwork · 2 minutes to answer
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate about how to build or fix something. How did you resolve it?Teamwork · 2 minutes to answer
- Tell me about a time you worked with people from other disciplines on a technical project. How did you make sure the pieces fitted together?Teamwork · 2 minutes to answer
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Read the guide
- Competency, strengths or values interview? How to tell, and how to answer eachInterview guide · 7 min read
- How to handle follow-up questions in an interviewInterview guide · 6 min read
- How to prepare for an interview in a week: a day-by-day planInterview guide · 7 min read
Last reviewed 28 September 2026 by the Deeplink Interview team. How we write and check our questions.