Interview questions: What would you do if a person on your team was not pulling their weight?

How do you answer and approach the question: what would you do if you had a person on your team who is not pulling their weight? I'm just wondering what is a good answer to this question.

5 Comments
 

Assuming you can't speak with the person first about getting their shit together, I tend to pick up their slack even if it means working overtime/doing more than I should, and then I make it clear to our supervisor what parts of the project I was responsible for (ie - more than I should have been responsible for). This way you never seem like a douche for ratting on a co-worker, and at the same time you show your supervisor you are capable of getting stuff done even when others are dicking around.

 
BluesHillAssuming you can't speak with the person first about getting their shit together, I tend to pick up their slack even if it means working overtime/doing more than I should, and then I make it clear to our supervisor what parts of the project I was responsible for (ie - more than I should have been responsible for). This way you never seem like a douche for ratting on a co-worker, and at the same time you show your supervisor you are capable of getting stuff done even when others are dicking around.

By going out of your way to tell your supervisor you did more than your fair share, would that not be an implicit ratting-out?

 

Not really. Your supervisor makes of it what he/she wants but generally it just shows that you're being honest.

 
walkioNot really. Your supervisor makes of it what he/she wants but generally it just shows that you're being honest.

Exactly. It's just placing the facts before the supervisor, there are many ways and opportunities to show you are doing more than your fair share without ever going near the phrase, "I want you to know that I am working harder than I should be." If your co-worker is a habitual slacker, it will be noticed without any effort on your part.

That said, I agree with the prev post. The first step is to talk to the person and tell them frankly that they should be pulling for the team.

 

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