Group interviews seem to be all the rage, especially on a college campus. Employers can test your "creativity" and "problem-solving skills" with "fun" team building exercises while applicants passive aggressively compete for attention and pretend to like each other. Personally, group interviews are much more stressful than one-on-one interviews because I feel the pressure to be something that doesn't come naturally to me.
For the record, I'm not a whiner. I work hard and actually enjoy staying busy. The main reason I dislike group interviews is because of the pressure to showcase your "leadership" skills. If you're a young person, whether you're in high school, college, or just entering the job market, the concept of leadership has been drilled into your head. But here's the problem: when people think of a leader, they think charismatic, outgoing, outspoken, blah blah blah. The whole point is, these qualities don't necessarily add up to an innovative, dedicated, hard working person. Does commanding attention mean that you're automatically better suited for a position?
You can't be a leader without followers, and in my opinion, being a follower is extremely underrated. For some reason, the term "follower" has come to mean someone who can't think for themselves. Let's redefine "follower" as a person who joins a movement or follows the example of another after thoughtfully considering a situation.
The President of the United States, leader of the Free World, has a team of followers who advise him and even write his speeches. Pretty much every religion started with a single person and a small group of initial followers, right?
If you're tired of hearing me babble, watch this TED talk by entrepreneur Derek Sivers, who discusses the importance of being a follower and building a movement:
