An individual who is honest and has a strong foundation of moral principles of righteousness imbued in their life is a man of integrity. It is a quality that is developed by inculcating habits inherited from parents or a morally upright environment or society. Hence, it is an essence that most employers look for in a candidate. As such, the question, “What does integrity mean to you?” is pretty obvious most interviewers ask in an interview.
But Why is it Essential? Or Why is it Asked in an Interview?
The main reason for asking this question is to judge the trustworthiness and character of the jobseeker or a candidate. The answer to such questions shows an individual’s accountability, responsibility, and self-awareness.
Furthermore, the interviewers can ask many questions, and they always want to hire an honest and strong candidate. They want to know why they should hire you and what kind of ethical responsibilities can be expected of you. The recruiters also try to predict your personality and behavior through these questions. They want to know every detail about your character so they wouldn’t have any problems in the future.
When you answer this question, it also allows them to uncover your beliefs and values. If they match the company’s objective, they will surely hire you. Otherwise, they will look for any other candidate with the same values and beliefs as the company has. In addition to this, it is also essential that you fit into their work environment and work culture.
So, now you may have got an idea about the importance of carefully answering these questions.
Also Read About: How Early Should You Arrive For an Interview? [15, 20 Minutes?]
Different Ways of Answering This Question
This question is commonly asked and can be asked in multiple ways. A few of the examples or ways are listed down below:
- What do you understand by integrity, and how do you implement it in your life?
- What do you think of integrity?
- Was there any time when your integrity was questioned?
- Was there any time when your integrity was tested in a situation? How did you face the problem?
- Tell us about a time when you showed great integrity at your workplace?
- What is the importance of integrity in the workplace?
These questions are related to integrity. If you don’t know what the integrity word means, you will be stuck on this question. If you are not aware of the word, go to the first paragraph and re-read the sentence. Understanding the meaning of those words will help you in the future, not only in interviews/workplace but also in your personal life.
How to Answer This Question?
Honestly speaking, answering these types of questions is very hard. A candidate has to be very careful while answering this question. Another aspect is that they also have to protect themselves from giving the recruiter a feeling of overconfidence and self-involvement.
So, it is always advised to think for a moment before saying anything in any interview, no matter what the question is. Give yourself some time, process the question, understand the question and then answer.
Use The STAR Method
The Star method is one of the essential methods of answering used in any behavioral type question. The complete form of STAR means situation, task, action, and the result. This will help you gather all the information quickly and will help you in the most challenging position where you cannot find an answer to the interviewer’s questions.
The first step to answering such questions is to understand the question. You can do so by outlining any situation that you may have faced in your life and what was your response to that situation. You should also try to tell them about the outcomes and the result so that they can trust the credibility of your answer.
Bonus Read: 9 Job Interview Tips To Ace Your Next Job Interview
Example of Answering “What Does Integrity Mean to You”
My integrity is essential in my life. All of my business decisions are made with integrity in mind. I am entirely accountable for my actions when it pertains to my profession. I don’t let other people’s criticism influence my decisions or principles of the organization because we meet different types of people in the corporate world. I assure you that nobody can compromise my integrity.
Integrity means doing the right thing. It does not mean that every time I have to think about my benefit, even if it does not turn out good for me, it can be good for the entire society and the environment. I always use this technique whenever I want to make any critical decision, and instead of being selfish, I try to do better and think from the other person’s perspective.
Integrity means a lot to me. one of them is to admit my mistake whenever I am wrong. Many people do not dare ask for forgiveness even after realizing their own mistakes.
It is essential to show and believe in respecting the other person irrespective of the religion, position, race, etc.; praising someone for their excellent work is always the best option for building good teamwork. I believe that one should be responsible for any actions they have taken, whether correct or not. It helps us improve as human beings, and I always try to do so.
For me, integrity means being honest in whatever you do. We all have different roles to play, and we all have different lives with various problems and different solutions to them. I believe that it is a human tendency to say anything that makes the other person feel good, whether their deed is good. Telling someone about where they are wrong and where they are correct is a part of being honest, and it should be implemented in everyone’s life so that it can be an excellent place to live. It is always a battle to correct the other individual, especially when the person is your friend, and you don’t want to lose them. But a good friend is always someone who is always there for your but also tells you about your mistake so that you wouldn’t repeat it in the future. I believe that I am honest so that the other person and I can improve for good. While doing so, I keep my tone very low so that the other person doesn’t offend because of my voice tone
My previous workplace was filled with office politics and useless internal fights among teams or departments. It resulted in poor performance, but it created a toxic work environment. All moral standards crumbled, and coworkers became rivals, behaving strangely toward one another. It is something I’m currently seeking in my current career. It is the primary reason I chose to leave my previous employment and apply for the position at your company. I checked online comments of your existing employees and got the idea that this firm runs with integrity.
Honesty is my top-most priority; wealth never was, and would never be, the most important thing to me. It implies being myself and following my ideals and values regardless of the situation or other societal perceptions. This can sometimes be tough, and some may misinterpret my actions or ideas. But I’m not going to play any dumb games. I would like to keep to my thoughts, even missing out on a job or a group.
I’m not sure how to define it, but I believe I can give an example that exhibits it well. One of our possible suppliers gave me specific incentives as a supply chain manager in my previous employment. It wasn’t quite a bribe, but they offered certain benefits and other things that I could use in my private life. What did I do? I went with a different provider who didn’t provide us any and had the most terrific deal for the firm. In my actions, I believe I displayed honesty.
Integrity, in my opinion, entails sticking up for the rights, acting morally and equitably, and being responsible and truthful. This, to me, starts with a conversation. I strive to be as transparent as possible. If I make mistakes that need to be corrected, I acknowledge them or get right on to fixing them. If I notice something deceptive or wrong, I speak up and explain why it doesn’t seem morally right. This makes me proud of my job and provides a sense of ego, which I value.
Pro Tips
Your answer can be anything. It depends on what you want to add from your side. You can also tell the recruiters you want to play an essential part in building the workplace culture, beliefs in integrity, and practical and efficient collaboration.
Integrity can help you be the better version of yourself or destroy you. So it is better to build or promote integrity in the workplace with the actions and words.
Being philosophical can also help you to stand out in an interview. Always keep in mind that you should never lie to a recruiter. Generally, such questions are asked in an entry-level job or when you are a fresher, and there are hundreds and thousands of job seekers from the same background or industry.
So it is always better to enhance your answer in the best way possible. Even if you are preparing for it, it shouldn’t look like you’ve already prepared. Always be confident and maintain eye contact whenever you are answering the recruiter.
Conclusion
This article may have provided several insights about answering the behavioral type question like “what does integrity means to you.” It is one of the most common questions asked in an interview, especially for freshers who don’t have any good experience. The simplest definition of integrity is being honest with the people around you, acting morally and ethically, and promoting ethical principles.
Integrity plays a vital role in the work environment where several peoples come together to achieve the same objective. It is essential in all the job profiles, whether you are a security guard or even a manager. It also has a vital role in personal life, but we only talked about the professional factor of this question in this article.
We will recommend not memorizing or copying the answer in the same way in your interview because the recruiter will automatically predict that you have remembered the response from the Internet. The recruiter is not a fool; they interview hundreds of candidates daily and know every tactic. So we will recommend taking inspiration from the examples mentioned earlier and adding something personal to the answer to make it much more convincing and trustworthy.
