I do not thrive in a competitive environment

There’s a classic tagline being thrown around in resumes:

“I thrive in a competitive environment”

I know I do not. But should I?

I’ve worked in companies where, looking back now, I see it had some competitivity among the developers. I get all anxious and tense, and the work simply does not flow, I feel disconnected.

I know I thrive in a collaborative environment, where I feel much safer, I know I can share my thoughts even if they don’t make much sense sometimes. This is the kind of environment that keeps people relaxed enough to have their minds free to express all potential creativity and performance.

And it being a two way street, we should ask ourselves “how can I contribute to such an environment?” I am not so sure yet, but in my experience some behaviours could help, such as:

• Not being afraid to ask question and display my lack of knowledge on something.
• Not judging when the colleague doesn’t know something. After all, everyone didn’t know it at some point in life.
• Trusting people are doing their best instead of pressuring them for more.
• Trying to be patient, gentle and kind. (specially when reviewing code, or having my code reviewed)

Maybe whoever uses this tagline is just trying to look tough?

I think it’s great to set expectations straight early on in the application process, either way.