"What have you to done to prepare for this interview?" & "Which do you prefer, working on your own or in a team?" (jobs, companies)

[TheJagMan]

These were pretty surprising questions I recently had.

The first one "What have you to done to prepare for this interview?" I was trying to find the sweet spot. I assume you don't want to say something desperate such as I've studied XXX for the past ten hours. And I don't think saying nothing is a good answer either as it could mean you're not really taking it seriously. I answered very vague "I brushed up on some data" and it didn't trigger any additional questions

The second "Which do you prefer, working on your own or in a team?" that was tough. I knew there are other coworkers with the same job title, but have no idea if they work together. I wanted to ask, "is this a team environment?" I actually answered, "I've worked and excelled in both situations and have no preference."

Just wanted to possibly help out others from being blindsided...

[kodaka]

To #1, I would have said I read their website to learn what they had to say about themselves, and then I read industry publications and other media sources to learn what other people had to say about them. And that I researched statistical data pertaining to the specific position being offered and read up on the latest trends, issues, and methods pertaining to that position. (all of which I would have actually done, of course).

To #2, Giving a genuine honest answer, I would have probably said that I like having independence and being able to work alone 75% of the time but I also enjoy and feel the need to have a team of colleagues for interaction, support, and inspiration and would not want to work entirely on my own. But I might tweak this answer depending on the company or position I was interviewing for. Some jobs and some companies are more collaborative than others.