Tricky interview question: If you were a contestant on "Survivor", how would you play it?

The question

I was interviewing with a bulge bracket bank. I was asked lots of the standard silly IB questions - number of nappies used per year in Australia etc - but then they hit me with this one: If you were a contestant on "Survivor", how would you play it?

The candidate's reply

This was a difficult question because I'd never watched the reality TV show Survivor. But luckily, I did know that the people you vote out are the ones that vote for you at the end.

I therefore answered that because you need the people you ousted to be on your side, you must play the game with integrity. You need to: fly under the radar; not be thought of as a threat; be perceived as fair; and not back stab people. In essence, you should earn respect without bring a menace to others. I said I didn't want to win if it meant hurting people.

How she would have responded in hindsight

I think the interviewers were happy with my reply. They definitely liked the integrity stuff. I made a comment that money without friends is no fun, and that you need to be a team player. I think they loved that. I also made sure to say I hadn't watched the show, so they didn't go into the technicalities. I think this question was really gauging motivations about teamwork and need for personal glory, so perhaps I should have mentioned teamwork more.

How would YOU have answered?

Use the comments box below to suggest a better response to the interview question above.