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Posted on: 16/05/2012 11:05.
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Teamwork

What do recruiters want?

“The importance placed on teamworking is a reflection of what is happening in the workplace.  More and more you are expected to work in teams: the ability to mould yourself to be part of the team when you join an organisation is considered to be a very important requirement.”

Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive, Association of Graduate Recruiters

What do recruiters want? How do they ask for it?

What makes a good teamworker? Do you have the skill?

Example of how to evidence your teamworking on applications and at interviews

Other useful resources

What do recruiters want?

Good teamworking skills can be asked for in a variety of ways.  Many adverts will simply ask for “a good team-player” or “the ability to work well in a team”. Others, however, may not make it so obvious.  You have to learn to interpret phrases like:

• “Confidence, initiative and team spirit will help you get ahead . . .”
• “You must be open to working collaboratively with different cultures . . .”
• “You must have a desire to participate as an active listener, contributor, leader and motivator”
• “You must work well with others, understanding and appreciating individual differences”
• “Demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills which enables you to work harmoniously with others whilst evaluating and accepting responsibilities”
• “Good people skills . . .”

These quotes are all taken from adverts in graduate magazines.  As you can see, they don’t use the word teamwork, but all these recruiters are after the same thing.  They want candidates who can prove that they have the skills which enable them to work effectively in a team.

What skills do you need to be an effective team member?

There is a lot of academic research into what makes an effective team member, but generally, you need to be able to demonstrate that you can:

• Listen – you should demonstrate that you can listen to other people's ideas and points of view.  By actively listening you will know what others in the group have to offer and you can often build on their ideas.
• Question - it is important to ask questions so you are sure of the objectives of the team.  Don’t just ask questions to who you perceive as the leader, ask, interact and clarify issues with all members of the team.
• Persuade – you have to be prepared to come up with ideas and defend them, but ultimately agree to rethink them if appropriate.  Be willing to change and appreciate other points of view.
• Respect - treat all other team-members with equal respect and build up trust.  Effective teams are composed of committed individuals who trust and respect each other.  Criticize ideas, not people, and only give feedback on the task, not on an individual’s performance.
• Help - it is crucial to help others in the team.  Be aware of what others are doing and offer help and support if you can.
• Share – be willing to share your knowledge, experience, time and talents with others in the team.
• Participate – you must contribute enthusiastically to the team without dominating other members, but you must also be willing to lead and motivate when appropriate.

How do you prove to a recruiter that you have these skills?

It is not good enough to simply say “I am an excellent team-player”, you have to prove that you are by giving examples of when you have worked in a team and what you did to make sure the team achieved what it set out to achieve!

Think of an example of when you have worked in a team and then use the STAR technique to describe it:

S	Define the Situation
T	Identify the Task
A	Describe your Action
R	Explain the Result

This technique is useful at all stages of the selection process so it is worthwhile getting to grips with it.

Here’s an example:

S – define the Situation: (where were you? what were you doing? who were you with?)
My voluntary work for BTCV involves working with groups of between 10 and 15 people on conservation projects, mainly on weekends.  On one project in the Yorkshire Dales, I was the only experienced volunteer.

T – identify the Task (what was your aim? what had to be achieved?)
Our task was to cut back the vegetation and collect the litter on a section of the River Wharfe.  The work was mainly unskilled but there were issues of health and safety and it was critical that a supportive atmosphere was created before the work could be started.

A – describe the Action you took (be clear about what you did, what part you played in the team)
I volunteered to be the leader and we started the day with a coffee-break when I asked each volunteer to introduce themselves.  I then gave an interactive demonstration of the day’s tasks and the health and safety relating to working in and near water.  As this involved my falling in the river everyone was soon laughing and joining in.  I then asked the volunteers if they wanted to pick one particular task, or have a go at everything, and individual choices were taken into account when allocating work groups.

R – highlight the Result you achieved (what did you achieve, what did the team achieve, be clear about what was successful!)
The day was very successful with the work being completed in record time.  The real success, though, was that the feedback showed that all the volunteers had felt able to contribute fully, they had all enjoyed themselves, and they all said they would volunteer again.

Write a detailed statement like this, based on your own experience.  You can then use it for applications and interviews, and summarise it for use in your CV, such as:

• My voluntary work with BTCV has developed my ability to lead and motivate teams of people engaged on conservation work.
• Have worked with different teams of people on conservation projects as part of my volunteer work with BTCV, motivating and supporting others to achieve our target.

Adapting Your Examples

The example above, for instance, could easily be altered to prove leadership and/or communication skills. It is worthwhile spending time writing statements like this about all your experiences and then adapting them to match each recruiters’ specific requirements.

Resources for University of Bradford students

The Destinations careers planning website has a great topics section with excellent resources on employability skills:

• This section shows how your personality can effect your career choice and lets you try out several personality assessments!
• This section tells you more about teamworking, and gives you lots of useful information and resources which you should find helpful.

Other resources

How you work in a team can also be influenced by your MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®) personality type. By understanding the differences between personality types, groups and individuals are able to work together more effectively, improving communication and reducing conflict.

In addition, it is worth understanding how your personality influences how you behave in a team environment. Belbin Team Roles, as defined by Dr Meredith Belbin (the recognised expert in the field) identify your “tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way”.  The team role summaries may give you an idea of your ‘type’ and you can take the test at the website, but there is a fee.

We run regular workshops on employability skills; our Career and Personal Development modules also help you identify your skills and relate them to career choice.

Many of the graduate recruitment magazines available in Career Development Services have good articles on employability skills.  Come and collect the latest editions.  Alternatively, check out the editorials on the publishers websites:

• Graduate Prospects – articles on skills and how to evidence them
• Real World – their advice section has some good articles on skills and how to sell them.
• Inside Careers - has advice on skills related to specific graduate professions

Other relevant websites with general information on skills are:

The Learndirect Careers Advice website offers lots of useful advice, and has interactive programs on, for example, assessing your skills and interests and decision-making styles.

Mind Tools has a special section for career starters.  Full of interesting quizzes, games, information on specific employability skills, including problem solving,. Most of it is free. This is an American site so sometimes the advice and terms used is geared towards the American market.

Back to Employability Skills