When creating your CV, you’ll want to find the delicate balance of listing out your skills and answering the job spec, without falling into the trap of simply listing meaningless buzzwords and phrases. One such phrase is, ‘I’m a good team player’.
The trouble with phrases such as this one is that they are actually extremely important soft skills for almost any job. It’s just that many people can simply use the term in their CV and again in interviews and have it mean nothing because it’s not backed up with evidence. Because it’s such an overused term, it can actually get on hiring managers’ nerves. So, how do you prove you’re a team player without actually having to say it?
A question around teamwork will most likely come up in your interview and it will often be presented as a competency-based question. Even if it’s not, you should still answer it using the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action and Result.
First, think about a real-life situation, in which you clearly demonstrated your teamwork skills. Examples of this would be major projects, situations that required extra help or problems that needed to be solved with the help of others. This one has the bonus of showing off your problem-solving skills too. You should think of two or three of these team player situations to properly demonstrate your skills.
Next, follow the STAR method to explain the situation, the task that needed to be completed, the action you took, highlighting your teamwork and the result of that action. If you’ve read our RECRUITERS interview guide, you’ll know we like to add a learning aspect to the end of the STAR method for candidates to talk about what they might do differently or what they learned from the experience.
Even though you should demonstrate teamwork, it’s important to stick to situations in which you and your skills shine. Think about conflicts you may have resolved, innovative ideas you contributed or situations in which you brought the team together.
Always keep the job description in mind. Do you have any ‘team player’ situations that highlight other skills or experience related to the role for which you’re applying? For example, if the job spec talks about situations in which you will have to lead presentations, think about a potential situation in which you put together a presentation with your team. This not only shows your presentation experience, but it shows that you’re a team player without actually having to say the empty phrase.
While interviewers will often ask you to describe a situation that shows your ability to work as part of a team, they may also ask about a situation where teamwork didn’t go so well. This is to give you a chance to show self-awareness, honesty and to prove your ability to work with difficult people or manage conflict. After all, teamwork is 10 times easier when you’re working with like-minded people but that may not always be the case. While thinking of your positive teamwork situations, make sure you have at least one scenario where you had to work with a team or colleague that you didn’t get on with and explain how you managed that using the STAR technique. That learning element I mentioned will be particularly important here.
For more interview advice and question examples check out our RECRUITERS interview guide. Want to find your dream job and ace that interview? Upload your CV here and let us help you find your next career move. CV not quite ready yet? Check out our free CV templates to get you started.
Hands photo by Perry Grone on Unsplash
Star photo Star photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
