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Theresonly1

recently attended an interview & got ask about whether i have team work experience. I said yes, then they ask what had i learned or gained from working in teams, and my mind suddenly went blank.

Any ideas?

I don't know what to say exactly because all i can think of is general type asnwers like: "i learned how to communicate well in teams", "i learned how to work well within a team"... but those are bit plain. Everyone expects you to say those which makes you no difference from the crowd..

I wan't to know is there something unique that people might learn in working in teams (in a general case). People feel free to share your experiences in what you learned in working in teams.

btw, i'm applying for a IT harware post.

Any suggestion? i honestly have not a clue of what i learned from working in teams...

Pauloz · Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:49 am Post subject:

Theresonly1

Going blank in job interviews is pretty normal, everyone does, at some point.

The fact is that you've worked in teams. It's unavoidable. Use that experience to put together a response, something like this:

My experience of teamwork has been very positive. I've worked in great teams, and learned how to fit in and contribute to the team effort. I like to build good solid working relationships, and do what I can to help out in promoting the team's interests.

Each team has its own unique character, created by the group, and I've had a lot of fun working in my teams, and learned a lot. In IT teams, communication is so important, and I've been lucky to have had team members helping me and being supportive in my early days in IT. I gained a lot of valuable knowledge, and learned how to work effectively in the IT team environment. That experience was a real godsend to my work. I've also learned how to be supportive of other team members myself, which has improved not only my contribution to the team, but my own work, refining skills and helping me to know how to solve problems.

This covers experience and what you've learned and gained from teamwork. It's also exactly what good teamwork is supposed to teach. You can adapt this to cover the various contexts of the "team" questions.

Remember to stay 100% positive in everything you say about team questions. The theory is that you should have a clear understanding of the role within a team, which, of course, is supposed to be positive-contributory.

I was a team supervisor for a while, and I never stopped learning things like that while I was in that job. Fortunately for me, I had a really excellent team, so it was all good experience.

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