6.2 Marketing your teamwork skills
As Rebecca Fielding highlighted when she spoke in the video about a lack of self-confidence leading to people being overlooked (in Section 2.1), there are instances when potentially good employees do not get the job they apply for because they are not able to sell their skills effectively during the recruitment process. This might mean that highly skilled individuals with great academic credentials or experience, are not in the jobs that they are qualified and trained to do.
Evidence for this can be seen in Careerpass Network’s Student & Graduate Tempcheck (Careerpass Network, 2023), which surveyed over 1000 university students, asking them ‘Please rate the following soft skills from strongest to weakest. 1 = highest, 10 = lowest.’ The report presents the following table:
| Skill | 2022 ranking | 2023 ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional intelligence | 2 | 1 |
| Analytical | 1 | 2 |
| Resilience | 3 | 3 |
| Negotiation | 5 | 4 |
| Continual learning | 4 | 5 |
| Flexibility/adaptability | 6 | 6 |
| Leadership | 7 | 7 |
| Problem solving | 8 | 8 |
| Teamwork | 9 | 9 |
| Communication | 10 | 10 |
Two problems for employers can potentially be identified in their findings:
- there aren’t enough potential employees with adequate teamwork skills or
- job applicants are not confident about marketing their teamwork skills during the application process.
Do you know which of these categories you fall into? If you don’t feel confident about answering this question, it could be useful to ask a trusted colleague within one of your teams for some feedback about your performance. Many of us underestimate ourselves, and this can be a useful way of gaining valuable insight.
Activity 9 Marketing your teamwork skills
Think about a job you have applied for recently, or a job for which you would like to apply. What would you say to an employer about your teamwork skills?
If you have a CV, have a look at it and consider how you are currently marketing this skill. Have you mentioned it at all? Have you been able to back it up with evidence?
Record your thoughts so that you can review them later.
Comment
If you have not mentioned teamwork in your current CV, that could be because you feel uncertain about how to explain your experience or because you feel you have limited experience to share.
As you develop your understanding of teams throughout this course, this should help you to:
- a.access and navigate team experiences with more confidence, and
- b.find the language you need to explain your experiences in a way that means something to a potential employer.
If you have included teamwork in your CV, that’s a good starting point. As you work through this course, you may find additional things to say to enhance your credibility in future applications.
This activity is intended as a brief introduction to thinking about marketing your skills. In Week 8 of this course you’ll focus specifically on the recruitment process and how to promote your teamwork experience in applications, interviews and group assessment exercises.