Need help filling in an application form.

[Gazz]

I am in the middle of filling in an application for and have been stumped by this cunt of a question.

It asks to write down a situation where you have been part of a team to solve problems, etc.

I remember a number of years ago I filled in a similar application form and I put something along the lines of 'I work in a team everyday in my current job, etc...'

However I think that is a answer to give and to be honest I dont think that is what they are looking for.

Can someone give me any help or can advise me on what to write ?

I dont want to fuck this up.





P.S. - Karma for good replies and helpful comments.

[JP7]

This sort of question will be looking for a specific example of when you made a contribution to that team... what you did, how you worked with the others, how you challenged those whose opinions differed from yours, how you negotiated, and how successful the task was.

It doesn't usually need to be a life-changing example, something that may seem routine to you from your work life may tick all the boxes they want.

You could go along the lines of "I work regularly in a team and we deal with problems such as ...frequently." But it sounds like they want a specific example to test some competencies.

Hope that helps!

[Paulington]

Those questions are fairly simple, as JP7 said it's just you gloating about how you were such an awesome leader when you had to do something as a team.

You need to show that you listen to the other members of the team and their opinions whilst also challenging them to be the best they can. Also, how do you ensure that the team come to the best possible conclusion without coming across as a gigantic controlling tool? !

Best of luck with it, you'll be fine! !
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[anthony_r6]

It doesn't really have to be in a work capacity. They're just looking for where you contributed to a group effort. I can't really give you any further help on it without knowing what you've worked as in the past, and what kinda things you've done with others.
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[Ichy]

An ideal answer would be a team that you have joined which is away from your day to day role. Generally they will be looking for how the team understood their purpose and devised an action plan, the reasons for specific tasks being given to particular people and general team dynamics.

You need to look how you added to the team and how you helped to create synergy. Negotiation, networking, win win, problem solving, dealing with conflict, selling your ideas, accepting and supporting others ideas, time management, self evaluation and all the usual stuff.

Most people I ask a similar question to reply "well I was in a football team and we was crap but we worked hard and won." Seems to work sometimes.
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[Gazz]

Some good replies guys; keep 'em comin'.

I am baker - been a baker since day 1 in my working like, but need to move my life in a new direction (hence filling in this form).

I work as a team everyday in my job but like I have mentioned, it is difficult to make that sound exciting and stick in the mind of the person assessing the application form.

[AC]

Have you ever helped in organise or run a charity event of some sort or done any volunteer work supervising kids or similar - this would stick in the panel's mind especially if you word it carefully to gloss over the charity/volunteering aspect. Another one to consider is if you have done corner marking when on a big group ride - sounds daft but it shows working together and looking out for other people in the group - you can point out that the ride was successfully completed without anyone getting lost en route

[stinkwheel]

Meh.

Teamwork is overrated in business. Leave a decision to a "team" and you get nothing done.

The most effective situation is where one person is in charge and tells everyone else what to do. I suppose it's teamwork in a sense in that everyone has their own role and the boss should be prepared to delegate quite complex tasks to other specialists in a very general sense and to accept feedback (but also be prepared to discount it if it doesn't fit the big picture).

I suppose your reply would depend on what you are applying for. If it's for a managerial role, stress the importance of keeping hold of the bigger picture while allowing other more expert team members to do their thing within their speciality. If it's for a lesser role within a "team", I'd give an example showing how you took control of your part of the exercise and kept the team leader up to speed on how you were progressing without bogging them down in unecessary detail.

EDIT: Have you ever project managed a house build or rennovation project? I reckon this would be a good example. Organising the various tradesmen to do their repective jobs in a logical order so they don't work against one another, getting the requisite materials on-site as they are needed while at the same time keeping a rein on the budget and timeframe.
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[weasley]

Having deployed this question myself many times, they will be looking for a real example from you - "I always work well in teams" won't cut it. If this is a job application, this is one time you really do not want to be modest, but make sure you can back up the story and don't bullshit.

It doesn't have to be the biggest or best team or activity, just any time when something happened in a team environment that you contributed to, that you're happy to talk about. And in the answer, always use "I" and "Me", not "we" or "they" - "I did this" and "I said that" rather than "We made this" or "this happened".
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