If you've applied for a job on one of those long and slightly annoying⑴ job application forms, then you will have probably come across⑵ a question like this...
'Demonstrate⑶ your ability to work in a team' or
'Provide evidence of a time when you have worked in a team to solve a problem'
... or some other variation⑷ that's basically asking you to prove you can or have worked in a team.
Seems straight forward enough - and I'd be confident in saying nearly everyone has worked in a team at some point. School was all about working in teams, and workplaces don't seem to be much different.
So it shouldn't take much to pull out a teamwork example. Problem is - you need to pull out the right example. Here's how.
Hannah is a recruitment⑸ specialist⑹ with Adecco⑺, a recruitment company based in the UK and other countries around the world.
"Everyone can come with an example of teamwork. It's pretty simple. And the company knows that so it's important to choose an example of team work that demonstrates what [the company] is after⑻."
It seems obvious but don't bring up an example where teamwork has not been the key to success. Don't talk about how you worked in a team of 6, but only 2 of you did the work. This is a common mistake that graduates make when they're applying for their first round of jobs. Their logic⑼ is that it makes them look like they're a leader, innovative and determined potential employee. Whilst⑽ those qualities may well be very attractive in a job seeker - the team work question is NOT the place.
Team work is all about the team.
What did the team do well?
How did they get over⑾ the barriers?
What did they do to manage the project in the time line?
What was your role in the team?
"Don't talk about things like holding the team together. People seem to think that when an employer asks about your experience working in a team, it's an opportunity to show off⑿. Don't make that mistake. Talk about common goals; shared experiences; working together; sharing the jobs between the members and the general harmony of the group."
Employers want to know that you can be part of a successful team. Don't be afraid to talk about your role; the role of other team members and the success of the team as a whole. But don't be selfish.
So when you're deciding on team work example, here are some things to think about talking about:
- managing a time timeline and how the team did that
- different skill sets and different personalities working together to get the job done
- overall successes, barriers and how the barriers were overcome
- your role, the role of others and the work of the team overall
Lastly, make it a recent experience. Potential employers might get a bit suspicious⒀ if you start talking about the time you and little Johnny worked together back in high school.
Don't spend too much time on the team work question, but make sure you tick⒁ all the obvious boxes that we've discussed above.
Till next time - good luck, and happy job hunting.
阅读理解（单项选择）：
1 According to the above article, if you apply on an application form, ( ).
A you will be asked about your school activities
B you will spend hours on it
C you will come across questions on your last job
D you are likely to answer team work question
2 According to the article, team work experience ( ).
A is a rare thing
B is part of most people’s lives
B is difficult to think of
D is totally different between school and workplace
3 Why companies ask for examples of teamwork?
A Because they want to find the quality they need in the examples
B Because this is a easy question to answer
C Because teamwork is very important
D Because they want obedient employees
4 The mentioned mistakes in exemplifying are.
A those which shows the team works as one
B those which shows the applicant is the leader
C those which shows teamwork is not the decisive part in the success
D those which shows how team members support each other
5 If your role is not very important in the team, ( ).
A you’d better abandon that example
B it doesn’t matter as long as your team is a success
C you must make it appear more important
D you can find yourself a new role
6 The sentence “Share the success” means ( ).
A you should tell your successful experience to your interviewer
B you should share your success with other applicants
C you should tell your success story to everyone
D you should take your success as your team’s success
Answer Key：
1. D 2. B 3. A 4. C 5. B 6. D
词汇学习：
1. annoying
adj. 烦人的，恼人的
Eg: It must be rather annoying to be grown up. 长大肯定非常烦人。
2. come across
phrase. 碰到，遇到
Eg: We must believe in one another whenever we come across difficulties.
不论什么时候我们遇到困难，我们都要信任彼此。
3. demonstrate
v. 展示，显示
Eg: Then she was asked to demonstrate her work system.
然后，她被要求来展示她的工作系统。
4. variation
n. 变化
Eg: There is a variation of 10 pounds in weight. 在重量上有十磅的变量。
5. recruitment n. 招聘
6. specialist n. 专家
7. Adecco n. 艺柯
8. be after
寻求，寻找
Eg: That boy's always in trouble - the police are after him again.
这个男孩总是惹麻烦，警察又在追捕他了。
9. logic n. 逻辑
10. whilst conj. 同时（同while）
11. get over
克服
Eg: We had to get over many difficulties. 我们不得不克服许多困难。
12. show off
炫耀，显示
Eg: She does a quick twirl to show off her dress.
她飞快的转了一圈来炫耀她的裙子。
13. suspicious
adj. 怀疑的，猜疑的
Eg: The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.
因为他有前科，所以警方怀疑他的不在场证明
14. tick
v. 标记
Eg: He ticked the items one by one. 他逐个在项目前面打钩。
15. job hunting 求职
实用讲解：
1 Seems straight forward enough - and I'd be confident in saying nearly everyone has worked in a team at some point.
看上去足够直接了——而且我相信几乎每个人在某种程度上都在团队中工作过。
讲解：1）“straight forward”的字面意思是“一直向前”，例如“go straight forward to the second turning 直走到第二个转弯处”，这里引申为“直接”的意思，例如“Stop talking about the irrelevant and go straight forward to the key part. 不要讲那些不相关的，直接讲重点。”
2）“be confident in (doing) sth.”的意思是“对（做）某事有信心”，表示有信心的状态，例如“Given all these conditions satisfied, we are confident in finishing the project in 3 months. 如果这些条件都满足的话，我们有信心在三个月内完成任务。”
3）“at some point”的意思是“在某种程度上”。
2 School was all about working in teams, and workplaces don't seem to be much different.
学校（生活）全都与团队工作有关，而工作场合于此似乎没有大的不同。
讲解：1）“all about (doing) sth.”的意思是“全部与（做某事）有关”，可以用来表示一系列事物的中心，例如“Team work is all about the team 团队工作全都与团队有关。”
2）这两小句用一肯一否的方式表达出相同的意思，但给人以更加深刻的印象，文章也变得更加生动活泼。
3 Problem is - you need to pull out the right example. Here's how.
问题是——你需要举出合适的例子。这里就是（教你）如何做到这一点。
讲解：1）“pull out”的字面意思很容易理解，是“拔出、抽出”，联系上文所说的每个人实际上都有很多团队工作的示例和经验，就容易理解这里词组的意思已经抽象为“（从一系列事物中）举出”的意思。
2）“right”除了有“正确”的意思外，还可以当“合适”讲，这里就是这个意思。
3）“Here’s how.”的完整形式是“Here’s how to pull out the right example.”。这句话可以用在文章中，也可以用在口头介绍中，表示接下来将要介绍某种方法，例如“I know you are eager to know the ways to improve work efficiency and here is how. 我知道你们都很想知道提高工作效率的方法，这就是你们需要做的。”
4 Their logic is that it makes them look like they're a leader, innovative and determined potential employee.
他们的逻辑是这让他们看起来像是（团队中的）领导，一个有决心的而且富有创新精神的潜在雇员。
讲解：“logic”的本义是“逻辑”，在句中实际上是在说明原因，进行解释；用这个词来进行解释说明时，一般都是比较有条理的原因，例如“The logic behind their behavior is that the more you get, the more you want. 他们行为背后的原因是得到的越多，想要的越多。”
5 So when you're deciding on team work example, here are some things to think about talking about:
那么当你在决定团队工作的例子的时候，这是一些你可以考虑谈论的事情。
讲解：1）“decide on sth.”的意思是“决定某事，选定某事”，表示在两个或是更多的选择中选出最合适的一个，例如“After leaving university, they decided on a career in publishing. 大学毕业后，他们决定从事出版业。”；同样的意思也可以说“decide upon sth.”
2）“here is sth. to...”的意思是“这里是可以……的某事”，这是一个很常用的句型，可以用来表示提醒，或是进行介绍，例如“If you want to work abroad, here are some tips. 如果你想到国外工作的话，这里有一些建议。”
3）“think about (doing) sth.”的意思是“考虑（做）某事”，“talk about sth.”的意思是“谈论某事”。
6 Don't spend too much time on the team work question, but make sure you tick all the obvious boxes that we've discussed above.
不要在团队工作问题上花费太多的时间，但是要保证我们上面谈到的方面你都做到了。
讲解：1）“make sure (that)…”的意思是“保证、确保……”，一般用在祈使句中，表示一种要求或是比较强烈的期望，后面的条件一般都是比较重要的事项，例如“I don’t care how much money you need, but make sure the project is finished on time. 我不在乎你们需要多少钱，但是一定要保证工程按期完成。”
2）“tick”的本义是“打对勾”，所以句中“tick all the boxes”的字面意思就是“在方框中打对勾”，也就是说选择了或是做到了这些事项，这是一种比喻用法，容易理解，也符合文章轻松的风格。