Teamwork is the glue that binds all healthy businesses together. Teamwork is also vital to career progression.
The better you are at teamwork, the more effective you’ll be at your job and the more likely you are to be recognised, promoted or hired when looking to make a career change.
In this article, you’ll find a definition of teamwork skills, and some examples of the best ways to demonstrate teamwork skills on your resume. Let’s dive in:
What are teamwork skills?
Teamwork skills are the set of abilities that are necessary for successful collaboration with others in order to achieve a common goal. These skills include abilities like:
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Negotiation and conflict resolution,
- Decision-making
- Trustbuilding
- Leadership
- Delegation
Effective teamwork also requires the ability to adapt to different situations and work together to reach consensus. With these skills in place, teams can be highly effective and productive.
Top 5 teamwork skills to highlight on your resume
Here are some of the most important teamwork-related skills to include on your resume:
1. Communication
Communication is the foundation of teamwork. The ability to communicate effectively is essential for a team to function well, and it’s a great skill to mention at the top of your resume in your resume objective because it’s highly sought after by employers.
Communication means understanding each other’s ideas, thoughts and feelings so that everyone can be on the same page and work together effectively.
For example, when working on a project together, all parties should be encouraged to voice their thoughts and opinions, while also considering the other team members’ perspectives. This way, a consensus can be reached in a respectful manner.
Managers can stimulate communication in meetings by:
- Encouraging everyone to participate: Managers should create an environment where everyone is comfortable expressing their ideas and opinions.
- Setting clear expectations: Prior to the meeting, managers should outline the purpose and desired outcomes of the meeting. This will ensure that all participants are on the same page and have a clear understanding of what’s expected from them.
- Using creative methods: Utilizing activities such as brainstorms and group discussions can be a great way to stimulate meaningful conversations amongst team members.
2. Problem Solving
Problem solving is another key skill to put on your resume because it’s essential to success in any career. Being able to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to problems is useful for work in customer service to software development.
It can help improve customer experiences and improve churn prevention as well as find creative solutions to technical problems
If you’re worried your problem solving skills aren’t developed, here are some regular things you can do to practice your problem solving:
Take time to understand the problem
To tackle problems more efficiently, consider implementing timeboxing techniques to set a defined time limit to your problem-solving process. Start by taking the time to thoroughly examine all aspects of the problem. When faced with an issue, ask yourself questions such as:
- What is causing this issue?
- Who or what is affected by it?
- How can I best address each element of the problem?
Once you have a good grasp on all aspects of the issue you can begin to look for potential solutions.
Brainstorm ideas individually and in groups
Working on your own allows you to freely explore different directions without distractions or outside influence; while working together as a group provides an opportunity to pool ideas and receive feedback from diverse perspectives.
Whichever approach you choose, be sure that everyone involved is open-minded when sharing their thoughts and listens carefully throughout the process.
Test out different solutions
Experiment with varying approaches until something starts working effectively. Sometimes finding a solution takes trial and error before arriving at a viable solution.
Be flexible enough to make changes if needed—this could involve altering certain elements of your strategy or embracing new ideas brought about during testing—so that you can find an answer that solves all elements of your problem.
Reflect on your progress
Always take note of how far you’ve come! As part of staying organized throughout your process, try keeping track of milestones achieved along with secondary goals achieved throughout completion process — doing so not only reinforces what has been accomplished but also reminds yourself how capable you are when facing difficult tasks!
3. Negotiation
Negotiation skills are the ability to effectively communicate, persuade, and reach mutually beneficial agreements with others.
Being able to negotiate involves having a clear understanding of your own point of view as well as being open to different perspectives. It’s important to remain cooperative and respectful throughout the negotiation process in order to reach a resolution that all parties will be satisfied with (and give you the chance to list another achievement on your resume).
Negotiation skills can also include the ability to identify potential pitfalls or areas of difficulty during discussions and create strategies for overcoming them.
Learn about different negotiation strategies
Different negotiation strategies work better for different situations, so it’s important to learn which ones work best for your situation.
Researching various strategies and learning from experienced negotiators will help you hone your craft and gain more confidence in negotiations.
Practice and prepare
Practice makes perfect! Before entering into any negotiation, prepare yourself by familiarizing yourself with the topic and gathering as much information as possible about the situation.
By preparing, you can anticipate different outcomes, including potential compromises and solutions that would leave all parties satisfied..
Listen carefully
Pay attention to what the other party is saying during negotiations so you can respond properly and understand their perspective.
Understanding a colleague’s ideas also gives you more insight into what they value, so that you know what they’re willing to compromise on.
Remain Calm & Confident
Staying calm throughout negotiations can make the difference between achieving an agreement or walking away with nothing but distrust between parties.
Confidence plays an important role too. Being sure of yourself shows that you’ve thoroughly evaluated your position before entering into discussion and leaves room for compromise in order to reach a beneficial resolution for both sides.
4. Decision Making
Decision-making skills are the ability to evaluate options and make choices based on one’s own needs, values, and preferences.
Being good at decision-making means you can weigh the pros and cons of different options and make an informed decision based on the available evidence.
It’s important to remember that effective decision-making is not just about choosing the best solution, but also taking into consideration any potential consequences or limitations. Additionally, it’s important to remain open-minded in order to consider alternative options that may have been overlooked or dismissed before.
Here are some of our tips for improving your decision-making skills:
Identify the problem
The first step in improving your decision-making is to identify the problem clearly. Consider all the relevant information available and determine what exactly needs to be decided upon. This will help focus your energy on solving the right issue.
Gather data
Gathering data is essential for making good decisions. Research the issue you need to tackle thoroughly and consider different perspectives by talking to people who have knowledge about the subject or who may be affected by it. This can provide helpful insight into possible courses of action and potential outcomes.
Consider all possibilities
Take time to consider every option before making a decision. Think about what each option would involve, including potential challenges, risks, and rewards that could result from making a choice.
Considering possibilities allows you to weigh pros and cons objectively before making any decisions.
Make Your Decision
Once you’ve weighed all possible options, it’s time to make a decision! Be confident in your choice and trust that it’s been made with careful consideration. Keep in mind that not all decisions are permanent, as they can always be reviewed or revised if necessary in response to changing conditions or circumstances.
5. Trust-building
Trust-building skills are the abilities and qualities that allow a person to develop strong and lasting relationships with others.
These skills include the ability to empathize, communicate clearly and effectively, and demonstrate reliable behavior.
Here are some tips for developing stronger trust-building skills:
Empathy
The capacity to understand how someone else feels is essential in building trust.
Being able to view situations from another person’s perspective can help you respond with compassion instead of judgment and make people feel heard and understood. Additionally, it allows for more meaningful conversations as you have a better understanding of what might be causing someone to react a certain way.
Reliability
Show up when you say you will, do what you promise, and strive for consistency in your actions. Demonstrating reliability helps build trust not only by showing people that their needs are important but also by creating an atmosphere of dependability where everyone is more comfortable taking risks together.
Self-awareness
It is important to be aware of how you come across to other people and the impact of your words and actions on those around you. By taking a step back, self-reflecting, and being honest with yourself about your own emotions and reactions, it’ll be easier to understand what other people are feeling in a given situation.
Active listening
Active listening requires being present in conversations with others and giving them your full attention.
This includes not just hearing what someone is saying but actively trying to comprehend their point of view without passing judgment or making assumptions. This helps build trust as it shows the other person that they have your support and that their ideas are valued.
Honesty
Being honest with yourself, as well as others, is essential in building trust. Make sure that you communicate accurate information while also being careful not to take advantage of the trust that has been placed in you.
Showing respect for others’ feelings, beliefs, and boundaries will go a long way in developing lasting relationships based on mutual trust.
