Top 10 Teamwork Skills Before You Get Hired

Polina Syvolotska
Nov 20, 2020
3 min read

Updated: Nov 29, 2020

Candidates with strong teamwork skills are sought out by employers for many reasons—they demonstrate leadership, collaboration, and good communication, among other things. Employers expect employees to be team players. Teamwork is required for almost every industry, ranging from business solutions to information technology to food services.

This is true even if it seems like your job is best suited for an independent worker. You may perform the bulk of your job duties alone, but you should be able to think of your work in the context of the company’s broader goals and communicate your accomplishments to other people within the organization.

What Are Teamwork Skills?

Regardless of your role, you need to be able to work well with others and convey your teamwork skills to hiring managers, recruiters, and prospective employers. Scan any job listing, and you’ll see that even ads that seek “self-starters” also inevitably use the phrase “team player.” Those who have teamwork skills like communication and a positive attitude can help a team be more productive.

Types of Teamwork Skills

Below is a list of the most important teamwork skills that employers seek in candidates. Develop these skills and emphasize them in job applications, resumes, cover letters, and interviews. Make sure to emphasize the specific skills that are mentioned in your job description, but feel free to round out your application by mentioning others that may apply.

To give your examples maximum impact, try to include quantifiable statistics like numbers, percentages, or dollar figures. This data can show the tangible results of your efforts.

Communication

Being a good team member means clearly communicating your ideas with the group. You must be able to convey information via phone, email, and in person. You want to make sure your tone is always professional but friendly. Both verbal and nonverbal communication are important when working within a group setting.

Advising
Collaboration
Contributing
Coordination
Creativity
Creative Thinking
Give Feedback
Goal Setting
Guidance
Influencing
Language
Management
Persuading
Research
Team Management
Teaching
Verbal Communication
Visual Communication
Written Communication

Conflict Management

An important teamwork skill is being able to mediate problems between team members. You need to be able to negotiate with your team members to settle disputes and make sure everyone is happy with the team’s choices.

Collaborative
Conflict Management
Cooperation
Critical Thinking
Defining Problems
Empathy
Flexibility
High Emotional Intelligence
Leadership
Listening
Logic
Logical Argument
Logical Thinking
Mediation
Negotiating
Problem Solving
Team Building
Team Building Activities

Listening

Another important part of communication is listening. You must be able to listen to the ideas and concerns of your peers in order to be an effective team member. By asking questions for clarification, demonstrating concern, and using nonverbal cues, you can show your team that you care and that you understand their ideas or concerns.

Active Listening
Ask Clarifying Questions
Attentive
Critical Thinking
Eye Contact
Give Feedback
Group Decision Making
Hearing Concerns
Interpreting
Listening
Nonverbal Communication
Open Mind
Patience
Relaxed
Receive Feedback
Summarize

Reliability

You want to be a reliable team member so that your coworkers can trust you with time-sensitive tasks and company information. Make sure you stick to deadlines and complete any assigned work. This will help you gain your colleagues’ trust.

Commitment
Community Building
Confidence
Confidence Building
Dependability
Flexibility
Helpfulness
Honesty
Leadership
Multitasking
Participation
Perform Tasks
Responsibility
Team Oriented
Task Management
Trust

Respectfulness

People will be more open to communicating with you if you convey respect for them and their ideas. Simple actions like using a person's name, making eye contact, and actively listening when a person speaks will make your team members feel appreciated.

Acknowledging Others
Encouragement
Expanding Ideas
Interpersonal
Motivation
Opinion Exchange
Oral Communication
Patience
Positive Attitude
Relationship Building
Sharing Credit
Support
Team Player
Tact
Understanding Feelings

More Teamwork Skills

Here are additional teamwork skills for resumes, cover letters, job applications, and interviews. Required skills will vary based on the job for which you're applying, so also review our list of skills listed by job and type of skill.