Are You A Teamplayer?

From 8am-4: 30pm, I work with people who are trying to get back into the workplace. One of the interview questions I constantly prepare clients for is, “Tell Me About Yourself.” This is one of the easiest and at the same time hardest questions ever. It’s easy because it’s asking about you! And who knows you better than you? At least that should be the case. It’s a hard question because not too many people know what to say, how much say, or even what to include. Those who know how to answer the question partially will simply give a laundry list of character/professional traits they believe they possess. I’ve been working with my clients on not giving the stock answers. I.e. “I’m dependable, reliable, and a team player.” Don’t get me wrong. These are admirable traits, but they mean nothing if the clients a) really don’t know what it really means or b) they just use it to sound good. One of the most popular traits clients tend to use is Team Player. My pondering leads me to, “Do people really understand what it means to be a Team Player? Do people even have a clue of what makes a team an actual team?” How a team is developed happens in 4 Crucial Stages; Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. It doesn’t matter where you go, who is on the team, sports or not, or in the church world or in the corporate world; you’ll find teams in these stages.