Real World: Teamwork Skills are in Demand

Real Grads. Real Advice. Real Stories. Real World
Teamwork Skills are in Demand

Quintessential Careers conducts ongoing research into the job-search experience of new college graduates as they enter "The Real World." Go to the Real World Home Page.

If there was one area most survey respondents agree on it's the importance or teamwork, with new graduates giving varying degrees of credit to their college coursework for preparing them with teamwork skills.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I am glad I had those team projects. They helped we to understand how to communicate with my 'different' co-workers and understand their views when solving a problem."
-- Anonymous

"School always said teamwork is always used in the 'real world'. I find it to be true. If it takes four hours for you to do a project ... with two or three people working on it you can get it done in an hour."
-- Anonymous

"The teamwork skills gained from group projects is probably the No. 1 advantage I had over my coworkers. Although I was missing the some of the technical knowledge other people had, I could communicate and work with other people to drive through to solutions. I feel like this skill helped me get promoted early. I saw the same results with other Stetson University business-school graduates where I work."
-- general-business grad

"College was the ultimate test of teamwork, and nine out of 10 jobs require you to work with other people. If you aren't willing to compromise how you work to fit the needs of others, you're probably not going to make it very far."
-- broadcast news grad

"Lots of teamwork and general people skills are needed. College generally prepared me for this, but I wasn't aware of the politics of the biz world until I got here!"
-- Anonymous

"Teamwork skills are expected and demanded in my job. Being in sales requires me to communicate/work with pretty much every department in my company."
-- Ali von Staudach, communication studies grad

"Teamwork is very important in the workplace, especially with regard to how you communicate with the people you work with. My college education was OK for preparing me to participate in a team; however, I would have liked to have more group projects with an emphasis on presentations."
-- Anonymous

"People that can't work in teams don't last long in my line of work."
-- Brad Peska, computer information systems grad

"Definitely my job wouldn't happen without teamwork. College was more individual for my studies, and it took some adjusting for me to learn how to adjust well in a team environment, because I have a very dominant, individual personality."
-- political philosophy grad

"A lot of work is project-based, where you have anywhere from four to 10 different people staffed on a project. It is critical that you can handle your amount of work as well as be able to interact with all members of your team, including your boss."
-- marketing grad

"Teamwork skills are demanded on the job. I wish I had more psychology classes. They might have helped me better understand the people side of the business."
-- finance grad

"Teamwork is definitely required, and although my education partially prepared me for it, previous jobs and work-related experiences had more of an impact."
-- Anonymous

"Teamwork skills are a must at my job. The many group projects really gave me a taste for how to deal with group dynamics."
-- Margaret Goodwin, management grad

"Teamwork skills are critical. My college education prepared me somewhat through group projects."
-- Anonymous

"There are few positions that don't require teamwork on some level. I work with developers, producers, client operations, sales, and executive leadership. Teamwork is expected. If you can't work well with others you're never going to make it very far."
-- Bryan Stoehs, communication studies grad

"Each of my employers have stressed the importance of teamwork!"
-- Anonymous business-school grad

"Dealing with various personalities is something that can make or break you."
-- J.P. Politano, management grad

"Yes, we have a lot of teamwork. My college education required us to work in teams, doing things together. That is not like anything we do at work. No, I don't think the teamwork exercises helped a lot."
-- Anonymous

"The real world is all about how you interact with other people. In school, I learned to work with all kinds of personalities, and I have already seen mirror images of many of these personalities."
-- Charles L. Sano, sports administration grad

"Teamwork is essential for my job. You work with so many different organizations and personalities that teamwork is the only way to get things done the right way."
-- Anonymous

"There is undoubtedly someone you will work with that you will not get along with; learning to deal with different personality types is crucial in career development."
-- international business grad

"College did not prepare me at all to deal in teamwork situations. Thank goodness my previous military service did."
-- history grad

"Teamwork is so important, but I think that comes with job experience. The more part-time jobs you have while you are attending college, the better you will be able to handle 'the real world.' Just remember that teamwork is great, but learn to be conservative in the amount of chatting you do with co-workers. Keep the volume down so as not to disturb other co-workers and stay off the phone. Bosses will notice this!"
-- Anonymous

"Teamwork is paramount between teachers and administration. My coursework included more than adequate preparation in this area."
-- education grad

"My college education did well to prepare me for teamwork situations. We worked often as a team on class projects, so I feel comfortable going into the working world and being a team player."
-- Anonymous

"Having excellent interpersonal teamwork skills is a career requirement. College prepares you, but the real experience comes when actually working with people in the environments."
-- Anonymous

"Just like in college ... someone has to be the go-getter. You have to take action sometimes and you have to see what the rest of the group can do sometimes. College did help me get used to dealing with all types."
-- general-business major

"Teamwork skills are definitely important in the work force and were NOT taught at college."
-- Anonymous

"Teamwork is essential to any job. Yes, my liberal-arts education prepared me for that."
-- English grad

"There is a lot of individual work in my job, but it is necessary to get input from everyone else in the company. The ability to interact effectively with others is a skill that is very necessary. I believe I was well prepared for that."
-- marketing and Japanese grad

"When consulting with clients and helping them with organizational-development interventions or projects, teamwork is required. Teamwork is an integral part of the leadership training I received at Regent."
-- Mario Teixeira, MA grad in organizational leadership

"Teamwork skills are a must in any profession. Life prepared me for this."
-- education grad

"All of my previous positions required teamwork. It is as crucial as your professional skills. You've got to understand that even people of the same nationality and religion are very different. In teamwork there is no place to say that something is absolutely white and other is absolutely black. You shouldn't impose your strategic values to others, especially when you manage even a small group of people. I don't remember who told me this, but life is only 10 percent how you make it, and 90 percent how you take it. So just bear in mind, that no matter how smart you are, there'll always be someone who is wiser than you actually are. And there is always something to learn, even from those who are much younger than you."
-- Anonymous

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Real Grads. Real Advice. Real Stories. Real World Teamwork Skills are in Demand

Quintessential Careers conducts ongoing research into the job-search experience of new college graduates as they enter "The Real World." Go to the Real World Home Page.

Go back to The Real World Home Page.

Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills! Take advantage of The Quintessential Careers Content Index, which enables site visitors to locate articles, tutorials, quizzes, and worksheets in 35 career, college, job-search topic areas.

Real Grads. Real Advice. Real Stories. Real World
Teamwork Skills are in Demand