{"id":51280,"date":"2021-03-15T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=51280"},"modified":"2021-03-11T11:50:28","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T18:50:28","slug":"4-ways-to-display-teamwork-in-application-essays-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/4-ways-to-display-teamwork-in-application-essays-3\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways to Display Teamwork in Application Essays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Teamwork, and its close cousin, leadership<\/a>, are highly prized by graduate programs and universities. But if you haven\u2019t worked in teams on any regular basis, don\u2019t worry! There are more ways than you may realize to prove your chops in this area through an essay about teamwork. Consider the following 4 options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Remember: No man is an island<\/strong>

    Unless you\u2019ve been living alone on an island for the last several years, you have undoubtedly     participated in various groups<\/a>. You may have been a member of a sports team or dance troupe, a member of a committee on either a volunteer or workplace basis, helped to organize an event, or been a tutor, Big Brother, or Big Sister. In each case you were working with other people. Remember, even if your interaction was only with one other person, you have material to discuss in a teamwork personal statement.

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  2. Put your listening ears on
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    Teamwork and collaboration require effective listening. If you can discuss a time when you stopped to really listen to others patiently and skillfully, and explained how doing so eased tensions and increased collaboration, that will demonstrate your teamwork skills.

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  3. Discuss morale boosting and conflict resolution
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    Have you ever helped to inject excitement into a project when enthusiasm was flagging? Brainstormed an idea to strengthen a group or project? These are also examples of teamwork. You may have been a committee member and found a way to get two warring members of the committee to stop fighting and start working together. This is also  teamwork (and surely worthy of a peace prize!). Any time you took the initiative to get involved with other people\u2013especially when they are difficult\u2013to find a better way to get things done, find a middle ground, or think up a creative  new idea, it\u2019s all teamwork.

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  4. Think small
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    Effective teamwork can also be shown in very small groups. A client once wrote about her efforts to heal a serious rift in her family after her father passed away and siblings fought for control of the successful family business. An ugly succession fight was underway. The client\u2019s ability to patiently coax cooperation in such an emotionally charged environment, including her \u201cshuttle diplomacy\u201d and active listening among family members, displayed skilled teamwork and leadership. Another client wrote about having organized a trip with a few friends, and how she dealt with a dispute between two of the participants whose bickering threatened to ruin the trip for everyone. Her effective listening, and creatively figuring out an activity that both of the \u201ccombatants\u201d would not be able to resist, helped defuse the situation and save the trip from descending into a disaster for everyone. In both these situations, the \u201cteams\u201d were small but the stakes for those involved were high.
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    We hope you now see that you\u2019ve been working in teams more often than you realize! No doubt you\u2019ll have strong options to choose from when writing a teamwork personal essay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Our expert admissions advisors can help you identify your teamwork experiences and guide you as you write them\u2026or guide you on any other component of your application.\u00a0Learn more about our one-on-one Admissions Consulting Services here<\/a>.<\/strong>By Judy Gruen, former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a Master\u2019s in Journalism from Northwestern University. She\u00a0is the co-author of Accepted\u2019s first full-length book,\u00a0MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools<\/em>.\u00a0Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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