9 Giving and Taking Credit

You did hard work during your team project! You deserve credit for that. Your team members also worked hard: be sure they get credit too. Do you know those movie awards shows in which the winning actors thank everyone from their mother to their pet poodle? There is a reason for that. When you give credit to others who helped you along the way, it makes YOU look good! So celebrate your team’s success, AS A TEAM.

If you need to give a live report on your project at the end of term, the best presentations involve phrases like these:

• “Now I’d like to introduce <team member name here> who did a great job leading our <some part of your project> work.”
• ” I’d like to thank <team member name here> for really taking charge of <some part of your project> work.”
• ” The next part of our project was led by <team member name here>, and they will be next up to show you how it went.

If you look like a close-knit team, and sound like a close-knit team, people will get the idea that you really are a close-knit team. (You probably are! It’s not so easy to fake it!) Why should you care what people think about your team? Because some of those people can get you a job interview. Others can write letters of recommendation. Still others may know people who know people, and word travels. In any case, employers are sure to value the teamwork skills you learn and demonstrate in your school projects. The last thing any employer needs is a new hire who disrupts or clashes with existing work groups. The employer would much rather hire a new employee who knows how to the blend into and support any work group. Use your school group project to show future employers you are that person who knows how to work well in a group.