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Dear Oracle

A lot of fellow applicants emphasise the importance of sports when applying to firms because it shows team effort. I'm not sporty but I do volunteer for Citizens Advice and Victim Support. Is that enough to demonstrate my team skills?

The Oracle replies

It sounds like you're thinking about this issue the wrong way round. Firms don't say 'you must have captained a sports team to show your team skills'. That would be ridiculous. As you're aware you can pick up team skills doing all manner of things. Instead, what firms say is 'you must have team skills so, for example, have you captained any sports teams?' The notion is switched around and now the sports team is a mere example.

It's a standard application technique: read what the firm wants and think of a real example from your life to prove you have that skill. If the firm wants team skills, it's likely that a vast number of people have played in sports teams, so this is the obvious example. However, if you have team skills from working with Citizens Advice, then those are just as relevant as if you had been the skipper of the hockey team. Further, you can even argue that yours are particularly relevant because they're developed in a professional, legal environment.

However, there's something else to consider. Firms want more than a string of academics and relevant work experience: they want an individual, a person with hobbies and interests. Being on a sports team is just another common example of this. Playing in a band or an orchestra, painting, bell ringing, or anything that shows you are an individual and not just a bod is valuable on your application form, so make sure you have something along these lines too. Just don't take up hockey for the sake of it!

For the definitive way in which to analyse your skills (and work out which areas you need to work on), go to MySelf.