Norb Mayrhofer focuses on teamwork and managing expectations. He discusses strategies on how professionals can stand out in a team environment, and the importance of taking initiative.

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How can a young employee stand out in a team environment? Norb says that the most important thing is for the employee to understand the ultimate goal: to make the team successful. Productive teams have a good combination of leaders and followers and a well-balanced delegation of tasks. The employee should be aligned with the team’s overall mission and understand what needs to get done, and take responsibility for appropriate parts of the team’s work, whether leading or following. Also, a good team player is someone who proactively goes out of his or her way in order to solve the smaller problems so that the larger goal of the team can be accomplished. The traits of a good leader include being able to delegate well and ensuring that others understand the goals of the team and are putting in their best effort. A good follower does everything he or she can do in order to make the leader successful. If what the leader or boss expects of an employee is unclear, that employee should ask for clarification to avoid wasting time and money. Finally, in order for an employee to stand out in a group, he or she must understand that opportunities aren’t always given. The employee therefore needs to be innovative and take initiative in seeing the bigger problems and the challenges and solve them in a way that others can learn from.

Wendy Spelman discusses the importance of an internship and how to effectively get technical skills across in an interview. She also touches upon the importance of teamwork at the start a new career.

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Wendy explains that experienced interviewers look for specific qualities from candidates during an interview. Companies often look for the same set of skills in interns and full time employees. An employee needs to balance leadership skills and working on a team; they need to know when to lead and when to follow. Wendy suggests putting an emphasis on establishing a role as a member of the team first, then moving into a leadership role. At companies like Kraft, interns often become full time employees. This happens when the intern and the company are compatible with each other.
 
When interviewing prospective employees, Kraft looks for technical science skills, best demonstrated through past work and intern experiences. When new employees are hired, they are paired with a buddy to assist with the initial transition. When an employees chooses her career path, she also chooses a mentor to further develop all of the necessary technically skills.

Diane Darling dispels common myths about networking, and explains how students and young professionals can use networking to get ahead. She discusses what people should be doing in order to effectively network, and states why young people need to give themselves more credit for networking than they do.

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Diane defines networking in two ways: building relationships before you need them, and the transference of trust. When you are trying to network, you should focus on what the other person can gain from making contact with you. It should be a symbiotic relationship, rather than just transactional. Diane encourages students to always research guests that are visiting campus, and to go through a faculty member to make alumni connections. Diane also emphasizes the importance of having an online presence, such as on Facebook and LinkedIn. Students should also purchase the domain for their name and set up a simple one-page website.
How do students overcome nerves when networking? Diane says that students should practice by networking with less important people first. Students could also try taking an acting workshop to become more comfortable with speaking in public. Diane also notes that students are getting a lot more experience in networking than they give themselves credit for, such as in group projects. She suggests finding a “networking buddy,” who is interested in the same industry, but who has complimentary skills. Finally, Diane reminds students to help people connect with each other, and to make an effort to stay in touch with contacts.