[Ravensong]

Have a great group of players, they're really invested in their characters, we meet often, and are all having a good time. Looking to design a serious of runs of one particular type [extractions, wetwork, etc] so that the players can get the chance to build a solid team rep, before shaking things up a bit.

Any suggestions on how to work with the players to chose a team specialty?

[Walks Through Walls]

It sounds like they have gone on several runs already. What types did they excel at in those sessions? What types of runs do the players enjoy the most?

I would start with those two questions.
Is there a reason the group needs to have a specialty? A group that can get any job done can be just as valuable if not more so. Is it something the characters want, the players, or you as GM? Not saying there is anything wrong with it just curious since I haven't seen this type of question before.

[Namikaze]

Stolen Souls introduced a lot of good info on extractions.  If you're interested in trying to scale up the difficulty a bit, and encourage some really clever thinking, I love doing extraction runs.  And if they get into a rut with those, there's always a hundred ways to ruin a good extraction.  And then there are the one-offs that every campaign needs - games that aren't connected to the overall story, but give the players a chance to immerse themselves in the world still.

That said, it really depends on the personalities of your players.  If they like being very black trenchcoat, then extractions, infiltrations, data thefts can all be excellent as they're low-profile jobs.  If they're more pink mohawk, then assassinations, destruction runs, and the like are better for them.  Most players will fall somewhere in the middle.  Find out which direction the team leans, and figure out how much.  If they lean 60% black trenchcoat, then give approximately 60% of their missions the black trenchcoat treatment.  The remaining 40% will want to be pink mohawk in nature.

When in doubt, extractions make up a good backbone for most missions.  And there's a LOT of ways the extraction can go wrong (suddenly making a black trenchcoat mission into pink mohawk).  Thus, I like extractions a lot.

[Ravensong]

Cheers, Walks Through Walls and Namikaze.

The group seems decided upon Extraction and Retrieval. The previous runs were hit and miss. Some went well, others were mild disasters. Bounty Hunting went well for the group. Had a few runs like that. One was live capture, the other was a wetwork head hunt.

The group wants to raise their game to the next level. Racking up a series of successes in row seems to be part of the building rep thin. Seems like it worked. Helped solidify the group's identity and focus. Group is called "The Bondsmen" Extraction and Retrieval. Motto: "We Deliver".

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Ideally, building a good rep will be more than just success - it'll have to do with how much they talk, as well as how well they toe the Johnson's line.  If they get the guy, but the Johnson wanted it quiet while they blew big holes in the facility walls, then they failed, even though they 'succeeded'.  If they blab a lot about the run they just did, who they did it for, etc., well, again - black trenchcoat vs. pink mohawk.  (Or even pink trenchcoat, where it's okay to talk up your successes, so long as you get it done smoothly and with a surfeit of style.)

Another good suggestion - especially for a 'catcher' team - is for them to keep their heads up and ears open for potential jobs before someone hires them for them.  They might hear that Sally Strouthers has just gone on the lam for the umpteenth time, and so instead of getting hired by Renraku or Kops'R'Us for yet another retrieval, they could go hunt her down and have her stashed in the van.  Johnson gives them a ring, they take the job, and turn around and put her in his hands inside of 30 minutes.  Makes an impression ...

[pariah3j]

Wyrm - I see that backfiring also. Wait - you had Sally already but you didn't kidnap her ? Riiiight - shoot them now please. 

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Everything can backfire.  It's the GM's decision whether or not something does so - whether or not a Johnson is an asshole, or paranoid, or what the opposition is, etc.  In a realistic world, though, you make your reputation by already being on the job before you're contracted to be so.