Beyond the Company Softball Team:
Current Market Perspectives on Student-Athletes
By Molly Sunderdick, Writer for EmployingAthletes.com
It's no secret that in a vulnerable job market, presenting oneself as something different and better is no longer desirable; it is necessary. Student-athletes need to both recognize the opportunity and respond resourcefully to this demand. Because, according to employers and recruiting specialists, it's not only in the presentation, it's in the proof. How does one utilize their experience as a student-athlete to both differentiate from and levitate above other candidates?
Ironically, one of the best ways for student-athletes to differentiate themselves is to find common ground with employers, exposing the parallels between their athletic achievements and their goals for their professional experience. In support of this tactic, Sue Cole, current principal at Granville Capital, Inc., a privately-owned investment firm catering to high-net-worth investors, suggests, "It's a fact. Businesspeople tend to love relating to athletes. The lessons you learn as an athlete are almost impossible to duplicate elsewhere, but a work environment comes the closest." Simply stated, employers want you to wow them with the ability to bring the two worlds together.
To that point, however, employers may or may not choose to recognize student-athletes as their own unique brand. The ways in which student-athletes can communicate and utilize this brand is to cite their transferable skills - a main point of differentiation among other candidates. Tucker Peterson, Area Manager at AQUENT, the world's largest marketing placement firm for the last 20 years, says, "When touting yourself as a college athlete, set the skills learned from the athletic experience from the beginning - the ability to lead, work within a team, multitask, prioritize. These things give you something to differentiate yourself from other candidates. And that is always the overall goal of an interview."
Student-athletes need to be prepared to recognize and apply transferable skills during the interview process and must provide hypothetical situations highlighting the longevity and sustainability of these transferable skills within the workplace. "Research the company with which you are interviewing, and always be prepared to relate your skills directly to that company or industry," says Trevor Kurtzman, Recruiting Specialist for DL Ryan Companies. There are several ways student-athletes can relate their skills, and the more creative and applicable, the better. For example, one particular hot-button for student-athletes to push within the workplace is upward mobility, or leadership positions. Charity Cescolini, an Account Manager with Sapphire Technologies, the fourth largest IT staffing firm in the U.S. says, "I believe student-athletes in particular can easily grow into management because they know how to motivate, inspire and work with others at a higher level."
Oddly enough, it is often employers who recognize athletic achievements on a resume rather than the student-athlete themselves. "They don't usually use it as a point of interest, and they don't leverage it much because they are often told not to appear 'caught in the past.' But in reality, when it comes to working in certain industries, simply stated, athletes just 'get it.' It's a specific population with a lot of value," says Blake Sasaki, Senior Account Executive of Business Development with the San Francisco 49ers. With this in mind, student-athletes need to drop their ill-advised reservations and own their elite status with confidence. With parallels drawn, skills transferred and confidence gained, however, the sale of the student-athlete is only half complete.
Surprise, surprise: being unique like everyone else is not good enough. What makes student-athletes better? Sue Cole continues, "Overall what we look for in the financial industry-and I'm sure many other industries would concur-is the total package. Nothing less." The concept of the total package employee is what really seals the deal and what separates great candidates from good candidates, the starters from the second-string. Selling oneself to a potential employer as a utility player, one who is fully-equipped to get the job done better, faster and more accurate regardless of the given circumstances, is overall the most important tactic a student-athlete can execute, especially in securing an entry-level position.
Demonstrating a comprehensive set of skills and traits is especially important for student-athletes due to a tendency to appear polarized to employers. Danielle O'Neil, Recruiter for Trak Legal, says, "Student athletes either seem to be totally on top of their game with grades, experience, work ethic-or entirely green and struggling to figure out the world beyond athletics. There tends not to be too much of a middle ground." Not to say that many employers would pull the "dumb jock" card, but the vulnerability of student-athletes who lack the relevant work experience is apparent. O'Neil continues, "Employers need quantitative information like GPAs, measurable experience within the field. If athletics is all they have, the candidate will appear out of tune." So what does the student-athlete need to do to appear "in tune?" In short: Everything. Grades, athletics, relevant work experience, and transferable skills.
Is the total-package deal a realistic and reasonable expectation from employers? If student-athletes, who truly pay their dues in many ways to their programs, are provided with proper tools and counsel by their athletic departments, then yes, these expectations can be achieved. Blake Sasaki confirms, "The athletic department should make life skills and career support top priorities." As a resource, athletic departments need to cover all aspects of career development, scheduling, internships and networking opportunities.
In fact, one commonly overlooked aspect of a student-athlete's potential is the use of their "off-season" time. Sue Cole adds, "Internships? Make it work. If class scheduling is possible, so is an internship. Athletes need to be more aware of how to best use off-season time. Someone needs to provide this guidance so time isn't wasted or misused."
Thus, in reaction to an economy that is trying to squeeze water from a stone and to the climbing demands of potential employers, student-athletes need to own, translate and proliferate themselves as an extension of the NCAA brand. A brand that is defined by: Learning. Balance. Spirit. Community. Fair play. Character. Or, simply-stated, the total package deal.
NOTE:
Advertise your products, services and/or employment opportunities (full-time, part-time, or internships) to current and former student-athletes through employingathletes.com. Contact Dennis Wisco at 310-933-1390 or email him at wisco@employingathletes.com. Advertising prices range as low as $200 to $1,500.
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