It’s the last full week of summer, Hounds! As the NFL season kicks off, MLB gets ready for playoffs, and our own Assumption athletes continue practicing and competing, sports are a hot topic this time of year. But did you know athletics can take you far beyond the field? Whether you’re a member of one of Assumption’s NCAA Division II teams or a participant in intramural sports, your athletic experience could help you win it all in your job search.
Simply put, employers want to hire athletes. Participating in sports helps someone build traits that businesses thrive upon.
Team-oriented behavior
A huge part of participating in sports and contributing positively to the workplace is being a good team member (and a respectable competitor). In sports every move you make contributes to how the team does overall. Athletes have to help each other, ask for help, and know how to work together in order to win. Employers know that athletes can work with and communicate with a wide range of people to reach a common goal.
Competitiveness
While athletes know how to work with people, they also have a drive to work hard to beat out the competition. Sometimes that means competing with another company, and sometimes it means competing with yourself to set new personal records. Someone with a healthy competitive nature is more likely to be engaged with their work than a non-competitive person. A business cannot succeed without engaged, driven employees.
Strong Work Ethic
A good manager can train anyone to do anything, but work ethic is something that needs to already be instilled in you for success. Athletes understand persistence better than most because they will work and challenge themselves (sometimes for a long time) in order to reach their goals. Employers want to hire people who will not give up simply because something is difficult or takes time to master.
Time Management Skills
Finally, employers look to hire people who can juggle multiple projects and meet deadlines. So many student athletes juggle a full course load, extracurricular activities, potentially a part-time job, and so many hours of practice and game time, all this while maintaining a qualifying GPA and staying healthy enough to play! Don’t brush off the number of hours you spend training for a sport. Being able to manage time like this puts athletes ahead of the competition in the job search because employers already know they’ll be able to get their jobs done on time.
Did you realize how these traits will transfer over into your career? The next time you land an interview, don’t be afraid to speak to the skills you’ve gained from being a student athlete because they will take you far for years to come.
