Non-baseball Job Recruiting

quote:

Originally posted by Backstop-17:
17 was preparing a project today for his management class before he leaves for vacation. The assignment:

Do a complete SWOT anaylysis, competitive market anaylsis, resume, cover letter for your plans on securing a job AS IF you were ready for graduation. Basically, show how he would approach a specific company for a specific job, and all the research that goes into doing so.

He was fine until he got it completed - looked at his resume and said to me "You know, all the work experience on my resume is baseball related (camps I have worked, away from home 2 summers playing baseball, team captain, etc.), this will not cut it when it comes time to the real job search. While the assignment has been a pain in the arse, this shows me my real weakness - real world experience outside of baseball. What am I going to do?"

I commented to him that maybe an internship before he graduates will help.

For all those out there who have hired or interviewed college athletes - what is your take?

I found myself talking with a local parent the other day, whose daughter (a softball player) went to the same school my son current goes to. She was able to do her internships in the summer, and landed a job fairly quickly, where as my son is playing summer ball. He was only home 3 weeks last summer and it looks to be about the same this summer. Where does it all fit in? Most employers need to see some "real life experience" and just not baseball.

I think the idea in this thread is absolutely outstanding and I am hoping that it takes off.

I'd like to focus on the other side of the coin for a second. Employers, generally speaking, should be well aware of the commitment it takes to play a college sport. The time management, ability to work as a team (specifically pertaining to baseball) and consistent commitment to a particular craft are aspects that are incredibly appealing in my opinion. Adaptability, group cohesiveness and work ethic are three transparent qualities that I believe are crucial when job searching. So as an employer, I would hope that the baseball dominance would be viewed as a passion that is filled with dedication and love, and that those attributes would be positively correlated with future job placement.

A SWOT Analysis, like Backstop outlined, is the portion of a resume in which subjectivity is highlighted. And in the unique case of a student-athlete looking for a job, I believe an employer would take special notice for those subjective characteristics.

I was at Stanford a little over a year ago talking with Coach Stotz. The conversation came around to what his players do after graduation. He told me that he gets calls from all kinds of companies looking for his players. Why; because they are disciplined, hard working, team players. They know how to think on their feet and they expect the best of themselves and work towards achieving results.

Young men that play college baseball and graduate will be successful. The bigger question is what to they need to do to get that first opportunity?

Backstop,

I see where you are coming from, I had to fill something out for school the other day and one of the things you had to do was list all of your out of school activities. I had 2 years of high school baseball, 2 years of summer baseball, and 2 years of fall baseball. That's what I do, I play baseball.

quote:

Originally posted by ILVBB:
I was at Stanford a little over a year ago talking with Coach Stotz. The conversation came around to what his players do after graduation. He told me that he gets calls from all kinds of companies looking for his players. Why; because they are disciplined, hard working, team players. They know how to think on their feet and they expect the best of themselves and work towards achieving results.

Young men that play college baseball and graduate will be successful. The bigger question is what to they need to do to get that first opportunity?

With a Stanford degree not much.

quote:

Originally posted by ILVBB:
I was at Stanford a little over a year ago talking with Coach Stotz. The conversation came around to what his players do after graduation. He told me that he gets calls from all kinds of companies looking for his players. Why; because they are disciplined, hard working, team players. They know how to think on their feet and they expect the best of themselves and work towards achieving results.

Young men that play college baseball and graduate will be successful. The bigger question is what to they need to do to get that first opportunity?

I wonder out of the people who call someone like a Coach Stotz looking for baseball players or athletes from other sports actually played sports as well? It would seem to me that it would be a hit or miss type situation. I think in any professional / business / job setting that you find former athletes and non athletes calling the shots. In the education field some of the best administrators I've worked under were former coaches / athletes and they hired those types of people as well. I could see someone hiring for a major company being a former athlete looking for the same. The flip side being a non-athlete not realizing / recognizing the dedication aspect outlined by JH as a plus.

I don't care who you are or where you work but winners want to be surrounded by winners.

I participated in another thread where I sang the praises of college athletes in regards to how their many attributes would translate well in the workplace. I think that many HR managers would agree. Unfortunately, I also know many that would not. There are plenty of HR managers who have not been directly exposed to the rigors of college athletics and tend to view those candidates as "never having had a real job".

If you interview with the former, of course, you are in great shape. I think it is important that a student-athlete is properly prepared to handle either in an interview. If possible, one should include other types of work, internship, volunteerism or organizational involvement to round out your life balance and your resume. I'm not saying that would be easy by any means. I just think it would be ill-advised to suggest to our boys that every HR manager will "get it" regarding their background with collegiate athletics.

(Sorry, coach... I was typing while you posted. Sort of the same idea.)

My daughter played college softball. Like most kids playing college sports she did not have time to work during the year. Her first two college summers she worked retail or waitressed during the week when she wasn't practicing or playing 23U tournaments on weekends. None of it was the kind of experience that would excite a prespective employer. The jobs weren't marketable skills based on what she was looking for in a job.

Here's where the real work experience came in. She did a full fall term, full credit (and fully paid for ) internship in Washington the fall off her senior year. Everything else on her resume was academic excellence. She also won a statewide (and runner up regionally) competition that related to her professional objectives.

In her interviews she used high school and college sports to emphasize her focus and commitment to a goal and her level of competitiveness. She told them winning within the boundaries of proper ethics is the only acceptible end result. She talked about time management and organization. Basically she chose "the best of" Coach Dad's motivational cliches and sold them hard.

It took her a month to find a high paying job relative to just out of college.

My advice to any kid coming out of college: Learn to write and talk like an adult. It's a turn off to get a texted style email. It's a turnoff to hear the word "like" repeatedly in an interview.

quote:

Employers, generally speaking, should be well aware of the commitment it takes to play a college sport.

Anytime I see military or athletic experience on a cover letter and resume it gets my attention. I know I'll be interviewing someone who is irritated by the thought of losing. They are more likely to be responsible, accountable and less likely to make excuses.

Kids coming out of college in the current economic climate without work experience will have to work harder at finding a job. Many companies are looking for instant results rather than training time lag.

Plug away and don't stop plugging. Make up for lack of experience with extra effort. If anyone tries to convince you it's too hard to find a good job tune them out. Draw on the team you weren't supposed to make or the team your team was not supposed to beat for motivation. Anything is possible if you refuse to give in.

I recruit athletes ALL DAY LONG. Every major sales organization that I know does the same.

One of our members, tusk, has a blog. Ryan is now in AAA with the Nats. One of his entries deals with this very issue. Besides that entry, his entire blog is worthy of reading - entertaining and well written. WWW. Ryantatusko.Wordpress.com

quote:

this will not cut it when it comes time to the real job search

Honestly I don't see that being a disadvantage. When I hire and/or look at resumes things like "played incollegiate sports" cause me to look twice just like the resume of someone who worked their own way through college, and it gives me something to talk about when interviewing. It makes its easy to remember the applicant. What more could you ask for?

I'd like to see this question answered on a non-baseball board too. Does anyone know of any job search forums that this type of question could be posted on?

quote:

Originally posted by Sandman:
I'd like to see this question answered on a non-baseball board too. Does anyone know of any job search forums that this type of question could be posted on?

Wonderful point. On this forum we appreciate what it takes to be a college athlete. My fear and initial post were because I think that may not be the prevalent thinking in the "real world."

I have a daughter that just graduated this past year with a BA, did all kinds of internships during her time in school, as well as holding down part-time jobs. Her resume actually looked real good, and you could tell she was doing something other then school, during her time there. she ended up with an entry-level job 3 days after she graduated, and was going out on many interviews during the end of her last semester.

In comparison, my son's resume will "only" show baseball, and any part-time jobs he could find during the summer baseball leagues he plays in. I just think, by most people looking to fill a job, his resume will not be looked on as favorably.

I think it's in the eye of the beholder.

Last century, when I was in the "real world," I used to interview law students looking for summer and first year associate positions. What made the interview "easier" was to find a point of interest so you could delve beyond the resume and into the personality of the job seeker. "Resume builders - resume stuffers" were a dime a dozen. The guy/girl who played collegiate sports and then managed to get into law school were separators. I assumed that the previous work experiences - if in sports - were just a way to continue following a passion.

Afterall, what could a summer job really train/skill develop a person to do? To me, summer jobs, internships, collegiate sports, and the like, demonstrated that a person had drive (which was a critical indicator for future success) - my firm would teach them the skills needed in our business.

I'm someone who hires, so here's my take.

If what I'm looking for as an employer is experience, I am not going to hire a recent graduate.

If I'm hiring a recent graduate who has not been referred by a trusted source, I'm looking for a sign that they've done more than just go to school and get good grades. I want to see something on a resume which shows an ability to balance multiple priorities. I want to see someone who has had to work for something.

Could be someone who worked their way through college. Could be someone who has achieved a musical, scouting, sports or other level of achievement.

If you have played a sport in college but your grades stink, I won't be all that impressed. If you played a sport and still did well grade-wise, you just may be ahead of the next guy or gal.

Being a great athelete doesn't guarantee success in the work world any more than great grades will. It is those who can balance more than one thing who tend to do best.

IMHO.

The best way to get any job is to take what you have and sell it. In this case an athlete has a NON paid job that lasted four years while at the same time earning a degree. Potentially you can talk about working your way into the line and then up the line up and the effort it took on the way. Who better to talk about multi tasking, commitment and desire for success and over coming failure the a baseball player? I bet the kids who worked at the library on campus wish they had as many things to highlight in an interview!

Use your experience to your benefit. As an athlete you have what only a very small percentage of people have. You have already shown the ability to commit and succeed at a very high level. Boy, I'd think I'd be a Fortune 100 CEO if I had all those things to talk about. I was just a regular kid who worked my way through college and had a degree but no applicable experience. These kids have experience coming out their ears, they just need to know how to explain and relate it!