How To Leverage Your Experience As A Student-Athlete
Oftentimes when student athletes graduate college, they struggle finding jobs because a majority of their time has been spent focused on academic success, traveling, training, and becoming the best athlete they can be. Yes, internships and a strong network are two of the most important aspects in finding your first gig. However, as a college tennis player, I know that there are ways to leverage your experience as a student-athlete to beef up your application.
Competitive Mindset
To be honest, the word ‘competitive’ can sometimes be misunderstood. Someone who is competitive may be perceived as angry, hard to work with, and tense. That isn’t always the case! A student-athlete understands what it means to be a healthy competitor. We know that being competitive is all about bettering ourselves everyday through hours of practice to perform at our best. It’s about staying in the game as long as we can and having a growth mindset.
One day, I came back from losing a match in high school and my dad was driving me home. I asked him, “I don’t know why I lost that match dad! I was trying so hard to win! I wanted it so badly!” He said to me, “You weren’t playing to win, you were playing not to lose.” That has stuck with me ever since. Someone with a competitive mindset approaches everyday with a winning attitude to better themselves and move the team forward.
To leverage this, talk about in your competitive mindset in your interviews and at networking events! For example, “Well, I was a student-athlete at X college and through that experience I really learned how to maintain a competitive mindset to build a winning attitude everyday.” Explain to folks that your ability to compete translates to the working world because you don’t get knocked down, become a sore loser, or rejoice proudly over wins. You temper your emotions and win through constant and consistent improvement.
Teamwork
This might be the most important skill you can leverage. There are very few people in the world that work completely by themselves. Throughout your career, a majority of that time will be spent working with or managing a team. College athletes live and breathe this everyday! On my team, we practice together, eat together, travel together, and compete together. Bottom line, we are family. Each of us contribute to a bigger goal, winning and representing our school well. When one of us is struggling, we lift each other up. If someone succeeds, the team celebrates. If a teammate makes a mistake, we hold them accountable. Most importantly, all of us have fun! We LOVE the grind and making memories together.
In this capacity, business is no different. I would argue that the most successful businesses are the ones that have teams who treat each other like family. The best teams are built on trust, good communication, loyalty, respect, and humility. I truly believe that most athletes can easily implement their teamwork capabilities into the workplace. Highlight your athletic status on your resume, write about your ability to lift up team members in your resume, work it into an interview. I promise, you will stand out.
Resilience
No one wins all the time. As athletes, we know what it is like to lose, learn, and start back 100% the next day. This is a very important quality to have in any industry or career. Knowing how to manage the bad days, take hard financial hits, deal with difficult people, and accept criticism is vital to success. Every successful athlete understands that failures build resilience which sets an example for teammates and allows coaches to do their jobs more easily.
Leverage this skill in an interview and say, “I think I could be a great addition to your team in X department because, through my experience as a student athlete, I am resilient to change and difficult situations. I am very confident in my ability to bounce back gracefully from hard setbacks, accept feedback, and show up the next day 100%.” The person interviewing you will be very impressed!
Goal-oriented
Athletes have goals. They could be off-season goals for training, in-season goals, or mindset-related. Similarly, every organization has goals. They could be related to several different things but regardless of the goal itself, hiring someone who knows how to set goals and achieve them is a smart move.
In your interviews and networking events, talk about your ability to be goal-driven! For example, “My freshman year at X college on the Y team, I came in with a goal. By senior year, I wanted to become a captain. After years of hard work on the field, establishing leadership qualities, and maintaining my grades, I have succeeded in that!”
Time Management
All student-athletes are incredibly busy. Time management is not an option, it is a necessity. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to juggle all the homework, classes, 5 a.m. workouts, practices, games, volunteer work, and travel time. In the working world, time management is also crucial to success. Having the ability to calmly organize, delegate, mitigate stress, and avoid procrastination will allow you to be more productive and add more value to your team. In an interview, leverage this by providing examples of how you utilize time management skills in your day-to-day life.
