Companies want to hire student-athletes. The skills that make you a great athlete also make you a great employee. But how do you incorporate all you’ve learned from sports into a resume that will get you hired? Follow these tips to help your resume stand out.

Where to Put Sports Experience

Being a student-athlete is akin to working a full-time job. If you find yourself lacking in work experience, don’t worry. You can build a behavioral resume, which highlights more about who you are as a person, and your skills and qualities, rather than your work experience.

You can list your sports experience under Leadership Experience, Related Experience, or Activities headings on your resume.

Transferrable Skills

The list of transferrable skills between sports and work is long. It’s important to clearly show how your experience as an athlete will make you a better employee. Here are some key skills to make sure you have on your resume and how to include them.

Time management

As an athlete, you know how to be on time to practice, get your schoolwork done, and organize your schedule. This means employers can trust you to show up on time and get your work done. You can include this skill on your resume like this:

  • Committed 30+ hours per week to games, practices, and meetings while also maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

Coachability

The ability to take constructive criticism is important for finding success in a new position. As an athlete, you are coachable and take direction well, so employers will easily train you. You can include this quality on your resume like this:

  • Received Most Improved Award for the 2020 season
  • Worked individually with a shooting coach and improved my shooting percent from 32 to 57 percent

Teamwork and Collaboration

As part of a team, you learn to work with others to a common goal despite any differences. This is huge for finding success both on and off the court. Include this on your resume like this:

  • Organized monthly team movie nights to integrate first-year students into the group

Leadership qualities

Regardless of whether you were or weren’t a team captain, demonstrate how you showed leadership. Being a leader means you have skills, including communication and respect. Include it on your resume like this:

  • Team Captain for the 2020-2021 season
  • Organized meetings to promote good team communication and mentored new players

Other Components of Sports

Sports also provide opportunities to receive awards, coach camps, and attend seminars. Make sure to include all of these on your resume as well. An example could look like this:

  • Women’s Basketball Captain
  • Four-time Varsity Letter recipient
  • Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team 2019
  • Coached 25 young athletes in player-run summer camp
  • Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) member

Other Tips

When you’re writing a resume, always remember to use strong verbs, typically written in the past tense, including:

  • Achieved
  • Led
  • Created
  • Designed
  • Collaborated
  • Produced

Craft your resume for the job. Most companies use computers to check the resume before it reaches an actual human, so include the keywords mentioned in the job listing.

Have another person read over your resume to check for any spelling errors or punctuation mistakes. Even better if they know you well and can add to the list of awesome things to put on your resume.

Resume Examples:

Related Experience

Women’s Basketball Team, WS High School 2012-2015

  • Elected Team Captain 2015
  • League Champions 2015 | Division Champions 2013, 2014, 2015
  • Managed 15+ hours per week of practice and competition, as well as a full class schedule
  • Coached camps of 45 young athletes to help develop basketball and leadership skills
  • Devoted time to facilitate team-building activities outside of scheduled practice hours

Activities

Women’s Basketball Team, P. University, Portland 2015-2019

  • 4-year starting player
  • Leading Conference Offensive Rebounder 2018
  • All-Conference Team – Honorable Mention 2018

Overall, your experience as an athlete will speak for itself, but you want to do your best to promote yourself to future employers. Your resume is your opportunity to list all your accolades and awards, so don’t hold back.

Original article posted on stack.com

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