Last year, as a sophomore I remember feeling confused and stressed about several things. What do you mean I have to declare a major? I just got here. I have to find an internship? What's a resume, and is that the same as my Common App? If you find yourself at this stage, check out Sean's upcoming blog post on Friday. All of these questions bombarded me as I was taking a heavy course load while dedicating 30+ weekly hours in season and 12 hours in the off season to basketball. I felt unprepared and unable to compete with peers who had time to visit the Career Center and were able to intern in high school and the summer before freshman year.
Coach Taylor on NBC's hit show Friday Night Lights repeated a motto before every game, "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose." This mantra parallels the career approach of student athletes. Though we may not have the same time to commit to career development as other students, by emphasizing our passion and dedication for sports, we can reveal our advantages as potential job/intern candidates. This post will detail the student-athlete advantage in the job market and provide tips for resources.
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| http://goo.gl/TcZiSb "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose" |
Time Management
Through many conversations with fellow student-athletes, the issue of "time" frequently comes up as a major factor in their daily lives. As students first, we balance full time class schedules, midterms, papers and final exams alongside film sessions, travel, games, lifts and treatment. Often, it feels like time flies by without explanation. While we constantly try to fit more hours in the day, employers value the time management challenges that we face throughout college. In fact, there many reasons why potential employers value student athletes, according to Fast Company's post "Why Your Employee Should Be a Former Student Athlete". Employers value candidates who have demonstrated self-motivation and responsibility through experience, and student-athletes are perfect examples of this.
Competitiveness
Colgate University's resource, "The Athlete's Advantage," lists various attributes that student athletes have practiced their whole lives. Ironically, athletes often don't even realize they are flexing these skills. Usually athletes are so focused on the game, they fail to recognize the advantages of consistently using a goal-oriented mindset. Since many athletes on the collegiate level have been playing their respective sport for most of their lives, they have unconsciously been conditioned to excel and dedicate themselves toward certain objectives. Whether it's mastering a reverse layup, dolphin kick, sprinting, or memorizing formations, we have constantly been performing habits that demonstrate our determination to succeed as well revealing a strong work ethic. As student-athletes performing on the collegiate level, we have demonstrated that we are able to compete at this level while consistently striving to get better. This is exactly what companies are looking for in employees. Student-athletes need to learn how to articulate that competitiveness is a strength both on and off the field.
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| http://gph.to/1CHCLwW "#Determination" |
Colgate University's resource, "The Athlete's Advantage," lists various attributes that student athletes have practiced their whole lives. Ironically, athletes often don't even realize they are flexing these skills. Usually athletes are so focused on the game, they fail to recognize the advantages of consistently using a goal-oriented mindset. Since many athletes on the collegiate level have been playing their respective sport for most of their lives, they have unconsciously been conditioned to excel and dedicate themselves toward certain objectives. Whether it's mastering a reverse layup, dolphin kick, sprinting, or memorizing formations, we have constantly been performing habits that demonstrate our determination to succeed as well revealing a strong work ethic. As student-athletes performing on the collegiate level, we have demonstrated that we are able to compete at this level while consistently striving to get better. This is exactly what companies are looking for in employees. Student-athletes need to learn how to articulate that competitiveness is a strength both on and off the field.
Communication & Teamwork
It goes without saying that communication and teamwork are two of the most important attributes an employee can have. Working towards a common goal with a group of people is something many athletes have experience with. Even if you are in an individual sport, executing tasks assigned by coaching staff (being coachable) while exhibiting personal responsibility are qualities all athletes share. Being able to receive critical feedback is also an important asset that athletes bring. We've all had coaches throughout the years who give feedback in different ways. Whether it was harsh, lacking, or just right, we have been able to take the critique and use it as motivation toward self improvement and reaching our goals. According to a Forbes interview with Douglas Stone, managing partner at Triad Consulting and lecturer at Harvard Law School, feedback is often described in sports vernacular. Being able to take feedback is very critical in the workplace, as employers don't want to "baby" candidates or have an employee who can't take criticism. An employee who is a "team player" who is also able to coach is highly valued within business. This is due to the duality of skills: being able to take and apply critique, while also being able to observe and provide advice toward helping colleagues.
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| http://gph.to/1vBaWUY "Group hug y'all" |
It goes without saying that communication and teamwork are two of the most important attributes an employee can have. Working towards a common goal with a group of people is something many athletes have experience with. Even if you are in an individual sport, executing tasks assigned by coaching staff (being coachable) while exhibiting personal responsibility are qualities all athletes share. Being able to receive critical feedback is also an important asset that athletes bring. We've all had coaches throughout the years who give feedback in different ways. Whether it was harsh, lacking, or just right, we have been able to take the critique and use it as motivation toward self improvement and reaching our goals. According to a Forbes interview with Douglas Stone, managing partner at Triad Consulting and lecturer at Harvard Law School, feedback is often described in sports vernacular. Being able to take feedback is very critical in the workplace, as employers don't want to "baby" candidates or have an employee who can't take criticism. An employee who is a "team player" who is also able to coach is highly valued within business. This is due to the duality of skills: being able to take and apply critique, while also being able to observe and provide advice toward helping colleagues.
Leadership
Whether you're a captain of your team or not, student-athletes are natural leaders. Knowing one's own strengths while being aware of others strengths helps to make teams more successful. At one point or another, athletes find themselves in situations where the opportunity for leadership is presented. Understanding your teammates and being able to create a successful combination of differing skill sets on the court, field, or rink is a highly specialized skill that is transferable to the workplace. Creating strategy and executing tasks among teammates reveals your leadership capabilities to recruiters, will give you an advantage in the application process.
Whether you're a captain of your team or not, student-athletes are natural leaders. Knowing one's own strengths while being aware of others strengths helps to make teams more successful. At one point or another, athletes find themselves in situations where the opportunity for leadership is presented. Understanding your teammates and being able to create a successful combination of differing skill sets on the court, field, or rink is a highly specialized skill that is transferable to the workplace. Creating strategy and executing tasks among teammates reveals your leadership capabilities to recruiters, will give you an advantage in the application process.
Involvement
Here are tips for athletes looking to gaining even more experience and skills through organizations on campus. Athletes should leverage their role to gain leadership experience in the community, on campus, and even among their peers. I recommend the following organizations for student-athletes looking to get involved in activities that are more flexible for a packed student-athlete schedule and popular among current and former Tufts athletes:
- SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee)
- This is a group of athletes representing varsity sports and club sports that meet weekly to promote Tufts Athletics on and off campus. Every team has two representatives on the Committee that work within sub-committees to address tasks pertaining to student-athlete life and the promotion of the image of Tufts Athletics
- Sub-commitees include: Fan the Fire, Community Engagement, Social Media and Promotions, SAAC Development, and Sportsmanship and Policy
- Team IMPACT
Here is Tufts University Women's Basketball with our Teammate Shannon Curley - This is an organization started by 5 Tufts undergraduates and a Fletcher alumni to pair collegiate teams with children battling life-threatening diseases. They were honored this year at the Tufts Athletics Ceremony in September for their efforts.
- Seven teams on campus are currently involved in Team IMPACT and of course, the organization is looking for more teams to join. Working with this organization demonstrates interest in community service and a leadership/mentor role.
- Fan the Fire
- Fan the Fire is one of the more well-known student run organizations on campus to promote Tufts Athletics events and the image of "One Tufts".
- Volunteering for Fan the Fire events is open to all students, and represents a very flexible opportunity to engage in volunteering and to reach out to the Tufts community on and off campus.
- Special Olympics
- This is an organization involved with Tufts that organizes Special Olympic events and clinics on Tufts campus.
- They are always looking for volunteers for organizing and working the events. It's a great opportunity for those with previous experience in Special Olympics and also those interested in volunteering.
- Level the Field
- Another organization with ties to Tufts alumni, this group started a few years ago in connection with the Somerville Community Schools. They provide short lessons on Friday mornings to teach local children the important qualities of being a student athlete, provide mentor opportunities and organize sports clinics.
- Level the Field occurs every Friday morning and athletes carpool to schools to meet with students. There are different time slots that you can sign up for every week, thus allowing you to create connections with certain classrooms.
Here are some Level the Field volunteers and Somerville students - F.I.T (Pre-Orientation for Fitness and Individual Development at Tufts)
- This is for those who are going to be on campus early and are interesting in helping first year students get settled on campus and learn about the fitness and health opportunities on Tufts campus.
- You get to meet freshman and educate them on what Tufts is all about, while getting some swaggy gear.
Alumni Athlete Opportunities & Networking
If you are a first year or sophomore athlete looking for internships and networking connections, reach out to coaches and teammates. Teammates can use their own internship experiences to help you figure out what type of internship may be right for you. Also, teammates may be willing to share with you their professional connections, who can provide advice for next steps in your career path. Coaches are always great sources of networking and opportunities because of their connections to alumni in various fields. Be sure to join various student-athlete networking databases, including the NCAA Career Network and Alumni Athlete Career Networks (your connections do not have to be limited to alumni of Tufts or NESCAC). You can also search for former college athletes through the Tufts Career Advisory Network. The alumni in this database have volunteered to talk with you, and many alumni are searchable by student activities and sports they participated in at Tufts.
The Career Center understands the various time constraints and pressure that student-athletes encounter in and out of season. There are a variety of options for meeting with a career advisor. The Career Center offers daily Drop-In Hours, and if that doesn't work you can schedule a 30 minute appointment.
I hope the beginning of October brings pumpkin spice lattes and copious amounts of pre-Halloween candy, and remember, "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose."
Carpe Diem,
Nicole Brooks
Class of 2016
If you are a first year or sophomore athlete looking for internships and networking connections, reach out to coaches and teammates. Teammates can use their own internship experiences to help you figure out what type of internship may be right for you. Also, teammates may be willing to share with you their professional connections, who can provide advice for next steps in your career path. Coaches are always great sources of networking and opportunities because of their connections to alumni in various fields. Be sure to join various student-athlete networking databases, including the NCAA Career Network and Alumni Athlete Career Networks (your connections do not have to be limited to alumni of Tufts or NESCAC). You can also search for former college athletes through the Tufts Career Advisory Network. The alumni in this database have volunteered to talk with you, and many alumni are searchable by student activities and sports they participated in at Tufts.
The Career Center understands the various time constraints and pressure that student-athletes encounter in and out of season. There are a variety of options for meeting with a career advisor. The Career Center offers daily Drop-In Hours, and if that doesn't work you can schedule a 30 minute appointment.
I hope the beginning of October brings pumpkin spice lattes and copious amounts of pre-Halloween candy, and remember, "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose."
Carpe Diem,
Nicole Brooks
Class of 2016
