True or false, athletes make extraordinary employees? TRUE! The question is why do athletes make great employees? Athletes are known to have strong character traits that make them desirable to employers. Your challenge as a former football player is to make it clear to your future employer how the skills you acquired as a professional athlete transfer to your new position.
Here are a few traits professional athletes tend to possess that can, in turn, make you an extraordinary employee:
- Motivation to Succeed – Athletes have motivation to push themselves until they succeed, even through circumstances that might cause others to quit. For example, think about how many sick days you took as a football player? For employers, having a strong work ethic is a desirable trait. As you remember, waking up early in the morning for practice then going to class or studying on the bus to a game, takes motivation. Motivation is not a trait that employers can teach employees, you either have motivation to succeed or you do not.
- Goal Oriented - As with any company, employers want an employee who can focus on a goal and grow. Think back to practice, if you could not achieve your goal, you then explored other routes to take. Even if you fail, what happens? You go back to your practice plan, reevaluate and you keep going to achieve your end goal because success often begins with failure.
- Teamwork - You have worked on teams since day one of your career; You know that if you want to win games, you must learn to work with others. In the workforce, it is the same way. You will meet many different types of people and work with them on projects to reach a common goal. The key is to remember that it’s easier to work together when you’ve found a common ground.
- Work-Life Balance - Remember back in college, starting your day with an early morning workout, then class, next the weight room, then practice, where did you fit in your social life? The workplace is no different, you have to find the balance between your work and social life. Just as you did in school or on the team, make sure you block off time to spend with family and friends. Yes, employers want people who like to work, but there is something to be said about those who know how to balance their time.
- Developing New Skills - Development of new skills is essential on the field and in the workplace. In either setting, you arrive with skills, but you have to learn new ones to perfect your performance. Employers need people who grow over time, adding more value to their team. You could read industry specific books, articles or listen to podcasts to help develop yourself. Take it upon yourself to learn, just as you did on the field!