Despite holding successful jobs in marketing, sales and fundraising, I was once that former athlete applying to my first internship after college and I had very little work experience.
When I say little… I mean little…. the only official work experience I had was working as a camp counselor at basketball clinics in my hometown. Compared to my non-athletic peers, I didn’t feel confident that I had the experience needed to become a marketing professional.
But I did! As athletes, we have so many skills that we can use to market ourselves, despite not having a lot of professional working experience. If you’re just starting your job search or trying to break into a new industry, here six hings you can include in your resume to showcase your skills to hiring managers as a former athlete.
What to Highlight When You Have Limited Work History
- List your athletic accomplishments. Yes, it’s okay to include a few humble brags on your resume. Championships, records, titles and more are all indicators of the work you put in as an athlete. Don’t shy away from including those athletic accomplishments you’re proud of.
- Include your GPA. In most cases, listing your GPA on a resume is optional if you’ve been in the workforce for 3-5 years. Definitely include your GPA if you have a great academic record. It also might help to list your grades or any academic honors you received if you have less than 3 years of work experience.
- Showcase community efforts. Showing that you’ve joined clubs on campus or were a member of a group within your community is another item you can include on your resume. By sharing this with employers, you’re showing how you were able to balance athletic, academic and extracurricular activities as a student-athlete.
- Include internships. My internship at Hot 97 served as a good resume highlight when I was looking for my first full time job. Internships provides individuals with very valuable skills. Don’t leave this off your resume even if it seems insignificant to you.
- Highlight volunteer efforts. Sharing your volunteer efforts is a great way to show future employers your interests outside of your career. I’ve included volunteer efforts on my resume from college and high school to help supplement the lack of working experience I had at the time.
- Share transferable skills. Being an athlete means more than just putting points on the board. Skills like leadership, discipline, the ability to accept constructive criticism, perseverance and more are all skills that managers look for when hiring new employees. Make sure you incorporate these buzz words into your resume and bring them up when you have an interview.
If I can secure a job out of college with barely any working experience, you can too! As athletes, it’s important we don’t diminish our accomplishments on the court when entering the working world. Instead, strategically leverage your athletic experiences to help you get a foot in the door.