Leadership in Athletics: My Story

To all current and former student-athletes:

Back in 2013, while job searching, I found myself questioning my experiences and how they stacked up against those of other candidates.  It is critical to start thinking now about “your story” as you approach graduation and are interviewing for jobs or internships.  I mention “your story” because it is very easy when you are applying to jobs and looking at descriptions when coming out of college to think about all of the things you don’t have.  No, you probably don’t have three to five years of experience with (insert very specific tool, technology or software). No, you might not have as much overall experience as other applicants.

Instead of focusing on what you may not have, let’s talk about what you as a student-athlete do have.  Student-athletes, whether in high school or college, have the discipline to practice when other students are sleeping or hanging out with their friends.  You have the ability to function as a team member and resolve conflicts that arise.  You have the mental toughness to handle constructive criticism and get better from it.  You have the ability to fail, keep practicing and get better.

Corporate America is no different than the softball field, wrestling mat or basketball court.  No matter what major you have or industry you are going into, you need discipline, team conflict resolution and mental toughness.  My position in the recruiting industry now allows me to see these soft skills are things that almost every single manager wishes they had more of on their current teams.  You are going to mess up something that your manager asks you to do and have to learn from it.  You are going to completely disagree with another coworker and have to talk things through.  You are going to fail more times than you can count.

Here is a little more on my story and background.  I started with Beacon Hill, a staffing agency,  in August of 2013.  After a year in the Indianapolis office, I was promoted and moved to Columbus, Ohio and take over a very new office.  The recruiting industry is all about relationships and clients — and we really did not have either.  This promotion was not something I was in any way ready for after one year out of college.  I just approached every single day like a practice or competition.  During the last four years, we have gone from one of the smallest offices in the country to among the top 15 Tech offices nationally.  I heavily target former student-athletes when hiring for my office because of all of those skills that are gained by practicing, competing and being on a team.  We might not be the most well-known recruiting company in Columbus, but as a team, we work hard every single day to create relationships and help people find new jobs and careers.

Bottom line: Don’t get discouraged or focus on the things you don’t have.  Focus on the difficult situations you have dealt with in athletics and how you have grown as a person from those experiences. Use those examples when telling “your story”!

Sincerely,

Katie Hackney

Director & “Forever Student-Athlete”