5 answers
Joe
Student
Nowthen, MN
3
Questions
Asked
969 views
Do contact sports like wrestling and football look good on a resume?
I currently am participating in football wrestling and would like to know if I should add them to my resumes
5 answers
James Constantine Frangos
Consultant Dietitian-Nutritionist & Software Developer since 1972 => Optimization Of Human Performance: jim.frangos@gmail
6621
Answers
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Updated
James Constantine’s Answer
Dear Joe,
Overview
Listing contact sports like wrestling and football on your resume can be a strategic move in certain circumstances. The key lies in how you frame these activities and the skills you've gained from them. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the potential benefits and considerations of featuring contact sports on your resume.
Advantages of Featuring Contact Sports on Your Resume
Teamwork and Collaboration: Contact sports necessitate robust teamwork and collaboration abilities. Being a member of a football or wrestling team illustrates your knack for working effectively with others towards shared objectives. Employers appreciate candidates who can cooperate well with their peers.
Leadership Abilities: Involvement in contact sports often includes leadership responsibilities, like captaining a team or leading practice drills. Highlighting these leadership roles can exhibit your capacity to take the initiative and inspire others, a trait valued in many professional environments.
Discipline and Work Ethic: Contact sports call for discipline, commitment, and a strong work ethic to enhance skills and attain success. These attributes are highly applicable in the workplace, where employers look for individuals committed to constant improvement and goal achievement.
Resilience and Perseverance: Sports like wrestling and football instill resilience in the face of difficulties and setbacks. Showing that you've surmounted obstacles in a competitive setting can suggest to employers that you possess the mental fortitude to manage pressure and adversity at work.
Physical Fitness and Well-being: Engaging in contact sports underscores your commitment to physical fitness and overall health. More and more, employers are acknowledging the significance of employees maintaining a healthy lifestyle, as it can contribute to improved productivity and decreased absenteeism.
Factors to Consider When Including Contact Sports on a Resume
Job Relevance: When contemplating whether to include contact sports on your resume, consider their relevance to the job you're applying for. If the skills acquired from sports align with the job requirements, it can bolster your application.
Professional Presentation: While highlighting your participation in contact sports can be advantageous, make sure to present this information professionally on your resume. Concentrate on emphasizing the skills and experiences gained rather than merely listing sports activities.
Space Limitations: Keep in mind the space limitations on your resume. If including contact sports activities means sacrificing valuable space that could be used for emphasizing work experience or relevant qualifications, prioritize the information most relevant to the job.
Conclusion
In summary, thoughtfully including contact sports like wrestling and football on your resume can be beneficial. Emphasizing the skills honed through these activities can exhibit valuable traits to potential employers. However, it's crucial to consider relevance, professionalism, and space limitations when deciding whether to include contact sports on your resume.
Top 3 Credible Sources Used:
Harvard Business Review: The Harvard Business Review offers insights into the transferable skills gained from extracurricular activities like sports and their influence on professional success.
Forbes: Forbes provides articles exploring the merit of including non-traditional experiences, such as sports participation, on resumes and how they can boost a candidate’s profile.
The Balance Careers: The Balance Careers website offers guidance on effectively integrating extracurricular activities, including sports, into resumes to highlight relevant skills and experiences to potential employers.
GOD BLESS!
James Constantine.
Overview
Listing contact sports like wrestling and football on your resume can be a strategic move in certain circumstances. The key lies in how you frame these activities and the skills you've gained from them. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the potential benefits and considerations of featuring contact sports on your resume.
Advantages of Featuring Contact Sports on Your Resume
Teamwork and Collaboration: Contact sports necessitate robust teamwork and collaboration abilities. Being a member of a football or wrestling team illustrates your knack for working effectively with others towards shared objectives. Employers appreciate candidates who can cooperate well with their peers.
Leadership Abilities: Involvement in contact sports often includes leadership responsibilities, like captaining a team or leading practice drills. Highlighting these leadership roles can exhibit your capacity to take the initiative and inspire others, a trait valued in many professional environments.
Discipline and Work Ethic: Contact sports call for discipline, commitment, and a strong work ethic to enhance skills and attain success. These attributes are highly applicable in the workplace, where employers look for individuals committed to constant improvement and goal achievement.
Resilience and Perseverance: Sports like wrestling and football instill resilience in the face of difficulties and setbacks. Showing that you've surmounted obstacles in a competitive setting can suggest to employers that you possess the mental fortitude to manage pressure and adversity at work.
Physical Fitness and Well-being: Engaging in contact sports underscores your commitment to physical fitness and overall health. More and more, employers are acknowledging the significance of employees maintaining a healthy lifestyle, as it can contribute to improved productivity and decreased absenteeism.
Factors to Consider When Including Contact Sports on a Resume
Job Relevance: When contemplating whether to include contact sports on your resume, consider their relevance to the job you're applying for. If the skills acquired from sports align with the job requirements, it can bolster your application.
Professional Presentation: While highlighting your participation in contact sports can be advantageous, make sure to present this information professionally on your resume. Concentrate on emphasizing the skills and experiences gained rather than merely listing sports activities.
Space Limitations: Keep in mind the space limitations on your resume. If including contact sports activities means sacrificing valuable space that could be used for emphasizing work experience or relevant qualifications, prioritize the information most relevant to the job.
Conclusion
In summary, thoughtfully including contact sports like wrestling and football on your resume can be beneficial. Emphasizing the skills honed through these activities can exhibit valuable traits to potential employers. However, it's crucial to consider relevance, professionalism, and space limitations when deciding whether to include contact sports on your resume.
Top 3 Credible Sources Used:
Harvard Business Review: The Harvard Business Review offers insights into the transferable skills gained from extracurricular activities like sports and their influence on professional success.
Forbes: Forbes provides articles exploring the merit of including non-traditional experiences, such as sports participation, on resumes and how they can boost a candidate’s profile.
The Balance Careers: The Balance Careers website offers guidance on effectively integrating extracurricular activities, including sports, into resumes to highlight relevant skills and experiences to potential employers.
GOD BLESS!
James Constantine.
Saumya Shridhar
Investigations Counsel / Litigator
11
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Saumya’s Answer
Hi Joe!
A resume is completely tailored to the position you apply for and the stage of your career that you are at. However, it must always be short and 1-2 pages maximum.
1. College- Resume for college applications/ scholarships must be 1 page long and always contain a section of your extra-curricular achievements in sports (any) in order to qualify you as a well-rounded student- apart from your academic merit.
2. First job(s)- If you're already in college and beginning to look for your first job, it may be helpful to have a small section in the resume (1 page long) pertaining to your key (most important) extra-curricular achievements in sports, however, the emphasis will shift more towards your internship experiences and other academic exposures related to your job.
3. Late career- As you grow in your career, extra-curricular achievements largely take a back seat (unless the job is in that area itself) and the resume (1-2 pages long) concentrates on the key career achievements tailored to the position that you are applying for. However, it's always helpful to mention your sporting and other interests in oral interviews. A well-rounded professional is always appreciated. It also indicates good time management to be able to give time to other interests.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Saumya
A resume is completely tailored to the position you apply for and the stage of your career that you are at. However, it must always be short and 1-2 pages maximum.
1. College- Resume for college applications/ scholarships must be 1 page long and always contain a section of your extra-curricular achievements in sports (any) in order to qualify you as a well-rounded student- apart from your academic merit.
2. First job(s)- If you're already in college and beginning to look for your first job, it may be helpful to have a small section in the resume (1 page long) pertaining to your key (most important) extra-curricular achievements in sports, however, the emphasis will shift more towards your internship experiences and other academic exposures related to your job.
3. Late career- As you grow in your career, extra-curricular achievements largely take a back seat (unless the job is in that area itself) and the resume (1-2 pages long) concentrates on the key career achievements tailored to the position that you are applying for. However, it's always helpful to mention your sporting and other interests in oral interviews. A well-rounded professional is always appreciated. It also indicates good time management to be able to give time to other interests.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Saumya
Connor Adams
Technology Consultant
28
Answers
Provo, Utah
Updated
Connor’s Answer
Hi Joe,
I agree completely with what has been said and just want to add a piece here:
Your resume should reflect experiences that are relevant for the job you are using it to apply to. What I mainly used my experience in playing contact sports (football) for was interviewing. Those experience playing sports teach us lots of valuable life lessons and can be related to almost anything. Lots of these lessons were wonderfully covered above by James. Take some time to reflect on specific experiences that you have had while playing sports and what they taught you. This will equip you will the ability to answer interview questions. Many common interview questions are as follows:
1. Tell me a time when you failed.
2. Tell me about a time when you overcame something challenging.
3. What would you say are you top 3 strengths?
4. What is important to have within a team?
5. Tell me time where you disagreed with a team member but were able to reconcile your differences.
These are just a few examples.
Thanks Joe and Goodluck!
I agree completely with what has been said and just want to add a piece here:
Your resume should reflect experiences that are relevant for the job you are using it to apply to. What I mainly used my experience in playing contact sports (football) for was interviewing. Those experience playing sports teach us lots of valuable life lessons and can be related to almost anything. Lots of these lessons were wonderfully covered above by James. Take some time to reflect on specific experiences that you have had while playing sports and what they taught you. This will equip you will the ability to answer interview questions. Many common interview questions are as follows:
1. Tell me a time when you failed.
2. Tell me about a time when you overcame something challenging.
3. What would you say are you top 3 strengths?
4. What is important to have within a team?
5. Tell me time where you disagreed with a team member but were able to reconcile your differences.
These are just a few examples.
Thanks Joe and Goodluck!
Karen Kitchel
Community Volunteer
356
Answers
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Updated
Karen’s Answer
Anything you can add to your resume to demonstrate a variety of skills would be good. I would also suggest including any volunteering that you have done or sign up to do something where you will be giving back some of your time to the community.
With every good wish!
With every good wish!
Hamza Ahmed
People Strategy
1
Answer
Chicago, Illinois
Updated
Hamza’s Answer
Hi Joe - as a former student-athlete myself, I experienced this same situation when I was creating my first resume. I am also a human resources professional so hopefully that perspective is useful for you and others facing a similar challenge.
When I think about resumes very broadly, I try to put myself first in the shoes of the recruiter. They are representing an organisation and that organisation has publically available values. In some instances the activity or experience I am thinking about including in my resume will align 1 to 1 with those values. Include those!
However, with experiences like sports or perhaps volunteering at a local charity event - the underlying message you are illustrating is more likely "soft skill" focused than "hard skills". It is important to have balance in your resume. Soft skills, in my opinion, are very important and in some cases (i.e., early in our careers) they can be more important than the hard skills. Hard skills can often be acquired and mastered over time (i.e., Microsoft Excel).
To round off this answer: I would encourage you to add a "Skills and other qualifications" section to your resume to highlight some of the soft skills you have picked up as a student athlete. Things like growth/development, teamwork, time management, communication, conflict resolution, reliance and learning from mistakes or failure.
Hope this helps and best of luck :)
Hamza
When I think about resumes very broadly, I try to put myself first in the shoes of the recruiter. They are representing an organisation and that organisation has publically available values. In some instances the activity or experience I am thinking about including in my resume will align 1 to 1 with those values. Include those!
However, with experiences like sports or perhaps volunteering at a local charity event - the underlying message you are illustrating is more likely "soft skill" focused than "hard skills". It is important to have balance in your resume. Soft skills, in my opinion, are very important and in some cases (i.e., early in our careers) they can be more important than the hard skills. Hard skills can often be acquired and mastered over time (i.e., Microsoft Excel).
To round off this answer: I would encourage you to add a "Skills and other qualifications" section to your resume to highlight some of the soft skills you have picked up as a student athlete. Things like growth/development, teamwork, time management, communication, conflict resolution, reliance and learning from mistakes or failure.
Hope this helps and best of luck :)
Hamza
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