Is Dara Torres Available for Hire After Beijing? Athletes Do It Better in the Workplace...

I have Olympic fever. There’s just something really magical about watching athletes at their peak pitted against each other in a quest to be crowned as the best in their sport. The sweat, the occasional tears, the look of determination in their eyes… it’s inspiring. But after an athlete has passed their prime, where do they go? For the select, charismatic few, you can become a commentator or analyst a la Charles Barkley or John McEnroe. Or, if you’re Dara Torres, you can make it to the Olympics for the fifth time at the age of 41.

But for everyone else, is there some post-pro graveyard that I don’t know about, where all of these athletes retire to? Because I’d love to tap into that network and hand out a few business cards. After all, they say athletes do it better, and I wonder if that too includes the transition from the playing field to the board room.

When stacked up next to a non-athlete, it’s almost a sure thing that the athlete is probably superior, in that they are a great team player, good at and accustomed to receiving feedback, and highly determined, dedicated, and focused.

Now, I’m not talking about you who played pee-wee football as a young lad and now are a couch-potato football fan. Your beer belly may cause me more harm than good, especially when I think about healthcare costs and how your metabo self may impact them. I’m talking about real athletes.

Think about the advantages athletes bring to your workplace:

-Athletes have to play well with others and embrace the concept of the team in order to win. Simply being Kobe won’t get you championship rings.  Effective and winning teams have players who recognize each other’s strengths and play off of them in the pursuit of a common strategy. Sound any different from the best teams in the workplace?

-For serious athletes who have balanced years of academics and sport, time management is ingrained in them – nice skill to have, eh? Beyond that, think about the dedication and determination needed to reach levels of excellence both on the field and in the classroom… there’s simply an internal drive and focus that serious athletes must have to reach and stay at the top of their game.

-No athlete can be successful without coaches or trainers. What that means is that athletes are used to being good listeners and using the constructive feedback they receive to make adjustments to their performance. And how many coaches would accept any lip back? Right, so that means there’s going to be an element of humility to the athlete as well.

What do you think? Is there something to this? And is anyone using sites like The Corporate Playbook? Others are pondering this, too. Or perhaps, holding career fairs within collegiate athletic departments is a route to pursue, especially if you need a college feeder program. 

A few possible snafus though - overcoming the "dumb jock" perception because who wants to hire a college athlete who was more focused on the playing field rather than their studies? Or what about hiring managers who were never athletes and the possible resentment they may have for athletes they have known in their lives... because those memories of being chosen last? That sting can stay with ya for a while. Not that I know anything about that...

Editor's Note - Jessica Lee is an Employment Manager for APCO Worldwide, a global PR firm in D.C. Like most upscale HR pros, she spends half of her time on recruiting, the other half on ER, Training and OD.  When she's not hammering a candidate to determine Motivational Fit, she's thinking about the future of HR, and wondering how she can avoid using the job boards to fill the next spot in her organization...

Comments

[Kelly Dingee]

Great post Jessica! I too am an Olympics nuts - and am counting the days until 8/8/08 (could the start date be any better?!) I foresee a new social networking site - maybe on ning - for Olympians.....

But hey - are swimmers really team players? It's an individual sport...do they truly feel the team spirit or does it get too "all about me"? Especially in a sport when they can pick and choose their events post qualification. I don't know - just posing the question - might go back to the coach and how they train, and who they train with. They'll definitely have that "strive for the best" mentality either way.

Now the beach volleyball players - there's some teamwork!

[Jessica Lee]

good point, kelly. swimmers are pretty independent, as are runners... which i pretend i kinda am. besides the team work factor, i'd still say same goes for those lone-soul sports as far as being highly determined, dedicated, etc... i mean if you have the mental focus to run 26 miles... wow! i'm blown away by that and would argue that will translate quite nicely in the workplace.

btw, why is it that so many beach volleyball players are good looking? there are a lot of athletes that i'd say aren't too bad to look at in the workplace. another perk! just kidding... kinda.

[NorCalHRGurl]

I'm really excited about the Olympics too, but I have to disagree with the post. Some Olympic athletes will have all the qualities you mention. But the first one I could think of is former Olympian that lives in my hometown who is now working as a Realtor (her face is all over billboards.) Some poeple may look at her picture and think, "Wow, she excelled in her sport, so she'll also excel in selling my house!", but all I think is, "She was banned from her sport for doping. All those accomplishments are tarnished in my eyes." And how many more like her are there out there?

[KD]

JLee -

While I know you can't paint in too broad of brush, there's no question that folks who really pursue excellence in sports transfer a lot of qualities that are positive in the workplace.

Also, the team/individual thing works both ways. For example, basketball was my sport, and I learned lots of lessons on teamwork and managing expectations by playing on a bigger stage at the college level.

But to get and stay there, I had to crank out hundreds of hours of pure individual work each summer for about 7 years. Good lesson in showing up, grinding and being persistent as an avenue to being successful.

Interesting point that NorCal brings up. I don't market myself as an ex-jock. What I got from the experience is all the lift I need. Of course, in the SE I see a lot of former college football players market themselves in that way also. I always kind of go the other way when I see it - I'd rather they not lead with the fact they're an ex-jock...

PS - if your challenge with William from TiVo is hoops, I could help if it was live. Virtual, not sure...

KD

[Jessica Lee]

NorCalHRGurl... that's an unfortunate story because what that translates to for me is someone who is sooo driven and motivated that they'll do anything to get to the top. and in the workplace, i imagine that means cutting corners or backstabbing. you know what i mean. there will always be those occasional few who do it without integrity... no doubt.

KD- i thought it was interesting and timely that in your post today, the CEO of skyline dropped in the note that he's an ex-jock too and speaks to the issue of team work... for those who hadn't seen that, link to KD's post today here:

http://www.hrcapitalist.com/2008/07/pick-your-own-p.html

[Jennifer McClure]

Go Dara Torres! Just proves there's hope for us gals "of a certain age"...

I do agree with your post. I once had a client for a marketing role who gave me the standard list of requirements (lower level position), but "required" that I find candidates who were not only athletes, but captains of their teams. He was very senior, and his logic was similar to many of the points you've made. Turns out - he was right. The eventual hire was fairly inexperienced, but her attitude, work ethic and ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams made her a rising star very quickly. His point was that he could "teach a new hire what they didn't know about marketing", but they needed the attitude, drive and leadership from their athletic pursuits to make the most of it.

[Jessica Lee]

hey jennifer - i love hearing an anecdote to support my theory! good stuff. where did you find this gal though? i'm imagining you on some locker room stake out a la homula in his ice cream truck... oh boy!

[LS]

As a former swimmer (one who swam in national level meets with Dara) I take offense at the comment that swimming isn't a team sport.

One swimmer can't win a championship title only a team can do that. There are individual event winners, but much like basketball one player can't win on their own. The only place where that is different is in the Olympics!!! Such a shame that this is the perspective the world sees because it is NOT what the rest of us know to be true.

Personal bests are great, but they are absolutely empty if the team doesn't win. I was on a team that broke national individual and relay records, but got 2nd by two points in the same meet. We just weren't as deep as the other team who won, but broke no records. Our team was crushed.

Professionally I have struggled to find that same team atmosphere that I had in my swimming years. I completely agree with Jessica's article, athletes who made the committment in college are the type of people you want on your team. It is a group and stereotype that I am proud to be part of.

[Jennifer McClure]

JLee - I found her via the University of Cincinnati! When I started the search, I contacted every University placement office in the area (we have several good ones in our region), and asked for resumes of those that met the requirements (including leading athletic teams). Each University was more than happy to provide me several resumes that matched the criteria. And even though it was only a few years ago, there was no facebook, LinkedIn, or other social networks to connect with new grads. Now, thankfully, there's a number of different ways to do so! (including going to the Universities directly)

[Cathy Goodwin]

Right on! In her book, Raise the Roof, basketball star Cynthia Coooper writes about her stint as a marketing intern with Ford Motor Company.

Cooper wanted to prepare herself for a future life after basketball. She was a little concerned abou fitting into the corporate world, but she soon discovered she was right at home. Companies are indeed run like sports teams and her colleagues - mostly male - were sports fans and ex-players.

[Jessica Lee]

LS - thanks for swinging by. appreciate the insight swim teams and how championships are won!

Cathy - i loved that cynthia cooper went to go work for Ford and was thinking beyond her life after b-ball. helps to dispel the "dumb jock" perception that good athletes are focused only on their sport. thanks for visiting fistful of talent!

[Andrew Bolton]

Hello All,

Just stumbled on this post while I was doing some job hunting of my own. I am an athlete who just returned from Beijing and am attempting to make the transition from elite athlete to business professional. If you folks really want a pipeline of motivated athletes, try contacting the USOC. They already have some career development services, but I feel like it is an untapped resource.

I can tell you that many athletes, including myself, would love a chance to apply the our skills in the business world, but have problems finding where we fit in.

I would be happy to discuss this with anyone if they have more questions, my email is andrewbolton@hotmail.com.

Cheers,

Andrew

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