To be honest I have struggled coming up with ideas to write
about for this blog. To me everything has been very factual, and me talking at
you instead of relating to you, my audience. I have found myself looking at other
websites and articles just to come up with ideas to write about, and
once I find something to wirte about I feel like it is an unorginal thought. So this time if you can stick
with me, I’m going to try to write about something that I can relate to. Something I have first hand knowledge of, instead of learning about a topic 30 minutes
before I write about it. So here it goes…
It's 2:00am. in the morning. You are sitting in your room
staring at the empty coffee cups and red bull cans surrounding your desk as
your “study time” Spotify playlist hums quietly through your headphones. Not
only do you have an 8 a.m. class in the morning, but you also have 9 other odd
things that need to be done by the end of the weekend. Naps are planed at 4:30
in the morning for 3 separate periods throughout the day, you skip class to
work on the final project for said class, and only the desk lamp and your computer
screen glow in the congested and dark cave you have hidden in for the past few
weeks. Silently thinking to yourself, “college is hard”.
If something like this sounds familiar to you, you are not
alone. You are probably just a senior in college waiting for the light at the end
of the tunnel to appear with regular sleeping hours, a consistent social life,
and a bank account with a heartbeat. By now have your resume is all nailed down, and you have attended every possible volunteer opportunity within the last 3 months,
and because you recognized you don’t have enough “experience” to be considered
for the job you actually want. You start to spin into panic mode.
I’m here to tell you No. Stop it. You’re fine. You
should be worried when you go out every night, get 8 hours of sleep, and are
up to date with every Netflix series you have ever watched. College is hard,
and you have to put in the time in order to succeed. I often hope that the real
world is more controlled than the world we live in now. Hopefully that’s why
they only let us stay for a few years and give us the incentive of not paying
tuition in order to leave.
Since this is a sport business blog I have decided to come
up with a few different tips and tricks to get you through the last few college
months and onto the job of your dreams. Theses are some of the things that have
helped me come back off the edge of a professional level breakdown.
I’m talking like right now, today or tomorrow. If you haven’t
started to think about it yet, now is the time. Sometimes putting what you have
and have not done down on paper is a real eye opener. You may feel like you
have done enough but once you see it physically; it might be a little shortcoming.
DO NOT PANIC. Most colleges have services that allow you to talk with someone
who not only knows how to make resumes, but knows how to make resumes look
good. Having a well-put together/attractive resume is becoming more and more
important in our technological world. Submitting a resume online is very
popular in todays job searching world, and when you are not present to back up
your paper verbally it has to speak for itself. Have confidence in yourself and what you
have accomplished and portray it in the best possible way for potential
employers to see.
All jobs, especially sport related jobs, are all about results.
Knowing what you can provide, and being able to present that to potential
employers is key in achieving the goal of receiving the position you stay up
every night thinking about (Light at the end of the tunnel). Employers want to
know that you can turn your talent into results. With as much emphasis as we had
earlier on the importance of a resume, employers often don’t look at GPA, or what club you were
VP of in college. They look at you as a potential opportunity to better their team
(business) and if you can not help the team, or even tell them how you can help
them better their own team, they will pass over you and look for the draft pick
that will lead them to success (sports innuendo?). Know what you can do and be
able to display your skills to those judging you. This last little bit of
college you have left is your time to sharpen the skills you have as well as
develop new pitches (more sports innuendo) that can set you at a higher level
above your competition.
By this time your studies have taken you to a place where
really only you and those with your same major know about. Overall college
experiences can be relatable but when you ask your Quantum Physics major roommate,
or your Bio Chemistry drinking buddy to explain what he or she learned about
that day, after the first three words you hear what sounds like a forgotten language.
Sometimes it’s hard to ask for help during this time, or you
even forget you can ask for help, it simply doesn’t even cross your mind. My
advice is to remember you can always ask for help. Whether its support and
words of encouragement from your educationally clueless parents, or if its real
help from the tutors available to you, asking for help is always an option.
Everybody can always use a little refresher course in organization or time management
and that can be just as helpful as writing a few pages of the midterm paper due
in a few days. Remember as your sitting in your study dungeon there are others
out there doing the same wondering if they will ever make it out alive just
like you. I think its high time to get over the embarrassment of asking someone
for help. Sometimes asking for help can make you seem like you can’t do it on your own. Also its often a block for some because it makes them look like they are unable
or dumb. Really being able to ask for help takes enormous courage and shows
that you are extremely invested in your own wellbeing, and it shows that you
really care about how you do and your drive to succeed. I encourage you to ask
for help when you need it especially from those who care about you. I guarantee
they are chomping at the bit to help in anyway possible because that what true
friends and family are for.
