Platitudes
If you Google “Quotes about graduating from university”, you’ll be showered with things like;
“It’s your moment to shine”
“Time as a caterpillar has ended, now spread your wings”
“You’ve done the work, now it’s time to twerk” (you won’t find this one I’m being sarcastic)
These are the platitudes that parents search for to satisfy their eternal instinct to support you.
Candid
What you will probably struggle to find is anything practical as you leave the predictable, safe and defined path of education and enter the big-bad world of employment. Here are some candid, equivalents, grounded in reality;
“You’ve spent 3 years learning in college, but did anyone show you how to use your knowledge?”
“Will it inspire you or feel like abuse, to hear that most of your skills are not much use”
“Getting good grades is such a thrill, but are you left with any employable skill?”
“They forgot to mention in the prospectus, that most graduates fall on their rectus”
“At the open day they got you excited, and you were expecting a free pass to Man United”
The realities of launching your career in sports science
I feel a bit bad writing these blunt ditties, but the reality is that most graduates are unskilled when they leave their studies. The paradox here is that you might be employable (you probably heard lots about this at your Uni open day – that Sport and Exercise Science degrees make you very employable, it’s rue, but mostly …) in industries that just require an all-rounder where they can train you up. But if your aspiration is to have a sports science career in performance support then unskilled is not good enough – you will have to acquire relevant experience applying your knowledge. Also you then need to be able to showcase your skills, abilities and experience. These are the two critical elements in transitioning to work in sports science. You have to have vocational skills and you have to show them in a way that makes sense to prospective employers.
A brutal reality that sports scientist graduates need to face is realising that their certificates, grades and degrees are not the same as work relevant skills. Think about it for a moment. You sit in a lecture, you read some journals, you write an essay, you get a result – this is not the same as meeting an athlete and coach for the first time, building rapport, doing a needs analysis, communicating in a way that means something to the person in front of you, creating motivation for behaviour change, focusing your work for maximum effect. These are different skills.
Now, let’s assume that you actually have some skills and experience and you’re looking to launch your sports science career. Here’s the kicker – you now have to learn how to show them. You need to do this sufficiently well that a company will commit to spending money on your services.
Feeling a little lost now? Don’t worry here’s what you need to do. You need to build a bridge over the cliff edge that connects with another cliff – employment;
- Take step-by-step measures to pull together what you know
- Package it so people are interested
- Learn how to deliver this at interview
- Then put the cherry on top by honing the critical skills for starting work
Here’s how we’re supporting sports science graduates like you through the most comprehensive guide to creating your future – Graduate to Performance enabling people to build that bridge, rather than facing the cliff edge. The are the questions you will have answered with simple, actionable strategies to go from unskilled to employable sports performance professional.
Transition into a career in sports science
- What are the major work routes and options you can take for a career in sports science?
- What are the predominant career myths that you need to get past?
- What are the major mistakes sports science graduates make?
- What mindset will enable you to work in sports performance?
- How to begin to build your CV backwards
- How to upgrade your experience to stand out
- How to network to get in the minds of potential employers
Learn how to apply for sports science jobs
- What is the best mindset for applying for sports science jobs?
- Where do you need to look for jobs?
- How to do your homework on potential employers
- How to analyse job descriptions so that you can tune your application?
- How to write your CV for maximum impact
- How to write your letter to persuade people you are worth an interview
- How to shape up your online presence so that you don’t get deselected at recruitment
- How to create a video pitch so that you impress
Interview skills for your sports performance job
- What is the best mindset for interviews?
- What are the interview formats you are likely to face and how do they differ?
- What happens before the interview and how can you get it right and avoid messing it up?
- What happens at the start of an interview and how can you create a great first impression?
- How to deliver an excellent interview presentation
- What technical knowledge questions will come up and how do you answer them so you excel?
- What are the questions that will differentiate you and show you can add value to an athlete and coach’s performance?
- What questions are interviewers likely to ask you about you and teamwork?
- What are the final interview questions you will face that mean you can leave a great lasting impression?
- How to navigate group, practical and tasks at interview
- How to handle the news that you’ve been offered the job or not
Develop critical skills for starting work in sports performance
- How your hunger to succeed, humility and hubris will define how well you start work
- How to develop rapport with clients and ensure your body language doesn’t let you down
- How to develop advanced questioning and listening skills
- How to understand your clients needs so that you can have maximum impact
- How to develop interdisciplinary skills
If you’d like to create a bridge for yourself then why not invest in the Graduate to Performance course?
Graduate to Performance
Use code BUILDMYBRIDGE25 at checkout for 25% off (£599.99 down to £449.99 with code)
OR
Sign up for this free WEBINAR on applying for and interviewing for sports performance jobs, where I share with you some more details from the the key insights above.
This webinar is ideal if you are about to graduate and need to invest in some skill development to increase the chances of you working in sports performance.
You’ll discover how to sharpen up your job applications and learn some common mistakes (and how to excel) at interview!