I have never actually participated in a job interview before. The closest thing to a job interview I have done was when I was getting recruited to college to play football. For the sake of this blog, I will be using the experiences I had talking to several coaches and schools. The recruitment process was similar to a job hiring process in the sense that I was trying to get offered a spot by coaches and they were also trying to determine if I was the right candidate they wanted for their team.
Some coaches would call me out of the blue and I would have long ongoing conversations with others. It would always help if I knew even a little about the school to show the coach I was interested. Doing research on schools I was in contact with was always useful for that reason. Some coaches might’ve sensed a lack of interest in me, and that hurt me in the interview process. On the other hand, some coaches were not all that great at recruiting and that may have lowered my interest as well.
Meeting with coaches in person was the closest I had gotten to a true interview. I knew my presentation was important. Like a job interview, I had to make sure I dressed clean and kept up with my appearance for these coaches. Personal presentation is a reflection of what kind of person you are. I always found that showing up to meetings early and communicating in a timely manner helped the impression I had on coaches. This showed I was responsible and had communication skills.
Although I did not have an official resume for coaches, I did have references for them to speak to. I had built up my reputation as a responsible student athlete who had the skills necessary to play D1. When I spoke with coaches, I could tell they were only trying to confirm the things they had heard about me. For the most part, I did well in the recruiting process. Some of the recruiters could have done better by selling me more on their school and programs they offer.
