Qualifications: Softball Manager

You have probably heard that times are tough these days and a result is that people are getting laid off left and right. Most large corporations are on hiring freezes and those that are hiring are seeing increased numbers of applicants.

So if you are one of the unlucky few, what can you do to make yourself stand out form the crowd? What if you are just trying for an internal promotion from a “worker bee” to someone in management?

What on your resume demonstrates your ability to manage others? What if you are the manager of your beer-league softball team? Should you include that?

Anyone who has ever managed a group of friends knows that there is more involved than simply signing the team up and showing up for games.

General responsibilities include conveying messages from the league office, making sure you have a full squad on game days, finding subs if not, collecting money for league fees and so on.

Essentially these are the same responsibilities that a manager at an office or retail store would have. Managers at retail stores usually, at a minimum, have to make sure the corporate message is conveyed to their subordinates, making sure they are fully staffed at the appropriate times, finding replacements for those that are on vacation or sick, and negotiating salaries.

Softball managers also have to occasionally diffuse arguments that happen between players. They have to make difficult decisions on where to place people in the batting order, and also in the field. But, even more difficult than a supervisor-employee relationship, softball managers generally have to do it with their friends.

Ask any softball manager out there how they feel when they have to tell their good friend that they are batting last, or that they have been replaced in the field for the new guy. Not an easy task, and in this relationship, their friends will feel a lot more slighted and will more likely argue, than a subordinate who had their hours cut, or moved to a less desirable shift.

So is it so far out of line to list your managerial skills on the field as a qualification on your resume? Yes and no.

It is probably too much to actually put it in print on your CV; however it might not be too far out of line to mention it when on the actual interview. A recommendation is to test out the interviewer at some point during the interview in order to see what their level of knowledge on rec sports is. Maybe if they ask how your day is, you can say something like, “it is great that I have this opportunity to speak with you about this fabulous position and then later tonight play for the championship in my softball league.” If they reply in a way that you get a sense they will understand your responsibilities, then tell them about your team. If it seems like it would be a deterrent more than a benefit to mention, you might want to keep it bottled up until after you have secured the position.

If it is an internal promotion and you have a good working relationship with the interviewer, maybe they even know about your exploits on the field, you can mention it in passing (“I am excited because after this interview the team I manage plays the first place team in our league, and the sub I found is a real ringer”).

So while it is not recommended to put your rec sports managerial position on your resume, it can, in the right setting, help your cause to show that you do have the wherewithal to organize a team, be it on the field or in the office.

Have you had this experience? How did you handle it? Post any comments in the Comments section below.

Keep sporting!
- Who’s In First