Sports are your passion and you’ve been able to turn them into your career. Now you’re looking to move up a bracket, or maybe into a different league altogether. A great resume sets you on the right path to scoring your next position.
Because the competition is fierce, you need to distinguish yourself from the starting gun with a top-notch application. Just as in the championship game, you only get one chance to win. Resume.io has everything you need to hit the ground running in your job hunt, including comprehensive advice on how to write a job-winning resume to an online resume builder tool.
This guide, along with our resume examples will cover the following topics:
- What do sports professionals do?
- How to write a sports resume
- The best format for a sports resume
- Advice on each section of your resume
- Professional resume layout and design hints.
What does a sports professional do?
The sports industry is broad and wide and accommodates almost any job category. From participating to coaching to marketing and accounting, your skills are needed.
Many sports professionals teach and coach their sport(s) or manage teams. They may work at many different levels from elementary school physical education teachers to college team coaches. A coach’s job is to teach skills, techniques and strategy to an individual or team playing a sport. Coaches design and oversee practice sessions. They also develop plays for teams to run during games. Some coaches work in more than one sport.
Coaching is just the beginning of what you can do if you love sports. If you enjoy working in a school, you may level up to athletic director and oversee all the athletic activities at your school, but there are plenty of jobs for wordsmiths, numbers geeks and marketers. Look at it this way: No matter where your talent lies, if you love sports, there’s a job for you!
Job Outlook
There were about 13,600 professional athletes and sports competitors in 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated. That’s just the athletes making money in sports.
But those numbers don’t take into account all the careers you could have in the sports industry. SportsCareerFinder, a sports job search site, lists 22 different industry sectors.
For more inspiration, writing material, and advice you can check out the related Sport & Fitness resume examples listed here below:
- Sport and fitness resume sample
- Rowing Coach resume sample
- Soccer Coach resume sample
- Swimming Coach resume sample
- Nutritionist resume sample
- Recreational Facility Attendant resume sample
- Track Coach resume sample
- Tennis Coach resume sample
- Lifeguard resume sample
- Hockey Coach resume sample
- Golf Instructor resume sample
- Football Coach resume sample
- Basketball Coach resume sample
- Baseball coach resume sample
- Athletic Trainer resume sample
- Volleyball Coach resume sample
- Fitness Instructor resume sample
- Personal Trainer resume sample
- Yoga instructor resume sample
How to write a sports resume
The perfect resume can be a game changer! Most resume examples follow the same format, so first, you need to understand what a resume format is. You should include the following sections in your sports CV:
- The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
- The employment history section
- The resume skills section
- The education section
While the format is the same, your tone should be aimed at your audience. The type of sports job you are hunting for will dictate how formal you should be. For example, you may want to shoot for a more sporting, conversational tone if you are applying to be a coach, but a more formal tone if you are looking to become a sports data analyst.
Your first opponent: the ATS
Sports jobs are high-interest. That means employers have to sort through hundreds of applications. Their first step is an ATS. This software scans resumes for keywords and phrases to rank all the resume samples they receive. Only the top-ranked make it to round two: a perusal by a person.
You don’t want to get cut before your tryout. So what can you do? Scout your opponent. Carefully analyze the job listing and description for keywords and phrases. Then, repeat relevant words as many times as feels natural in your resume.
Sports resume summary example
Calling this section a resume summary is like calling a star quarterback good at throwing a ball. While both are true, they are both much more than that. Just as the team looks to the quarterback to set the tone on the field, recruiters will look to your summary, also called a profile, to set the tone for your application.You want recruiters to be excited about you after they read your profile. It’s the big game and this is your pep talk!
Sports pros are part cheerleaders, part analysts, and part eagle-eye observers. Coaches may also act as mentors and they must have detailed knowledge of their sport. Your task here is to get all that and your sports philosophy across in this brief section.
How do you win points here? Choose your greatest sports achievement and pump it up, but save the trash talk for the field. You need to stay professional and save space for important details that mesh with, but don’t repeat, the rest of your resume. See how this is done in the resume sample summary section at the end of this chapter.
Guidelines for your summary
This may be the toughest section to write. We offer a profile resume sample below, but here is an outline you can use as a guide:
- Introduce yourself with a strong professional description and the unique talents you bring to the job..
- One or two sentences on your championship game ( the data analysis you did to help the team get there, the great profile you wrote of a champion, etc.)
- One sentence on your sports/coaching philosophy.
Passionate and Professional Sports Coach with a dynamic background including High School coaching, group work, private training. Knowledgeable about various Sports and adept in planning and implementing effective coaching plans. Seeking a position in Sports where I can best utilize my knowledge and passion.
Employment history CV sample: A league apart
Your employment history section is the play-by-play of your career. You don’t want to leave out any important achievements, but you don’t have to say everything you’ve ever done either. Here, starting with your current job and working backward in time, you are detailing your achievements and contributions at each position. This holds true no matter what area of the sports world you fit into. It never hurts to have a jumping-off point, so check out the employment history resume sample in this chapter.
Each bullet item should demonstrate a career win or positive outcome, not simply a job responsibility.
Enticed illusive athlete into extensive interview and increased web site page views by 150%
Wrote profile of famous golfer.
September 2017 - December 2020
- Assistant Director of Sports Department, Great Neck High School, New York
- Helped to manage the Sports Department, including budgets, planning, and curriculum.
- Oversaw Coaches and aimed to achieve a cohesive and strong sports program.
- Researched sports techniques and the latest training methods to implement into programs.
- Worked with Coaches, Administrators, and Athletes to achieve goals.
- Brought forth a spirit and enthusiasm for good sportsmanship.
Skills example section: This is your highlight reel
A great skills section culls the best of your abilities and puts them on easy display for a quick scan by recruiters (and a scan by the ATS, so make sure you choose keywords carefully for each job application).
Some of these skills will be directly related to the sport you are involved in and the role you play within that sport. These are hard skills, or the learned knowledge of your field you have developed over time. The sports field is a collegial one, so people skills are of great importance as well. Communication, mentoring and listening along with other soft skills, such as organization, are valued in the sports industry. Check out the resume sample skills section right below.
- Effective Time Management
- Ability to Work in a Team
- Leadership
- Athletic Ability
- Sports Management
- Coaching and Mentoring
Sports resume education example
Your sports resume education section is a simple listing of your academic degrees and achievements. This section can also accommodate any certifications you have, such as CPR, first aid, or a certificate from your sports’ governing body.
Depending on how many awards or championships you have, you may break out an Awards and Accolades section, or create a subsection under the education heading. Below you can find an education section from a sports resume example.
September 2015 - May 2017
Bachelor of Sports Management, Nassau Community College, Garden City
September 2011 - May 2015
High School Diploma. Nyack High School, Nyack
Choosing the best CV format for sports jobs
Your sports CV format is as important as what you have to say. Imagine if you went to a golf course and the sand was flowing out of the traps or the green had dried out brown spots on it. Not the course of your dreams, right? First impressions matter, so your resume format should be executed in a tasteful but catchy manner.
Recruiters want easy access to your information, so keep it clean and organized. You want to grab their attention … in a good way. That means no flashy graphics or bright colors. If you’re aiming for an on-camera position, a photo is appropriate, but otherwise avoid it.
Hit a home run with your layout
The world of sports isn’t exactly subtle. Big, bold declarations of superiority and announcers yelling at each other can be the norm. But keep that away from your resume design. Here are some tips for a successful, eye-catching layout and formatting:
- Use legible fonts such as Helvetica and Verdana for display type and the tried-and-true Times New Roman for the text.
- Leave ample margins and white space.
- Get a little creative with your contact information so it stands out.
- Proofread and proofread again. Then have someone else proofread. You don’t want to lose a job opportunity because of a type.
You need a championship-caliber sports resume, so leave it to the experts. Use one of our resume templates to take the guesswork out of formatting.
Key takeaways for a sports resume
- A job in sports is a dream for many, so the competition is tough but the opportunities come in a wide variety.
- Your talent for firing up athletes can help you inspire hiring managers to grant you that interview.
- Just as you alter your game plan for each opponent, you need to alter your sports resume for each prospective employer.
- Using our online editor and resume examples make getting your sports dream job a whole lot easier.
