What the job seeker can learn from Fantasy Football

After 3 years of listening to my husband rant and rave about his numerous Fantasy Football teams that he manages each year (typically 3 or 4), I decided that this year I would finally try to join in on the obsession instead of getting frustrated with him for checking the computer 150 times on Sundays to see how his teams were performing.  Not to mention I received a little peer pressure from a colleague to join in their league.  So…I took the plunge…my team name is "STACE!!!"…and my star player is Drew Brees (quite fitting for being a former Boilermaker myself).  I have to admit I, too, am now a Fantasy Football addict!  I even scolded my husband one Sunday because he played Brandon Marshall instead of Lee Evans and my total score was significantly less than it could have been.  So how does this relate to you…the job seeker, you might ask?  Well, let me tell you!

1.  The success of your Fantasy team starts with your preparation for the draft.  If you don’t carefully select the right players, you will likely be doomed to a losing season.  In your Indianapolis job search, you must carefully select the companies and the positions you are going to pursue and you must do extensive research before your career search season begins.  If you make a move that is not well thought out and deliberate, you could end up in a very bad situation.  You don’t want to get into a position that’s not the right fit for your experience (just like if you tried playing 6 wide receivers and no running backs) because you could be set up to fail. 

2.  The success or failure of your Fantasy team continues when plan your attack each week based off of who you are playing in the league and who your players’ teams are playing in real life.  The same is true for your Indianapolis job search.  Each week you must carefully plan out how you are going to approach your search this week.  Do you need to make changes or trade players?  In other words, do you need to pursue new job boards and networks?  Or do you need to consider a new career path ro develop a relationship with an executive recruiter?   All of these decisions and moves will help you determine how you seed in the playoffs.

3.  Finally, of course, how well you perform in the playoffs determines your overall success for the year.  When it comes to crunch time (a.k.a. the interview), how well will you perform?  You’ve been preparing yourself all season for this moment, so make sure you are ready to execute and prove to the potential employer why they are making the right decision to "put you in the game". 

Admittedly, perhaps comparing the pursuit for Central Indiana jobs and Fantasy Football is a bit of a stretch, but given my current obsession, I think it’s a fun way to make sure you are constantly evaluating your game plan and determing if it is set up to yield the result that you want. 

P.S.  My Fantasy team is 5-2 and I would be 6-1 if I hadn’t forgotten to set my lineup one week!  Which brings me to my last point – make a checklist and stick to it, day after day, week after week, until you WIN!