If you don’t know by now, I’m a major basketball junkie and a diehard Raptors fan. Over 40% of my t-shirts and 100% of my hats are Raptors related. I listen to at least 8 hours of NBA podcasts per week (shout to No Dunks Inc.) and watch countless games on TV. It’s a bit of an obsession.
When the Raptors won the championship on that sweet June night in 2019, I was overcome with emotion. I felt like I had achieved a great personal triumph.
And now that the next season has started, I’ve been reflecting… everything the Raptors went through last year to win it all… it’s a lot like trying to find a job. This sparked a train of thought that turned into this blog post, so without further ado...
Here are my 9 reasons that finding a job is like winning and NBA championship.
1. It’s Hard
Every year, 30 teams are trying to win the championship. Many of them truly believe the trophy will be theirs to hoist. Several are good enough to win it all, but in the end, only one will win.
When we apply for jobs, there are sometimes hundreds of other applicants and although many of them are weak and have no chance *cough* the Knicks *cough cough*, there are a lot of applicants who could do the job very well. But again, only one can win.
2. Assembling your team is like getting the right experience
Obviously, a massive factor in winning the championship is determined off the court and largely before the season (or job search) begins.
That internship at the hospital last summer might just be the Kawhi Leonard your experience needed to boost you into the upper tier of candidates.
Who knows when you’ll need to talk about the loyalty you demonstrated through 6 years at Dairy Queen (Kyle Lowry), or the 3-point shooting / conflict management skills you picked up last summer in Danny Green / your last Event Coordinator position.
3. The Regular Season is your Resume
The first 82 games of the season determine if we get into the playoffs in exactly the same way our resume determines if we’re going to make it to the interview stage.
And not only can the resume determine whether we move on to the playoffs, it will also determine our ranking and the difficulty of our path to the championship.
A great resume will have the interviewers excited to meet you and more likely to enjoy your meeting just like a higher regular season win total will make your path to the finals that much easier.
4. The Playoffs is the Interview Process
The intensity is high. The competition is stronger. Your expectations are up. All eyes are on you. Writing resumes, applying to jobs… going through the motions in the regular season… that’s over now. It’s time to perform.
Like the playoffs, the interview process can consist of many rounds in which the opponents get tougher each time and the margin for error is slim.
You do your best to prepare and when the time comes, you get out there and give it all you’ve got!
5. Injury can strike at any time
A job search injury is a mistake. Sometimes you can muscle through a mistake, like a typo or a bad interview answer, or calling someone by the wrong name. And sometimes you can’t.
If we’ve got a strong team (our experience), we can fight through a lot of injuries (like the Raptors are doing this year), but sometimes, a couple untimely injuries can cost you everything (the Warriors).
6. You have to get lucky
Does the other team (or applicant) make a mistake? Do you have an interviewer who knows you (home court advantage)? Do you happen to catch the hiring manager on a good day (Kawhi’s 4-bounce shot vs. the Sixers)?
It’s a common saying, “to win an NBA Championship, you have to be good and you have to be lucky”… same goes for landing a job.
7. The Finals are Greuling
It might be the 3rd round of interviews by now. The other candidates are the best of the best. You could be meeting with a VP or Executive Director. The stakes have never been higher.
Teams hang banners for even getting to the Finals and you should be damn proud of making it this far in the interview process.
This will be the toughest challenge yet, and it’s possible you came all this way to go home empty handed… but it’s so worth it because the ultimate prize just within reach.
8. It’s a lot easier if you have a good coach
Shameless plug… I am the Nick Nurse of job searching (truth be told, I’d prefer to be the Nick Nurse of Basketball but I don’t think I’m tracking in that direction).
Whether it’s me or someone else, the process is a lot easier if you have a seasoned coach who knows what your opponents (the hiring managers) are thinking; who knows the other team’s plays (what questions might come up); and who can guide you and help you improve along the way (Pascal Siakam would not have won Most Improved Player without good coaching).
The NBA players don’t pursue a championship alone. Find someone to be your coach through the job search process.
9. When you succeed, you deserve a parade
Because the path was freakin hard and you triumphed!
Play We Are the Champions and march around the room celebrating. Party with your adoring fans (friends and family). In this moment, you are the best and no one can top you!
Relax… enjoy… celebrate! The battle is over and to the victor go the spoils!
Make Marc Gasol your spirit animal: