Notable Headlines Makes It Easier To Get Noticed in Interviews

Include a “headline” on résumés for sports management jobs.

Barbara Safani, a career management guru and author, suggests that job candidates “sell their wares” on a résumé much the same way a newspaper does: with headlines. In her book Happy About my Résumé, Safani says that since headlines sell newspapers, headlines “can also sell job search candidates” (p.11).

Breaching the “scan mode”…

Hiring managers who are faced with a pile of résumés really don’t read through every one of them. They mostly scan them quickly for a preliminary determination that the candidate is basically fit for the job. Creating a “résumé headline” that shows the reader that your sports management experience fills their particular professional niche makes it obvious that you’re a good fit for the job opening.

Leave that headline out, and you risk being passed over by a jaded hirer who has reviewed many “generic” résumés. Without that headline – which, by the way, can be changed to match other job opportunities – the candidate cannot quickly make that connection that immediately catches the reader’s eye.

Read all about it: Use a headline instead of just your name at the top…

Instead of the generic identification info in bold, larger font at the top of your résumé, consider including a headline that grabs attention. Below that headline, add some taglines or accompanying descriptions that communicate that you add value to any sports organization.

For example, if you’re an athletic director for a smaller community college and are looking to move up to a state university opening as Assistant Athletic Director, the following would be a model résumé headline and “value-added” statement:

Headline: COMMUNITY COLLEGE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Tagline (or a “branding statement”):
Combining expertise in athletics, player development, and sports logistics led to a preeminent athletic program and three football and two baseball state junior college championships.

Add a quote for that personal touch…

Also, consider adding a personal statement beneath the headline that gives the reader a hint of your leadership style of personal philosophy:

Personal quote: “Understanding and implementing sports program budgets, recruitment efforts, and alumni relations as well as the importance of uncompromising ethics: to balance and effectively manage those elements are my top skills.”

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