Officiating and job interviews...

[Judtech]

Kids,
I too am in this boat. I have also been in this boat before. I usually mention it LATE in the interview, depending on how it is going. I make it absolutely clear that while I love to officiate, it doesn't pay my mortgage, 401k or health insurance. If their is a conflict between the two I will ALWAYS go with my "9-5" job. I also make clear what the hours actually are. For instance, when/if asked how that would interfere with the job I reply "It really wouldn't. High School games don't start until 7:30 and any long college "road trips" are usually on the weekend as the assignor likes to keep people close to home during the week."
Be up front and honest about it, but also paint a picture. This approach helped in landing my last job years ago. The manager was a little leery at first but when I told him what time the games actually were he was relieved that I wouldn't be taking 1/2 days alot. THEN he was really excited to have me work for him so he could complain about all the bad calls on TV!!!!
Of course once you GET the job......

[representing]

I did this too with my job interview I had for an internship last October/November. However, I have it in my resume as well. To me, it shows that you have some management skills. I also have in my resume that I officiate youth leagues as well, to show that I can tolerate kids and be good with them (the internship I got will involve a lot of kids).

I did get the internship though. Now my supervisor busts jokes on me every now and then because he hate basketball officials.

The job didn't really affect my officiating at all during the basketball season, so it all depends on what kind of hours you will or might have during the basketball season (or any other sports you do). I do have travel soccer coming up soon, but I will have to miss two weekends during the soccer season due to my internship. I'm not upset about it, since I'm putting this internship before the officiating because I really need it.

[Our2Kids]

Thanks guys.

I do have the fact that I'm an official listed on my resume as well as the conferences in which I work. I've been on some interviews where the hiring manager notices it and asks about it. Most have found it interesting. Others merely gloss over it. Nobody, though, really has asked if it takes time away from my 9 to 5 job.

I posted this to see if others have found it helpful to mention officiating during the interview or let the hiring manager bring it up.

I like the fact that mentioning officiating can show quick decision making and adaptability to different situations ... perhaps I may use that angle. I also agree that if it is brought up, it should be late in the interview. I definitely wouldn't lead off with it.

Like I said in my original post ... I clearly want to keep officiating, but not at the risk of my real job. Like 99.999% of us out there, this is not something that pays the bills, it merely makes the checking account a little fatter from November to March. I have to get out of the habit of looking at a job description and dismissing it if I feel it wouldn't let me referee... that's defintely not the strategy to have.

I appreciate the feedback and hope others will continue to weigh in as well.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Our2Kids

Thanks guys.

I do have the fact that I'm an official listed on my resume as well as the conferences in which I work. I've been on some interviews where the hiring manager notices it and asks about it. Most have found it interesting. Others merely gloss over it. Nobody, though, really has asked if it takes time away from my 9 to 5 job.

I posted this to see if others have found it helpful to mention officiating during the interview or let the hiring manager bring it up.

I like the fact that mentioning officiating can show quick decision making and adaptability to different situations ... perhaps I may use that angle. I also agree that if it is brought up, it should be late in the interview. I definitely wouldn't lead off with it.

Like I said in my original post ... I clearly want to keep officiating, but not at the risk of my real job. Like 99.999% of us out there, this is not something that pays the bills, it merely makes the checking account a little fatter from November to March. I have to get out of the habit of looking at a job description and dismissing it if I feel it wouldn't let me referee... that's defintely not the strategy to have.

I appreciate the feedback and hope others will continue to weigh in as well.

Many people who say "not at the risk of my real job" are saying that without meaning that.

For many of us, officiating is an important part of who we are. I left a job 8 years ago because my boss told me at the hiring time that there'd be no problem whatsoever with me working an earlier schedule during baseball season (we had flex time, after all) -- back then games started at 4:30PM and occasionally I'd have to leave as early as 3PM.

This was all fine at the hiring time until the next spring rolled around and I found that it was all hot air. I'd have meetings scheduled at 4PM when I'd already blocked out those hours on my calendar. Eventually, my boss told me to choose my job or my officiating. I reminded her what she had said, and she didn't think I really meant that I'd actually leave work "just to umpire a baseball game."

If I had been told this up front, I would've never transplanted my family to Wisconsin -- I would've found a different job. As it was, I bit my tongue and had my resume out the next day. It took me the rest of that year to find a new job, but I did. In my current job, I occasionally have to travel and have to find replacements for some games, but when I'm home, I can officiate as my hours really are flexible.

In my current gig, I had a boss who was miserable for other reasons and I went through an interview process at a local company and was offered a job. I did not take it because they were really put off by the idea of me "working outside of work" and they started quoting company policies on outside employment and made me really feel like they thought they'd own me -- at work and outside of work. Had I been unemployed, I would've figured out how to make it work, but since I already had a paying job, I simply turned down the offer.

My advice is this: Don't put your family and your livelihood at risk -- if you need the work, you gotta do what you gotta do. But if your officiating is a big part of who you are, I would figure out a way to do both, if possible. That means you have to bring it up late in the interview process unless you desparately need the work. I wouldn't put it on the resume, though -- it could scare people away and you want to frame that part of the discussion in your own terms at your own time.

And you have to remember that this is a vocation for a very small number of people. Many of us make more in an hour in our day jobs than we do working a game. Paying the bills really has to come first when you have a family, mortgage, etc.

[fullor30]

I interviewed awhile back and brought it up as I knew interviewer was a big sports fan. I say it's a plus, the more you can provide to a prospective employer as to what defines you the better IMHO. Being involved in associations, etc can also be a plus and perhaps one is on the board of their local association. It's definitely an ice breaker and allows you to amplify your people/management/leadership skills if it applies to job description.



That said, I'd have a tough time telling prospective employer that I need to be here or there to officiate. Personally, I'd have to work around that situation.

To most it's an avocation, but a big part of your life.

[Welpe]

That is a really great post, Rich. I guess I'm fortunate in that my job hours are flexible as long as we are in the office during our "core hours" (8-3 normally). But as much as I love doing this, I need to pay the bills and officiating just won't do it.

Good luck in your job search!

[26 Year Gap]

I have it on my resume listed among other things such as civic positions held rather than hobbies or other interests. I am in this situation myself. It may mean telling my assignor[s] that 'early' games are off the table unless they are local. I would not leave it OFF a resume, because it does tell a reader that you have a skill set that could be important for a prospective employer. With the unemployment rates being what they are, it may not be a unique story.