College prospects should attend camps on the campuses of schools on their respective wish lists. (Kyle Prudhomme/NEBJ)
Parents: This lesson is for you. Many of you have likely performed multiple job searches over your professional career.
If you want to help your child land a college baseball opportunity, think about what worked in your own job search.
- Target your top choice of schools. It’s a lot easier to get a job at the company of your choosing when you actually know where you want to work, and you target your efforts there. The same is the case with college recruiting. If you want to play baseball at Boston College, go to camps at Boston College. Apply to the school, establish relationships, find out where the coaches will be, and get yourself on the radar.
- Job fairs aren’t for the top jobs. Just like in a job search, mass hiring events are for programs likely looking to fill out rosters. You likely aren’t scoring a great opportunity when if you attend showcases that aren’t scouted by college recruiters. If you want a top job, you need to find out where the top companies/colleges will be.
- It’s easier when you know someone. There is no question that a warm referral or introduction can help you land a job. The same is true in landing an opportunity at a roster spot. Find a way to make a connection to a player, coach or alumnus. There is always a connection to be made that might be the way you get your baseball resume to the top of the stack.
- Your online brand matters. Seventy percent of companies research your online brand prior to hiring you. The percentage is higher in college baseball recruiting. Make sure you clean up your digital presence, as it’s a necessary part of the current landscape.
- Say thank you. You were taught to send thank you notes after job interviews. The same concept needs to be applied in baseball recruiting. If you want to show respect and get on someone’s radar, thank them for their time. Communicating that you know a coach’s time is valuable is an easy way to show maturity and give the coach an example of what it would be like to be around you on a daily basis.
Happy hunting.
