I have been playing football (soccer for those in Australia) for as long as I can remember. I have been lucky enough to play football on a professional and semi-professional level in three different countries which is something I could never have dreamed of. Unfortunately, I was not lucky enough to make millions of dollars playing football, so I am currently in a full-time role working as a Consultant at Optimum Consulting.
I started playing when I was five years old with my older brother. Back then it was all about having fun, making friends and keeping out of trouble. Now when I look back, I think football has changed my day to day life into something I can relate to in my current job.
Working in Consulting and Recruitment can be very challenging and demanding. My work week actually runs in a very similar direction as my football week used to when I trained at a professional level. Some of these similarities consist of:
PREPARATION – SET THE TARGET
Every Monday morning we run through our weekly goals and what we want to achieve throughout the week. We set targets, expectations and aim to be as prepared as we can to hit those goals. Football is no different to this. On Monday we review the opposition and work on ways to win the game on Saturday. This leads me to the next part, and everyone’s’ least favourite: repetitive practice.
REPETITIVE PRACTICE
I guess my week is not always the same, regardless if I’m at work or on the field. However, there are some common practices we do on a weekly basis, such as interviews, calling candidates and calling clients. Football is similar, with passing, juggling, playing games. The aim of the repetitive practices is to be consistent, become better at what we do, have a strong desire to reach the main goal – get a win.
TEAMWORK IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS
In football, teamwork is the most important piece of the puzzle in the overall picture. Understanding the importance of the team and that working together is what wins trophies. This is something I have learnt over time. Working together at Optimum is as important to me as it is to my colleagues. By working together, we can all achieve our goals. We rely on each other to deliver our A-Game every week which is no different to football.
SCORING GOALS TO WIN
On the game day, it all comes back to what we have done over the week. Using the game plan, what we have practiced, and working together gives us our best chance to be successful.
NOW… Let’s work hard to make sure there are more wins on and off the field in the future.
Marek Madle
Consultant