How a job search is like baseball

Even Ken Griffey Jr. takes batting practice and goes through spring training.

I love baseball. I love helping people succeed in their job search. I can't believe it took me a year and a half of blogging to write this post.

24 ways a job search is like baseball:

1. There is a high failure rate; it’s impossible for anyone to bat 1.000. A .300 batting average - failing twice as often as you succeed - is Hall of Fame level performance.

2. You can't win from the bench; you need to step up to the plate.

3. It’s a game of inches. Winning involves doing all the little things right.

4. You need to be confident and humble at the same time. Showing up an Ump will get you more called strikes. Showing up the other team can have you hearing "chin music."

5. Natural talent will only take you so far. Those with a solid work ethic will vastly surpass those with talent alone.

6. Spring training before the season starts is essential to work out the kinks before the games count.

7. Not every hit will be a home run. Your job is often to just get on base. Many times it’s only possible to hit a single (get through the phone screen.)

8. You need to touch them all; you can only get to second base (first interview) from first base. You can only get to third base (second interview) from second. The only way to score is to make it all the way around the base path to home plate without getting picked off.

9. Sometimes you’ll disagree with the ump’s call, but right or wrong, it stands. Arguing a call will only get you thrown out of the game and labeled a poor sport.

10. Play your own position. We each have different strengths. Not everyone is a catcher; not everyone can pitch. You’re the most marketable at the position you play the best.

11. Everyone commits errors. Learn from them so that you don’t make the same error in the same situation again.

12. You can’t steal second base with your foot on first. You need to assume some risk.

13. The game goes until there is a winner. There is no set time limit like other sports. Some games are over in two hours, some go much, much longer than that. You can't know ahead of time.

14. There’s always plenty of free advice coming from the peanut gallery. There's a reason it's free.

15. You can see the whole game the most clearly with your back to the crowd. Remember it’s the catcher who calls the pitches.

16. You will get thrown curve balls, fast balls, change ups and splitters. Batters take batting practice before every game so that they are ready for whatever is thrown their way.

17. A winning pitcher has thoroughly scouted the other team so he knows what to throw to each hitter.

18. Decisions of who to add to the team are not made for sentimental reasons. They are made to fill perceived gaps in making the team more competitive.

19. You can be cut at any time in favor of someone playing your position better than you.

20. There’s more to the game than your individual statistics. No matter how good a player you are, you need to also build up the team around you – be a team player, a “good clubhouse guy.”

21. A win is a win – in the next day’s box score, a 1-0 win counts the same as a 14-2 win.

22. Anyone can have a disastrous day. You can’t afford to dwell on it and create a slump. Ballplayers shake it off then give their all the next day in “a whole new ballgame.”

23. A good coach can make all the difference between winning and losing. No one serious about winning would attempt to coach themselves. As well as overall strategy, coaching maximizes individual skills - batters improve their average working with a batting coach, pitchers with a pitching coach…

24. A "suicide squeeze" is not named that by accident. If you force an employer to say "yes or no" before they are ready, 9 out of 10 times their answer will be "no."

I know I've only cracked the surface with the first 24. What can you add to the list? Comments and suggestions MOST welcome!