Basketball Resume Example
A career as a basketball player typically involves shooting the ball and communicating with teammates. For a successful basketball player application, you'll want to submit a professional resume that showcases your relevant skills. In this article, we'll highlight tips and examples for creating a basketball player resume that makes a winning impression on recruiters and hiring managers.
This complete guide to a basketball resume will equip you with the tools you need to compete in your applications. The guide will show you practical examples of how to structure your resume to show off your best and most relevant skills that keep you in the 🏀 game—on and off the court. It will also show you how to tailor your resume according to the job description and your unique skill set. Continue reading to find expert tips and advice from Jobseeker that will help you with your basketball resume.
Key sections for a basketball resume
It's essential to include a few core sections in your basketball resume, while there are also a few optional sections. A resume for candidates with little or no work experience may focus less on the work experience section, and bring sections to the fore that emphasize their skills, such as hobbies and interests, volunteer work, education, projects and skills lists.
The order you present these sections can vary according to your career stage, but it's still essential to include each of the following:
Resume Header
In your basketball resume header, list your name, email address, phone number and address or location. You can also add your LinkedIn, if you have one, to help employers better understand your work history and skills. While in some countries, you might include additional personal information or a photo, these aren't necessary. Make your resume header clear, concise and as brief and compact as possible. Consider different layouts that spread the information horizontally across the page rather than using a different line for each piece of information.
Only include professional, name-based email addresses in your resume header. If you have an old email address that uses nicknames, puns, references to your personal interests or anything else that could appear unprofessional, set up a new email just for your job applications. Finally, always double-check your contact details are correct and up-to-date before sending your resume.
Mark Howard
mark.howard@example.com
(111) 222 33 444 55
221B Baker Street, Chicago, IL
linkedin․com/in/mark–howard123
Resume Summary
Next, write a short paragraph to introduce yourself. You could also call this section 'resume summary' or 'personal profile'. In two or three sentences, explain your professional background, achievements and key skills. If you choose to write a resume summary, this focuses on your career experience to date. On the other hand, a resume objective addresses your future plans and career ambitions. In addition, your objective should highlight why you're an ideal candidate for basketball player roles by showing key skills and qualities that reflect the job description.
Alternatively, focus on introducing your career ambitions, and why this role is a good fit, both for you and the organization.
The best resume summaries reflect the job description and focus on qualities that are relevant to working as a basketball player, while highlighting elements of your personality that make you an ideal candidate. They also quantify the information provided with evidence. The graphic below showcases some good examples of what to include in your basketball resume summary.
Dynamic and experienced Professional Basketball Athlete with a proven track record of excellence in competitive play, teamwork, and leadership. Demonstrated ability to perform under pressure, maintain peak physical condition, and contribute to team success. Skilled in strategic game planning, on-court decision-making, and fostering positive team dynamics. Seeking to leverage athletic expertise and dedication to support organizational goals in a new professional capacity
Professional with experience in a competitive field, known for working well with others and leading when needed. Can handle stress, stay fit, and help achieve group goals. Familiar with planning strategies, making choices during important moments, and encouraging a positive environment. Looking to use skills and commitment in a new role to support broader objectives
Conversely, a bad resume summary might be too generic, lacking focus on the specifics of the job description. It will also fail to provide any useful insights on what makes you a unique candidate. The graphic above shows some of the pitfalls to avoid when creating your resume summary.
Skills
Adding a list of your key skills provides a quick reference for the reader of what you can bring to a basketball player role. Skills such as ball handling skills or team player are particularly useful for basketball player jobs. Again, refer to the basketball player job description for an indication of the types of skills the employer is looking for, and make sure your skills section reflects these.
Showcasing hard skills on your basketball resume
For your hard skills list, include any technical abilities or specific industry knowledge that's essential to working as a basketball player. These could be skills gained through work experience or qualifications. Furthermore, these skills are essential for a basketball resume as they showcase your expertise in the field. Add up to five key hard skills that show you're an ideal candidate for the role. It can also be beneficial to add context to each skill, showing how you've used it to positive effect in your career to date.
Your resume hard skills list should reflect your unique and specific industry expertise and experience, while also fulfilling the requirements listed in the job description. See the examples below for an idea of what an effective basketball resume hard skills list looks like.
- Ball handling skills
- Three-point shooting
- Free throw accuracy
How to list soft skills on your basketball resume
In your soft skills list, include any personal characteristics that make you a good fit for a basketball player job. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, but they're no less important. Indeed, transferable skills are growing in importance in the modern world of work, so make sure you include several of these in your resume. You should generally look to include up to five soft or transferable skills that match the job description.
The strongest resume soft skills sections include a mix of skills that match your best personal strengths, and that reflect the skills listed in the job description. See below for some examples of effective soft skills for a basketball player resume.
- Team player
- Quick decision-making
- Effective communication
Education
In your education section, include details of your most relevant basketball player qualifications and educational achievements.
Candidates aren't usually required to have a degree for basketball player positions, but it's still worth listing your highest or most relevant qualifications. If you have a recognized certification or qualification, such as NFHS Coaching Certification, be sure to include this. You might also want to include any educational achievements that showcase free throw accuracy or three-point shooting.
List your relevant qualifications in reverse-chronological order. Add the name and level of the award, the institution, its location (if this isn't obvious from the name) and your dates of study. You can also add some bullet points outlining any high grades, awards you won or specialist subjects you studied. Adding this information will show the employer your dedication to learning and your areas of specialist knowledge.
Additionally, mentioning any leadership roles or any societies and clubs you participated in while studying shows proactivity and initiative.
Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, 2017 - 2020
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Licenses and Certifications
Under certifications and licenses, add any further qualifications that show you're a good fit for the job. These could be professional accreditations and licenses, or certifications that improve your level of suitability for the position. Therefore, include the details of any licenses and proessional certifications required for basketball player roles, along with completion dates so employers can see you're up-to-date.
See below for some suggestions of relevant certifications for a basketball resume:
- USA Basketball Certification, 2022
- FIBA Coaching License, 2022
- NFHS Coaching Certification, 2022
Work Experience
Under your work experience section, add any jobs you've had in the past that are relevant to the position of a basketball player. Include any relevant jobs you've held in reverse-chronological order. Start with your current or most recent roles and work back through previous roles. For each job, list your title, the name of the company, its location and the dates you worked there.
Under each job entry, add several bullet points highlighting your responsibilities and achievements. Consult the job description for a list of the key requirements for the role and make sure your work experience section showcases how you meet these requirements.
A good work experience section pulls the reader in with clear examples of where you've put the skills necessary for the job into good use in your career to date. This typically includes evidence of how your skills and activities contributed to positive outcomes for the organization. Take a look at the examples below for some guidance on what works best for your work experience section.
Professional Basketball Athlete, January 2022 - Present
HoopDream Enterprises, Lexington
- NBA Champion, 20XX: Led team to victory with a season average of 25 points and 10 rebounds per game
- MVP Award, 20XX: Recognized as the league's most valuable player for exceptional performance and leadership throughout the season
- All-Star Selection, 20XX: Selected for the All-Star game, showcasing elite skills and contributing significantly to the team's success
Professional Basketball Athlete, January 2022 - Present
HoopDream Enterprises, Lexington
- Contributed to team success with strong performance and leadership on and off the court
- Demonstrated high-level skills and teamwork in various competitive settings
- Recognized for consistent excellence and dedication throughout the season
Above, you can see a weaker example of a resume work experience section to best avoid. Less effective resume work experience sections might take a more vague, descriptive approach to previous jobs. They focus on responsibilities and everyday duties rather than referencing career achievements and the value you've added for previous employers.
Expert Tip:
If you have limited formal experience, highlight other achievements, like completing training programs, certifications, or successful personal projects. (1) Present this information in a clear and concise format with easy-to-read sections and plenty of white space. (2)
Optional Sections
As well as the main sections of a basketball player resume, optional sections can help you prove your credentials to employers. Choose optional sections from the list below, if they help to showcase your relevant skills and experience.
Hobbies and Interests
Hobbies and interests can be a useful way of showing your skills and experience beyond your work and education. They also help to show a different side of your personality, and can help your resume create a more memorable impression on hiring managers. If you're short on real world work experience, hobbies and interests can be a useful way of providing more information about your qualities. Only include hobbies and interests that showcase your personality and personal qualities, and add something different to your application.
Volunteer Experience
Adding voluntary roles can be a useful way of showing relevant experience and skills for basketball player roles beyond your main employment history. Add any voluntary roles, including your position, the name of the organization, the dates of your voluntary work and a brief explanation of your responsibilities and achievements.
References
It's relatively unusual to include references in a standard basketball resume, but they are required occasionally. Check the job advert to see if you'll need to add references to your resume. Only include referees that you've had prior approval from, and notify them to expect contact from the employer.
References are avaiable upon request.
Best action words for your basketball resume
Start each bullet point in your work experience section with a strong verb to show actions you took. The suggested action verbs below will help the reader to understand your key qualities and the impact you made on the organization.
- Dribble
- Pass
- Shoot
- Defend
- Rebound
- Sprint
- Strategize
- Communicate
- Hustle
- Lead
Jobseeker's clean, attractive resume formats can help your applications make a strong impression on employers. Check them out for help designing a winning resume, and see our cover letter templates to help win over recruiters and hiring managers.
Example of a basketball resume
Now that you know everything that needs to go into your basketball resume, let's review an example resume that you can use as a guide when creating your own:
221B Baker Street, Chicago, IL
•
mark.howard@example.com
•
(111) 222 33 444 55
•
linkedin․com/in/mark–howard123
Former Professional Basketball Athlete with extensive experience in competitive play, team collaboration, and strategic execution. Demonstrated leadership on and off the court, with a strong commitment to training, performance improvement, and achieving team goals. Proven ability to thrive under pressure and adapt to dynamic game situations.
Professional Basketball Athlete
2020
-2022
Elite Hoops Management Group (New Orleans)
- NBA Champion - Led team to victory in the NBA Finals, securing the championship title for the season
- MVP Award - Recognized as the league's Most Valuable Player for outstanding performance and leadership on the court
- All-Star Selections - Selected to the NBA All-Star team multiple times, showcasing consistent excellence and elite skills
Ball handling skills
Three-point shooting
Free throw accuracy
Team player
Quick decision-making
Effective communication
USA Basketball Certification
FIBA Coaching License
English - Fluent
Spanish - B2
Quick tips for a basketball player resume
- Quantify your accomplishments by providing evidence that shows the impact you've made in your career.
- Use a professional resume format with clear headings, a defined structure and consistent marginsfor optimum readability.
- Make your basketball resume short and to-the-point. A length of one page is ideal for junior roles, while two is acceptable for senior applications.
- Reference your key qualifications and educational achievements, including grades if these help you stand out from other candidates.
- Tailor your resume for each application you send. Review the job description and adapt the content to reflect the specific requirements, including key skills and experience.
- Don't add hobbies and outside interests unless they help you prove a skill required for the role.
- Don't use an email address with offensive, funny or casual connotations. Instead, create a professional email address based on your name.
- Don't list irrelevant work experience as it will likely do nothing for your chances of success.
- Don't forget to keep your header up-to-date with every application, to make sure you don't include old contact information.
- Don't use unnecessary jargon to try and impress the reader. It may have the opposite effect.
How to make an ATS-friendly resume
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) help recruiters and employers to streamline their hiring process. They can store and process data, including applications and applicant data, quickly and efficiently. One of the jobs ATS applications are increasingly responsible for is initial candidate screening. The systems can quickly scan and rank resumes based on how closely they match the job description. If you follow a few simple tips when writing your basketball resume, you'll give yourself a better chance of ranking highly in the ATS screening and progressing to the next stage.
Here are a few quick tips for creating an ATS-friendly resume:
- Opt for an established, traditional resume format such as a reverse-chronological or functional structure. These will ensure your resume includes all the necessary details ATS systems scan for.
- Use keywords throughout your resume that reflect the job description, so ATS resume scanners can recognize a strong connection between your skills, and those in the job description.
- Using clear, simple headings makes it easier for an ATS application to scan your resume, as it can easily identify what's in each section of your document.
- Utilize a clean, clear resume design that helps make your content more readable. Use simple fonts and subtle color accents and design elements that don't detract from the written content.
- Use concise language to keep the length of your resume to between one and two pages. This will make it easier to scan for ATS applications.
For advice and guidance on creating the perfect resume, read our expert career blog and check out our detailed resume examples.
A basketball resume FAQs
As well as writing a professional basketball resume, you'll need a cover letter to introduce yourself and emphasize your credentials.
Check the job description to see whether a full, formal cover letter is necessary. In some situations, it might be more suitable to simply send a brief email to introduce yourself and accompany your resume.
A traditional cover letter should follow formal letter-writing conventions and structure, including a header, the recipient's address and professional greetings and sign-offs. For the main body of the letter, open with a short paragraph introducing yourself and explaining your reasons for applying for the basketball player role. Follow that with an explanation of your skills and experience and how they're relevant to the position. Close by expressing your gratitude and enthusiasm, and leaving a call to action that encourages the employer to open a dialogue with you.
If you want to impress employers with a professional cover letter, use Jobseeker's simple and beautiful cover letter templates.
For an experienced basketball player application, the objective of your resume is to showcase the many achievements in your career to date. As an experienced candidate, your basketball resume might include a work experience section that goes back beyond the standard 10 to 15 years. This will give you the chance to highlight your extensive experience and achievements. Your basketball resume could also include optional sections that demonstrate your experience levels and reputation in your industry. These could include, for example, awards, achievements and successful projects.
You can use a resume headline to introduce your document and set the tone for your basketball player applications. Resume headlines are also a powerful way of increasing your resume's chances of passing the ATS stage. They reference the job title and some of the keywords that match the job description. Write a concise headline including the job title, a reference to your experience or track record and one or two key skills.
You can use this example resume headline as a template for creating your own:
- Aspiring Junior Basketball Standout Player
- Dynamic Playmaker and Team Leader
- Veteran Basketball Player and Leader
The best format for your resume depends on two key factors. Firstly, the amount of relevant work experience you have. Secondly, the type of role and its level of seniority. For applicants without much relevant work experience, a functional resume format tends to be best. This places the emphasis on your key skills and relevant qualifications. If, however, you have relevant work experience in the industry, it's typically best to use a reverse chronological resume format. This highlights your achievements in work, which is probably the most important factor for hiring managers to consider.
Key points for your basketball resume
If you want to catch the eye of employers and recruiters, you need a professional resume that showcases your best skills and career achievements. Pick a resume format that matches your experience levels, and tailor the content of your resume to reflect the details of the job description.
Using the professional resume templates and resources of Jobseeker can help you create a great-looking resume that stands out from other applicants. Sign up today and follow the simple steps to get started. Whether you're a junior or senior candidate, a professional cover letter can help to grab the attention of the employer. Jobseeker's cover letter examples were created by careers experts to provide useful tips and ideas for your cover letter.
Sources:
(1) Writing a Resume, California Department of Human Resources: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/resume-tips.aspx
(2) Resume Tips, Duke University: https://careerhub.students.duke.edu/resources/resume-tips/
