Why you should hire a rower (or ex rower)

Four women are lined up in their quad racing skiff smiling at the camera and holding up their gold medals they have just won.

Yes…we know they are facing the wrong way…

When it comes time to hire a new employee, business owners will scour CV’s and make gut decisions on who they are hiring based on how good someone looks on paper. In this month’s blog post we let every HR person out there in on a little shortcut to choosing a great employee – if you see rowing on that CV, you’re onto a winner. Sure, there are exceptions to every rule, but here are a few reasons why hiring a rower is a fantastic idea:

They know commitment

Rowers are a different breed when it comes to sticking things through. While some sports will have you down for a midweek training and a weekend game, rowers slog it out 6 days a week no matter what level they race at. As a top level rower, 12+ sessions a week is a pretty normal thing… so they know what it takes to work their ass off and remain committed to an end goal.

Teamwork makes the dreamwork

There is nothing quite like joining a rowing crew to really understand teamwork and putting it all on the line for the person next to you. A fast rowing boat is one that literally moves together in one motion, and the best crews tend to be the ones that spend the most time in each other’s pockets. You get to know your crewmates through thick and thin – understanding teamwork more than any workplace will teach you.

Healthy people are productive people

A fit body leads to a fit mind and rowers are some of the fittest people you’ll ever meet. They’re usually pretty conscious of what is going into their bodies as well, so you’ll have a sharp worker that gets sick less.

Rowers know how to push

Anyone whose been in a rowing boat and trained properly knows exactly what hard work is. They understand that to get a result, you need to put in the hours. A slack rower doesn’t last the distance, so if you’re after someone who’s done 5 am starts and knows how to grind – look no further than a rower.

Time is of the essence

Sometimes working smarter can be more important than working harder, and time management skills are definitely something rowers bring to the table. Whether they’ve been studying or working through their rowing careers, they’ve had to not only do the work/study and socialising of their peers, but also fit in a couple of training sessions and recovery each day. They are masters of time management and doing things the smart way.

We’re sure every rower out there could add to that list, but the above traits certainly make the basis for a great employee. What do you reckon? Do rowers make the best employees out there, or are we looking at this through carbon-tinted glasses?!

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