When talking with business owners and managers about their companies usually they will say that finding good employees is their biggest struggle. Sometimes they will find smart people but they don’t have any people skills. They find people who are outgoing but don’t have a good work ethic. Regardless of the combination it makes for a frustrating situation for the employer. Companies like Spirited Sales Leaders, who was founded by former cheerleader and current senior vice president of Varsity Brands, Greg Webb, help place former cheerleaders in professional career positions. More and more these days we are seeing companies specifically seeking out former cheerleaders as future employees. Of course we agree with their thinking but here are few reasons to defend the trend to hire cheerleaders.

Cheerleaders know the meaning of hard work.

Cheerleaders practice year round, often in the heat and can carry their teammates - literally. 

Cheerleaders are effective communicators.

Cheerleaders are typically outgoing and comfortable with communicating with others. It won’t be difficult for a cheerleader to take on a leadership position, a job entailing speaking in front of others or a competitive sales job because they’ve been doing this since the day they met the squad. 

Cheerleaders are competitive and want to succeed.

In most sports team members don’t have to tryout to be on the team but in cheerleading they have to tryout every year to reclaim their position. It’s in their nature to push themselves so they can achieve their goals. 

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Cheerleaders are enthusiastic and motivating.

A personality trait in cheerleaders is to be encouraging toward others and to motivate everyone around them to rise to the top and give 100% effort. Cheerleaders will bring out the best in their co workers with their enthusiasm and positive energy. See Workology personality types.

Cheerleaders have healthy lifestyles.

Employers want employees that they can count on to be at work. Healthy people are more productive and have more consistency with their projects and expected work load. Cheerleaders usually make exercising, eating right and living a healthy lifestyle a part of their everyday habits.

Cheerleaders have good time management skills.

Participating in cheerleading meant that the athletes had to maintain their grades, attend all practices and events and many also worked to afford competitions and cheerleading travel. Most cheerleaders are used to jam-packed days with not a lot of extra down time. They learn to use every extra moment to get their home work done, study when they can and they know when to say NO to social events that will distract them from their duties. 

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Teamwork is a cheerleader's middle name. 

If you looked up teamwork on Wikipedia it should be defined as "see cheerleading" and have a picture of a pyramid next to it. Every person has to do their part, stay focused and be accountable for their responsibilities. If one person loses their train of thought or has a lazy moment it will affect the entire team and the pyramid will crumble. In addition, team members often have to collaborate to choreograph routines and learn to accept other’s ideas. They learn the value of merging their strengths to create a final product. 

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Cheerleaders are good ambassadors for the image of a company.

In most cases cheerleaders have a clean cut look, they are well spoken and have good reputations in the community. Companies seek out people who can “sell” their brand. A genuine smile and confidence are attractive in most situations as well.

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Cheerleaders know how to adapt quickly.

In cheer routines there is constant change occurring. Sometimes they are changing a routine last minute due to a lost teammate and only have minutes, hours or days to adjust to the changes. They learn how to problem solve and find quick solutions that are best for the group.

Cheerleaders are coachable.

Being coachable can trump talent any day of the week. Being able to take instruction, learn from it and apply it in applicable situations is key in the work place and cheerleaders have worked with coaches throughout their cheering lives. They thrive on learning and are motivated by pleasing the coach. 

Eric Moran, an author wrote a satirical article called, “If you are in business never hire an all star cheerleader” based on a conversation with a person who was speaking negatively about cheerleaders. His best line in the article comes at the end when he says,

My advice to my “Business Professional” friend would be to NEVER hire an all star cheerleader. I will hire them all. Then I will take my chance in transitioning all of the traits listed above to the business world and we will see who wins!

Cheerleaders are fun to be around.

They are happy, they smile and they are ready to be adventurous. Want to keep the office light hearted even when work can be overwhelming?  Hire a cheerleader, they will get the job done and have fun while doing it!

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