Freese steps up to the plate with the crowd roaring behind him in the stands. There are two outs and two men on base. The Cardinals have a bad habit of leaving their players stranded on the bases and everyone knows it. Finally Freese gets the perfect pitch and rockets it towards the outfield and into the stands – it’s a three run home run! The crowd is on their feet, clapping and cheering.

Freese has been working his way up the MVP ladder. During the post season this year for the Cardinals, Freese has had four home runs and fourteen runs batted in. At this point, his hitting in the post season is even better than Albert Pujols!

What does this have to do with young professionals? If you were familiar with Freese’s background, then you would know that he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and also sent back to the minor leagues a few times.  Once again, why do we need to know this? It’s because the start of a young professional’s life can be hard. You’re fresh out of school and may or may not have experience in your field yet. You start applying for every job possible. Some of you might even get desperate enough to apply for a job outside of your field to see if you get lucky.

Time and time again you will probably strike out or ground out during the job search game. You might get a base hit and get an interview out of your application. However, you may not get a call back for a second interview and get sent to the minors. I think we could all learn from Freese that it’s okay to be sent to the minors a few times. You get a chance to practice and perfect your skills.

Until you win the game, keep on swinging, striking out or hitting singles. One day you will get your perfect pitch and will hit one out of the park.