Tuesday
November 1, 2005
sports.michigandaily. com
sports@michigandaily.com

ale AIrrbgi'n Bilg
PORTrS

9

. .. . .........

Want a job.
know your
SM yroommate - the one of us who doesn't have
season tickets to the Big House - has suddenly
taken an interest in football. She was eager
to let me change the channel from a "Law and Order"
rerun to the Northwestern game last Saturday, and even
inquired about some of the game's intricacies.
So, what prompted the newfound curiosity?
It's not a genuine attraction to intense
gridiron action, or even an attempt to
make herself more desirable to men
around campus.
Well, the latter isn't quite accurate.
She wants to woo men all right - men
with last names like Morgan, Stanley, Gold-
man, Ernst, Young and McKinsey. Her goal;
is to be the newest member of their respec-
tive corporate families. ME
That's right, this roommate's propensity KOL
for football springs from her desire forM
post-graduate employment at a highfalutin Megok
firm. Her lack of knowledge about the Wolverines has
burned her before. In various interviews, the employ-
ers have tried to break the ice by bringing up the
weekend's game. But instead of putting my roommate
at ease, she froze up. Although this probably did not
make or break her interview, it provoked her to study
football in the same way that she studies financial strat-
egy or investment options.
Until my roommate brought this to my atten-
tion, I hadn't realized that asking about sports in
interviews was common practice in the world of
business. In the world of sports journalism, you
can obviously anticipate questions regarding athlet-
ics - and not knowing the answer might very well
indicate that you're not the right person for the job.
But in business and science, it seems a little pecu-
liar that not understanding football could set a nega-
tive tone for the conversation.
On the other hand, if you know the ins and outs of
Michigan sports, you could be paving the path to your
dream job.
For Business senior Jeff Cohen, this has, more often
than not, been the experience.
"In the last year, I've probably had about 35 inter-
views," Cohen said. "And I'd say I talked about sports
in close to half of those."
This already-employed student has found that his
ability to talk at length - even endlessly - about
Michigan sports has put him at a competitive advantage
for multiple positions.
"There have been interviews where we've only
talked about sports briefly, and not received second- or
final-round interviews," Cohen said. "But for the most
part, when I've been asked to talk extensively about it,
it's been beneficial."

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X's and O's
In the horrendously stressful process of applying to
medical school, senior Malid Sharifpour found that
being well-versed in Michigan football helped show the
institutions that he got out of the library and into the
student community every once in awhile.
"We talked about football for 15 minutes
of my 20-minute interview," Sharifpour
said. "When I told the interviewer I went to
the University of Michigan, he just couldn't
stop talking about football."
But Cohen and others understand the flip-
side. Because the worlds of both business
and sports are male-dominated, athletics
can seem an obvious icebreaker or conversa-
tion starter in an interview situation. This
assumption has the potential to put those
GAN who know less about football - be they
ODGY women, international students or men who
 101 simply aren't interested - on thin ice before
the actual interview even begins.
If a person is in a bind, and can't think of who
caught that game-winning touchdown or doesn't know
why the Big Ten logo has an 11 outlined in the middle,.
the consensus advice is to change the subject.
"It's not incumbent on the interviewer to make the
candidate feel at ease," Cohen said. "Rather, it's the
interviewee's job to find common ground."
While this is certainly true, one has to wonder what
other interests are as ubiquitous at this University as
football. Is there another conversation starter that can
hold a candle to, "So, what did you think of the game
this weekend?" The interviewers are on the right track
if they think asking about it might uncover a shared
interest. And if you can't scramble to find this all-
important common ground, might you not have honed
your ability to think on your feet?
It's tough to say. But considering the multitude of
stories I have heard over the past few days, it appears
as if these questions are not going to stop. So, while it
might not be fair or entirely reasonable, I'd say it was
advisable to develop at least a passing acquaintance
with sports, and perhaps watch a highlight reel the
morning of your interview. And who knows - maybe
you'll end up actually liking what you see.
If you decide not to develop your sports knowledge
simply for the sake of your job prospects, you might be
safe. But remember this advice:
"It can be like pulling teeth if you and your inter-
viewer don't have anything in common," Cohen said.
"If you can't find anything, you're probably in trouble."
- Megan Kolodgy wants you to know that Michigan
football is 6-3, the quarterback is Chad Henne and
it has a bye week this week. That's your primer.
She can be reached at megkolo@umich.edu.

RYAN WEINER/Daily
Sophomore Tim Jamison, left, helped fill the void left by LaMarr Woodley's absence.
O the sophomore end
amison shows of 1ntens1

By Ian Herbert
Daily Sports Editor
After Saturday's game in Evan-
ston, sophomore rush linebacker
Tim Jamison wasn't quick to get on
the bus. The weather was cold and
the wind biting, but Jamison stood
around outside with his typically big
smile across his face and his young
daughter in his arms.
At first glance, it seemed a little
out of character for someone whose
play on the field is usually vicious
and intense. Jamison, who has made
tackles in just six games in his two-
year career, has recently drawn a lot
of praise from coaches and team-
mates for his intensity. The sopho-
more recorded his first sack against
Eastern Michigan this year, but he
really started turning heads two
weeks ago at Iowa.
In that game, Jamison helped
Michigan fill the void that was left
by junior LaMarr Woodley, who was
out with a badly bruised right arm.
On the stat sheet, Jamison made just
one tackle against the Hawkeyes,
but he was in the mix on a handful
of big plays - including a fumble
by Iowa quarterback Drew Tate.
"Right now, the biggest thing is
seeing some of these young guys
step up," senior co-captain Pat
Massey said a week ago. "Iowa was
the biggest showcase for that - John
Thompson and Tim Jamison came
to play every single day. They have
been putting the hard work, and it
paid off for them."
Carr called Jamison "explosive,"
and described him as the kind of
guy who doesn't stay blocked very
long - high praise for a defensive
ONE MAN'S
P48A PICKS:
FINALS
MIAMI OVER
SAN ANTONIO
(SORtRY PISTONS~
FANS
' P.:. HAO

SEPARATED AT BIRTH?
On the practice field, Jamison's teammates refer to him as "50." Why? Because
they say he looks like G-Unit frontman 50 Cent. Here's a look at the two so you
can decide for yourself.

Jamison


lineman.
"At Iowa City, he made a couple
of outstanding plays where he was
blocked and then the play stays alive
and then he gets in on the tackle,"
Carr said.
Thompson didn't get a chance
to show off again this week, but
Jamison did. With Woodley still out,
the sophomore was asked once again
to rush the quarterback. And though
his numbers once again didn't show
up in the stats, his pressure on the
quarterback stuck out.
Twice he hurried Northwestern
quarterback Brett Basanez - who
has been sacked just six times all
season. After the game, Michigan
coach Lloyd Carr had nothing but
praise for Jamison.
"I think Tim Jamison has really
come on. It was obvious last fall
that he is a very, very active player,
and by that I mean he doesn't stay

blocked," Michigan coach Lloyd
Carr said. "You may block him, but
he is going to get off the block."
Often overshadowed by bigger
names such as Woodley and Gabe
Watson, Jamison is not the most
well-known player on the Michigan
roster. He played just three games
last year as a freshman before an
injury ended his season. This year,
nagging injuries kept him out of
Michigan's first two games as well.
"He missed three or four games
in there, but we knew when he got
back, when he became healthy, that
he would be a factor for us," Carr
said.
So it looks as if Jamison has been
able to convince his coaches, team-
mates and maybe even fans that, no
matter what the stats say after the
game, his intensity on the field will
provide plenty of reasons to smile
when its all over.


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