That magical time of year has finally come – the NFL season is within reach, which means that myself and around 40 million other fans around North America will soon be drafting teams for fantasy football - You’re mine this year, Antonio Brown.

For the non-football fans or those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, fantasy football is an online competition, usually done with groups or friends or in a corporate setting, where members draft NFL players, creating a personalized ‘fantasy team’. Pool members collect points each week based on how their fantasy team performs.

In addition to bringing “Sunday-Funday” to life and boosting camaraderie in an office setting, fantasy football is loaded with valuable recruiting lessons. To put together a winning team, countless hours are spent researching and sourcing said talent, crafting the best lineup possible.

Evidently, there’s a ton to be learned from fantasy football strategy, but focus on the list below and you just might hoist the trophy at the end of the year:

Do your research

When it comes to making draft picks, you should know array of stats associated with the players you’re considering selecting. What do Odell Beckham Jr and your next hire have in common? Probably more than you think. Both will be assessed on various metrics and chosen based on some sort of overarching strategy.

Just like NFL teams grade potential draft picks on their college accolades, game film, interviews, and pro day performance, job seekers are similarly judged by their resume, interview skills, and cover letters. Get down to the fine details and ask the right questions beyond the basic ‘tell me about your strengths’ discourse. Knowing exactly the type of candidate you need (personality, skill set) will allow you to do this.

Think long term

Every fantasy football season starts with the draft day – a no-holds-barred scramble for the best starting lineup. Although wildly unpredictable after the first couple rounds, those who approach it without a well thought out strategy will regret coming unprepared.

In business, the ability to make hiring decisions that align with overarching business objectives is key. How does this person fit into the company as a whole? Will their skillset actually help achieve business goals?

Unfortunately, many recruiters treat hiring decisions as isolated events, thinking ‘what’s the best thing to do now?’ instead of ‘how will this work out in the long term?’. Always avoid hiring someone quickly for the sake of filling a position, even if it’s a bench spot or more junior-level role. All-star talents go down every week and you never know when that bench player might have to step up.

Jumping the gun and choosing the star quarterback in the first round is similar to hiring that candidate you interviewed early on with the killer smile and lengthy resume.

Choosing a great running back or wide receiver may be less sexy, but smart recruiters know that you need more of those, and the player quality drops drastically for both positions the further you go down the rankings.

So what’s the business lesson here? Understand your ‘bigger picture’ goals and hire accordingly. The candidate with slightly less experience could actually have the specific skill set your company needs

Look for people on the rise

In football, we call these sleepers. While most people will always try to get the best players, fantasy football veterans look for ‘sleepers’, the late-round picks who exceed statistical expectations.

Sleepers generally fall into two categories; The rookies looking to prove themselves, or the more experienced players yet to live up to their potential. The former is comparable to the job seekers with little experience, while the latter could be a current employee who is in the wrong role or hasn’t been given proper guidance.

So, have the nerve to occasionally look past resumes and hire people with the right talent, drive, and ambition to learn or improve upon themselves – Your company’s ‘sleeper’ could be the eager college graduate or the marketing person who really belongs in sales.

Have a back-up plan

Unfortunately, overhype is a real thing; The results you hoped for post draft day don’t always come to fruition.

In both business and in football, you can make all the best on-paper decisions and still get burned i.e. drafting Adrian Peterson a few years back (I did).

Yet, what’s the one thing worse than overhype? Injuries. It’s a near guarantee that one of your players will go down throughout the NFL season.

Hiring managers face the same problems in the business world. To avoid unnecessarily painful employee turnover, or “injury risk”, focus on having depth in every position. Don’t rely on one or two top talents in your company to carry an entire department. Take notice of where you have gaps and hire where you see fit.

Still unconvinced your hiring process might need an update? Check out our free Employee Hiring Checklist and ensure you don't miss key steps when adding new team members to your lineup!