Hey WSO,
I go to a D1 non-target close to NYC and landed there due to swimming and the scholarship involved with that. I have seen it helps greatly with networking and recruiting if you are a D1 athlete but most of those threads are about sports that are very prevalent on the street (e.g. lacrosse, baseball). What do firms think about these lesser shown sports.
Also, if anyone else has been in the same boat, how did you frame your story apart from the obvious (keeping grades up while doing 20 hours a week of practices, crazy hours for training, leadership).
Thanks guys.
They definitely still care and respect it. Swimming isn't that low on the totem pole anyway.
What sports are on the low end of the totem pole?
You're being too self conscious. Swimming is far more respectable than lacrosse.
I was a D-1 rower, few sports gets more obscure than that.
Stick with the typical story (because its proven and works), it replicates finance fairly well and shows your resilient. Consider tailoring the story to focus less on the crazy hours and leadership, and more on execution of tasks. As an interviewer I want to know that when I give you a task you'll execute it to perfection. If you don't know how to do the task, you'll exhaust all avenues to figure it out on your own. Most athletes at the D-1 level are perfectionists, team players, and don't quit when things get hard... which is concidentally why we're valued. I promise it's not for our intellect haha
Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.
I also rowed competitively through college (abeit in Europe). Had the same experiences throughout interviewing at BBs, MBB and Tech firms (google/FB/etc). In banking the former rowers knew each other, so if you can find one alum (or former swimmer on the street) that you connect with you can ask for introductions to other former swimmers in that sector.
I'll also add that in sports like swimming and rowing there's a certain camaraderie because you train so hard and often (I'd row 10x+ per week) with very little on campus fame compared to basketball or football. Hence, if the interviewer drops that they did a "similar" sport I found it very effective to steering the conversation in that direction.
Honestly swimming probably ranks up a lot higher than sports like football based off of perceived intelligence.
You'll be fine. D-1 Sports stand out regardless of what type because it's a D-1 sport. There's a significant time sink that has routinely be covered on WSO in the past (commitment, work ethic, etc.) that all sports have in common. Just tweak the story from D-1 Football/Baseball/T&F/Rowing/etc. to fit what you're doing as a swimmer and you'll be fine. That's the best advice I can give you.
Lacrosse? Srsly? can't get more gayer than that.
Duke lacrosse seems pretty straight...
I'm in Europe but I also was a D-1 Equivalent athlete in the most obscure sport you can picture. So obscure I'd pretty much call myself out if I told you what it is.
What Keyser Söze 123 says is litterally spot on. Rather than spinning the effort and crazy hours of training you put in, you're much better off focusing on task execution. I was in a sport with a very strict grading system where you had to perfectly execute over and over again to stay competitive. Believe me, that makes for a great interview story.
In which European country are there even serious college sports? Question out of curiosity, I am from a central European country and we have none (and since there aren't any sports there are definitely no different divisions).
To be honest, college divison Sports don't exist in Europe and that's why I sometimes wish I could've gone on exchange to a great sports U in the states...
Swimming is considered an upper class sport since team costs are a lot more expensive. You'd be very surprised how many finance people have their kids in swimming. I know my teammates back when I swam club had a lot of parents in the industry. The way I landed my first internship was through one of the parents. Do not worry about it, swimming may seem less than to the actual public but it carries respect
xc/tf are probably the true "bottom tier" sports in the finance community haha
Maybe, but it also depends on the person reading the resume. Swimming and XC/TF are fairly the same and both require the same skill sets. Also, to OP, I've had alumni from my non-target school tell me that they can get me a job on the street if I call them in my junior year (If they are still alive, lol), based solely on the facts that I was in the school of management and an athlete at my school. So it depends on who you're trying to network with because there are some people that focus more on you being a D1 athlete than what team your're on.
possibly, but as someone mentioned above, swimming is pretty known for its expensive development programs. usa swimming (governing body of swimming in this country) clubs and regional clubs are pretty expensive. youth development in swimming is huge and caters to the wealthy.
running does not have a popular club scene. i was mostly kidding around-- any d1 sport is pretty impressive
I think XC is motivating. The ability to push yourself in a discipline singlehandedly is a good skill to have.
not talking about the lack of athleticness in the sport dude. i used to run xc/tf. it's just not as popular in wealthy circles and does not have a lot of money funneling into youth development programs.
1/10
If I was a hiring manager, top of my list that would catch my eye would be a D1 wrestler. Not just one of the most physical sports out there, but requires an incredibly mentally tough individual.
I swam D1 as well - all about how you frame the story and make it work for you. Feel free to PM me.
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