Hi all -- used to be a common poster back in my IB / PE days, but it's been awhile. I've been working in Corp Dev / Strategy for 2+ years at a sports agency, and largely, it's been great. I realized I wanted to work in sports (and get out of high finance) while I was still in PE, and was able to find a timely opportunity to move.
Fast forward to today, and I've updated my career goals a bit. I realized I don't want to be an agent, which means I'd need to climb the corporate ladder on the Corp Dev / Strategy side. Only issue there, is we are a lean team. It's just me (manager) and my boss (SVP). I'm up for promotion this year (finally), but I haven't really seen how my role was going to change going forward and ultimately realized I'd like to work for a team or league (likely entering on the strategy side) where I can (hopefully) get my foot in the door there and work my way up to the next role.
That's been my plan for the last ~6 months. Then, as some college sports fans may know, the House Settlement came up and University Athletics Departments ("ADs" for short) are now hiring for similar roles to buildout their ADs as schools need to generate revenue to share with players to stay competitive (that is the short version). One of these roles came up at my alma matter's AD. They were looking for someone with 2-4 YoEs (I have 5... will table that) with an IB / PE background with experience in sports. I felt like the perfect fit and am super passionate about my college - so applied. It felt like being in the right place and the right time (again, just like how I got my current job). Got through the first round, then a case study which felt challenging, but doable given my knowledge of the college sports industry and work experience in that space.
Got through to the final interviews. I've had enough experience with job searches to know when interviews go poorly, just average, or good. I had 4 interviews, and would think 1... maybe 2 were average at worst. The last interview they even told me the start date. Got out of there feeling great. Sent follow-up emails, got responses.
Then, heard nothing for a week. With knowing how fast they wanted to move, I figured I didn't get it. Had pretty much already processed that and moved on. I then got a 6pm Friday auto-generated email from the Hiring Manager (who had been emailing me personally on the side) that I didn't get the role that really re-opened the wound. I was going back to campus the next day for a football game (biggest one of the year) -- they likely knew this and couldn't wait until Monday? Couldn't give me a call after 7 rounds of interviews? Again, I figured I didn't get it, but the method of how I found out felt like such a punch below the belt.
Maybe I'm being sensitive because my hopes were admittedly too high, but I thought being an alum of the school would mean something (especially someone who donates and goes to reunions - which the school tracks). Instead, got treated as if my Goldman resume drop didn't make it past HR. I emailed the hiring manager back asking for feedback and thanking her for her time, and of course, I didn't get a response. Maybe I bombed the interviews and didn't realize, but this was all such a shock even after I figured I didn't get it. Am I right to be upset about this? I talked to a few mentors who aren't in the sports world who surmised I may have been 'too' experienced and they wouldn't have wanted to match my salary or over hire for the role, but I'm not sure I believe them. If that's the case, why interview me at all?
Not even sure where I'm going or if this is the right place to post -- but have been admittedly bummed for the past week since finding this all out and posting / venting here has helped in the past. It's pretty hard to go back to my day job after going through all this - so was hoping for some advice there. My current job is still fine (up for promotion at year end), but felt like I missed an awesome opportunity and it's hard to trust the process that the next one will come up. Trying to get back on the horse and excited about my day job again and just trust I'm going on the right path, but feel like I'm in such a niche agency now it's hard to know the right role will come up. If you made it this far, thanks for reading.
I literally went to a Superday of a company I really like for the MBA internship and FT just to get rejected both times. During the happy hour in my FT interview, more than one of the younger interviewers who were on the decision table the year before for the internship admitted I didn't get the offer because of 1 particular senior who thought my background was a bit too nontraditional (they literally revamped their whole recruiting strategy because of me - was told that by an internal contact there). I felt very numb after that second rejection and was borderline fuming when I received the auto rejection email in a class I was in at the time. Took awhile to get over it and I hope you can move on from this rejection as well.
Sorry that it happened to you but if it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't meant to be.
Also the 7 round interview = rejection via email / no feedback. Had something like this happened to me 2 months ago. Job market is really out of whack right now.
Appreciate you reading and the feedback. You're likely right - one of the interviewers didn't like me for whatever reason and it kept me from getting the offer.
The thing that really sucks is just the lack of feedback. But, could've been something dumb and arbitrary, like your situation, which may be why they didn't tell me. Just sucks to have a bad taste in my mouth every time I put on a college football or basketball game (which I know I should have considered as a potential outcome).
Yeah at least in my case, that 1 person was the difference between me getting an offer for the internship which was almost a guarantee conversion to FT. Still job searching ~6 months post MBA and slowly losing hope for Q4 hiring (have some decent leads for Q1 with some seniors / C-Suite who I've networked with and are aware of my interest in joining their organizations).
I have trouble getting out of bed and being productive some days. At least you have a FT job currently with upward mobility. Think about the positive.
I feel you man. Both on the frustration with rejection emails, and the dissapointment and disillusionment of being slighted by your AM.
Look, you've seen a bit more now about what to expect for an interview process, you're clearly interested in these types of roles, and you've told us there is a lot of opportunity as this role is being built out.
Keep killing it, get the promomtion, and maybe work on a list of other schools you'd be interested in a similar job with. Maybe they're in a nice location, or pay well, or just have amazing sports.
Already started looking at similar schools lol
Waiting until the promotion before I continue the search, but you're totally right. Appreciate it!
We've all been there man. I also have a white whale tale that I was so close to but it got away. My tale had a silver lining in that I was surprised I even got as far as I did after I learned I was beaten by an expert in white whale hunting. It may help to refocus on a hobby for a couple weeks before hunting again. Try not to get discouraged because you will find more great opportunities and if you give up looking for months you may miss some of them.
Adding my voice to say hang in there and try your best to shift your mindset. You didn't get the dream job and thry "missed out" on you. Trust me. This is not cliche. This is positioning. The things we tell ourselves slyly slip into our speech.
Keep going. You got this!
From the title—I almost thought it will be another giveadvcepls episode
This is a good life lesson young Padawan. You might care a lot about your alma mater. It is almost assuredly so that your alma mater (and those who work there) do not care at all about you. The good thing is, you don’t need them. Your school is not the only one with a promising athletics dept that needs finance people to right the ship. Plenty of opportunities elsewhere once you get past the whole working for a school you love part. It’s unrequited my man, chin up
It happened to me recently during a long, depressing job hunt process as well - rejected at a super well-known fund on WSO despite getting strong feedback on the case, then having me meet senior members, etc., all because of a very stupid social faux pas at the end of the interview. I was bummed for a couple of weeks.
You're right to be upset about this and the reason they gave you is BS. It's normal to feel that way.. all of us do (as you can see from the comments). But things happen for a reason (for me, the "dream fund" would have required a move which, in hindsight, I wasn't ready for at all), and ultimately, it's a long career, so things will work out your way.. just keep hope and maybe stay in touch with these people. Believe in the fact that the right role will come up for you and when it does, approach it with the same energy as you did for this one.
Keep your head up g, just chiming in with the rest of the people on my own story too. (Ignore tag, but I still remember super clearly very late in undergrad years there was this dream job at a dream firm - Super good team at a top HF)
Went for their insights program, attended their networking sessions and all, and had multiple touchpoints with the team throughout the year both through luck and self-created opportunities too. Went through the process, had other exploding offers too, and was expedited. The process went well, PM liked me, and moved on quite a few rounds. Made it to the end, and had good indicators. Even had someone call to schedule (thought it was an offer call due to the timeline/nature) to schedule one more final final round IF I were to move on.
Thought things were going well, and while I didn't think I was a lock, my profile was really super suited for the role (or so I believe) and my story/narrative/prior experiences made me feel that I had a good shot. Got hit with the most cookie-cutter rejection email, and had absolutely no feedback. Reached out to various interviewers and the team but had nothing in response.
Was genuinely crushed as it was the numero uno for me. Dream career, dream industry, and really liked the team and culture. Was actually sad and depressed for a lil while, but chugged on. Failure was an old friend, and even if it did hurt, rolling with the punches was something every senior in banking told me. Took another offer (wasn't my first choice) and it did turn out well for me. Sometimes the saying on how one door closes and another opens is real.
Of course, there was a good dose of luck involved, but you have a great background man. You definitely qualify and can get your foot through the door almost whatever role you want, and sometimes there is something out of your control that you can't manage. Just keep your head up, and take a break, heck some people even go to Biz school to network and forget about things like these too. If you think it may be too siloed, perhaps post-grad may be a good time to broaden/expand your horizons a bit if you can't get excited about work too.
I'm sure you know this better than me, but a job is just a job at the end of the day. Fk 'em, you will get a better one!
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