Transition from professional athlete 2 business
I recently retired from professional hockey and am looking to obtain positions in finance, specifically with IB's, but would be willing to start elsewhere. I have a degree from a non-target school, which I know is already strike one, but have qualities and leadership experience that I believe are second to none. The search has gotten to the point of desperation and has been immensely frustrating from the beginning. Does anyone have any constructive advice or would be willing offer any opinions/serve as a mentor/etc? Thanks...
Flash the interviewer your Stanley Cup champs ring.
Just retired myself. I may not be able to mentor you as I just am starting my professional career now but if you have any questions I'd be happy to help.
How did you initially go about the process and what suggestions/recommendations do you have for trying to earn an opportunity? Thanks
Initially I networked with fellow hockey alum from my school. I had a real good assistant coach who all the guys liked and kept up with everyone so he was my first resource. He got me in contact with the other alumni and I had a few lunches and talked to them about what they do/what they think I should do/if they knew anyone who was looking. They each gave me a couple contacts and I talked to more people. Also I got a PWM internship, even though I knew that wasn't what I wanted to do I took it to a) get a name on my resume (cause of hockey I had no professional work experience) and b) start on some licenses and show people I was serious. I also applied to almost every single job I could on my schools board/indeed/monster/etc, I spent hours and hours on there. Make sure you have someone look over your resume, people on here would be willing to critique it for you usually and that'll help a lot. Getting an interview is going to be the hardest part because once you are in there it's pretty easy to relate your professional hockey experience to the questions they ask. Once I was in the door somewhere I always got invited back, it was just getting people to meet with me that was the hardest part. This all took about 6 or so months which eventually led to me getting a FT offer about 3 weeks after I graduated (I didn't finish my degree while at university and had to go back after I got finished playing pro for 2 semesters).
Think of a couple people (alumni, coaches, boosters) you can call who you remember being really helpful and tell them that you just retired and you are want to start your next career. Also, I would do some volunteer or paid coaching for high school teams, travel, whatever you can find. This will give you some good contacts and will get you out there meeting people. Good luck and if you need any other advice PM me and I will be glad to help however I can.
How old are you? Could make a big difference.
I'm 27. I'm struggling with how to market myself in an environment that is so experience heavy. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...
You should be reaching out to people who work in finance especially people with a hockey background. A lot of employers prefer athletes to non-athletes. You just have to prove that you're willing to work hard. You're not going to find these places unless you start calling people.
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