I am sorry to be blunt…but I have to ask…What was his plan? Did he think the fellowship would last forever? I have no experience with fellowships, but I thought they were for people doing research or graduate studies. Doe he have an advanced degree or just his bachelors in finance?
He definitely needs to ask the people he has been working for for advice and introductions. I would let him move home, but I’m one of those helicopter types who always helped too much…Is his 12 month emergency fund 12 months of rent t $700 which I think you said was his rent? If so, that is not really a 12 month fund (if he was to pay rent on his own in the real world).
I will face the job search and living home dilemma soon as S2 doesn’t like his major field but was too late to change. I don’t know what he will do, but he has lived at home for college so it’s not a big deal as long as he is working some job while looking for his “real” job. He has one more semester. He can’t even seem to get himself and internship and that is something I can’t help him with as i don’t know the requirements. I am glad he will have to navigate that himself because it will help him down the road. An internship is required.
I wish him luck on the job search. It might be the type of job where you have to know someone. Most jobs seem to be that way these days.I think the idea of working in the finance dept of a sports team/company is a great idea. He has the perfect background, so that should help. I bet there are not a lot of finance majors who have sports teams and sports mgt. backgrounds as well.
What was his plan? I think he assumed a higher level position would become available. I don’t think he ever asked if there were future opportunities for him - he just focused on working hard and impressing the coaches - thinking that would pay off. He just has his bachelors with the finance major. The coaches are helping him - but I am concerned that he is relying on them too heavily. Networking is key in this industry - and I get that - but I like to see multiple strategies in use.
He truly has 12 months of expenses saved - including rent, food, etc. He saved an amazing amount relative to his income.
Not sure what kind of job he is looking for, but there is a lot of NCAA compliance work that has to be done at colleges/universities, if he wants to stay in higher education and athletics. If his lease can be continued month to month and he doesn’t mind eating into his savings, it would be okay to stay, but if he has to commit to another year on the lease then he should move home during his search.
Here’s a funny development. I sent him a link to a major sports/entertainment company - that has a financial analyst position open - in his current town! He responds that while it is not really what he wants to do - the founder of the company is a huge supporter and major donor of his university! I had no idea. I really hope he applies.
He could also look at recruiting companies (that help high school athletes get recruited), working for a sporting goods company like Dick’s or UnderAmour, or working in tournament organization either through the association for the sport or private companies. There is a lot of money and finance in those tournaments. What was his sport? Is he able to coach? My daughter’s team has a head coach and an assistant, and the assistant doesn’t make much but gets to travel to recruit, run camps and clinics using university facilities, and I’m sure try to build her own rep as a coach.
They are illegal in many cases. http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm describes the rather limited conditions where an unpaid internship may be legal at a for-profit private sector entity.
He works in college football - mostly in recruiting - which includes a lot of database skills, video editing and social media. He has not played college football and is not qualified to coach - which is one of the limiting issues I see - many of the posted positions combine recruiting and coaching, or operations and coaching. His goal is a higher recruiting position at the collegiate level or an entry level NFL recruiting position.
I would love to see him broaden his search to include companies like UnderAmour or financial mgmt firms that have athletes as clients. But I am just offering suggestions to him and trying to be supportive without pushing my ideas too hard.
D is “lucky” enough to have lived in a family where H was in the entertainment industry. Only in the case of episodic TV did a job last more than two years. Usually a movie or TV pilot would end after a few months. So “losing a job” has never been a traumatic thing in our house. If he is going to be in sports/entertainment, even on the executive side, you are going to have to get accustomed to the ephemeral nature of work in that field. Both you and he needs to learn to roll with the punches. It can be done. The only advice I would give him is always keepl six months of living expenses banked. And remember, he is now the expert in your family in his field and more than likely knows best as to where the work can be found. That’s awfully hard on helpful types( like myself. )
Maybe I’m overly sympathetic but I don’t really see a problem in letting him live at home until he finds work again. He’s a grown adult who could live independently if needed, but if the OP is willing to let him live at home and save money then why not?
This is a very different scenario from, say, someone who just graduated from college and wants to live at home due to laziness.
Sorry you are going through this, RVM. Been through it twice with DS#1 since he loves to work with start-ups and, whell, they are risky. I did do some internet searching with/for him after the first lay off back in early 2010. He ended up being the one to find his best options by using certain key words in his search and on his resume/cover letter. When he went through it again in late 2012 when they eliminated his department, he did it all on his own. It worked out well for him in the long run. Good luck with that lead you found!!
Wouldn’t recruiting from a non-coaching perspective be mainly the kinds of things that statisticians and quantitative finance people do (i.e. like described in Moneyball as being revolutionary at the time, but commonplace (but not universal) now among professional teams)?
This is relevant but not helpful: My son graduated 1 year ago with lots of experience in media, sports, particularly filming sports events. After 6 months of fruitless job search I told him he needed to get “A JOB, any job” and I directed him to a firm that was interviewing for a new store they were going to open in our area. He has been working at that job for 6 months now, and doing a little bit of freelance work filming. Still living at home, but … baby steps.
This is less relevant but potentially more helpful. I found this story fascinating (in Inc Magazine) about the guy that invented and successfully marketed an ice pack product for athletes. To find the article online, search: How This Fitness Entrepreneur Won Over Blake Griffin and LeBron James
Also—while he looks for work has he ever considered becoming a “virtual assistant”? My D edits and creates webinars for various small companies( while she is between singing gigs.) Her clients are all over the world and since it’s all done online, she sets her own hours. It’s actually pretty lucrative.
If he is looking at sports management., he may want to widen his net. Another possible fit might be the management agencies that represent players, if he has people willing to give him recommendation letters, he might be able to get in the door with one of them. There also are things like minor league sports teams and leagues as well. With college, it will probably require networking, and the people he has worked with will be huge in getting in with them.
I would not be worried, yet. Although I have never lost a job, I know many who have and weathered the process quite well. He is in a good position now to job hunt, while he still has a job. He should make use of the resources being at school provides, let everyone he knows he is looking, including professors he is/was on good terms with, etc. Good luck to him.
Thanks for the feedback. I agree that in his field - he will most likely be changing/losing jobs frequently and this is something we all have to get accustomed to - not a horrific event.
Moneyball - yes! His favorite book and he wrote his college admissions essay about it.
I agree about the mgmt and financial companies that represent athletes - manage their money, etc. I think that would be a great blend of his finance degree and his love of sports. He sees that as Plan B - right now - his laser beam focus is on finding another NCAA or a NFL job.
I am feeling better now that he has started actually applying for jobs himself instead of waiting for one of his coach connections to magically land him an interview.
I think working for one of the mgmt companies would be great and could lead him back to the college side. I would think that having someone on staff that had that experience is something that colleges could use in their recruiting – “We’ve got people on staff who’ve worked for those kinds of agencies and know how to help guide you.”
In HS, kids often would go to HS where the coach is known to have good “ins” with college recruiters and there was a track record of working with schools, NCAA compliance, etc. But what do I know? Glad that he’s making moves on his own.
