Strategies for Career Success as a Student-Athlete
Overview
As a student-athlete, we know there are many demands on your time and attention. In this guide, we've identified very specific recommendations for student-athletes. (More general recommendations can be found in our other career guides.) Follow the steps in this guide to achieve career success!
Step 1: Meet Your Career Coach
- Schedule a job search strategy appointment with a Career Coach — Our team of career coaches will help you develop an internship and job search strategy.
Which career coach should you meet with?- Vania Tong — Undergraduate STEM students
- Noel Kreidler — Undergraduate business students
- Shauna Strauss — Undergraduate arts, humanities and public sector students
Step 2: Do Your Research
Just because you're a student-athlete doesn't mean you have to work in sports, but if you are interested in a career in sports, here's a few good places to start:
- Teamwork Online — Online job board for the professional league, minor affiliates and NCAA athletics.
- NCAA After the Game — Former NCAA student-athletes can post their resume, find employment opportunities and get job-seeking advice.
Step 3: Gain Work Experience on a Tight Schedule
- Micro-internships — The Career Center has has partnered with Parker Dewey to provide micro-internships: opportunities to build skills and experience working with local and national companies on exciting short-term projects. Most micro-internships are paid.
- Work Simulations — The Career Center has partnered with Forage to provide work simulations: short, real-world, online projects hosted by companies ranging from JPMorgan Chase and Red Bull to Lyft and Lululemon and hundreds more.
Step 4: Start Networking
- Start building your professional network — Use the LinkedIn Alumni Tool and Bronco Exchange to find alumni who have the types of careers you would like to have, or who are working at the types of companies you would like to work at. Reach out to request a career conversation with them—alumni love to hear from students!
- Join the Bronco Network — A mentorship program specifically designed for upperclassmen student-athletes to build their networks before graduation. Open to juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
- Use LinkedIn to find alumni with a shared interest in your sport.
Step 5: Connect with Athletics Alumni
- Bronco Exchange is an exclusive and easy-to-use platform that connects Santa Clara University students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends in a global, virtual community. Whatever your goals, there’s a Bronco in your corner ready to help.
Prepare for Your Next Year
Have you completed all of the recommended steps for student-athletes? Explore the other career guides.
