Hang In There: Why Taking a Sales Job Might Be the Smartest Move You Make After Graduation
A Podium X Perspective for Gen Z Athletes Entering a Difficult Job Market
The job market hasn’t made it easy for recent graduates – especially Gen Z athletes transitioning out of sport. Employers are cautious. Roles are limited. And even entry-level jobs demand experience you haven’t yet had the chance to gain.
But here’s a truth that matters now more than ever:
It is significantly easier to get the job you want once you already have a job.
Economists call this the stepping-stone effect, and the data is clear:
- Employed candidates receive 2-3x more callbacks than unemployed candidates with the same résumé.
- Those who start in adjacent roles – sales, recruiting, customer-facing roles – break into their desired fields 40% faster.
- And sales and recruiting remain the two most resilient entry pathways in 2025’s tight hiring landscape.
Which brings us to the message many athletes need to hear right now:
Take the sales job. Take the recruiter job. Just take the shot.
Not because you’re “settling.”
Not because your degree didn’t matter.
But because these are the jobs hiring, and they develop exactly the skills employers value most.
And critically, these roles align with who athletes already are.
The 2% Problem – and Why Athletes Are the Exception
Recent research from NYU’s Suzy Welch shows a startling gap between Gen Z values and employer expectations:
Only ~2% of Gen Z ranked all three of the top hiring-manager values in their own top five values.
That mismatch explains why 1 in 6 hiring managers report hesitancy to hire Gen Z, and why employers increasingly feel that entry-level talent is unprepared.
Gen Z wants:
- Well-being
- Authenticity
- Self-expression
Hiring managers want:
- Achievement
- Growth
- Hard work
These aren’t inherently conflicting, but they don’t naturally align.
Yet here’s the breakthrough:
Athletes are the 2% that hiring managers want.
They already demonstrate achievement, growth, discipline, resilience, and consistent effort – the exact behavioral markers hiring managers say are now missing in most applicants.
And in a world where:
- 56% of employers report a talent shortage, and
- 77% say skill gaps make recruiting difficult,
…athletes don’t represent a gap.
They represent a solution.
This is why taking a role in sales or recruiting is not settling – it’s leveraging your strengths.
Rich Thompson: Proof That Your First Job Doesn’t Define Your Future
Rich Thompson knows what it feels like to stand at the edge of a transition with no clear next step.
He was a record-setting kicker for the Wisconsin Badgers – still holding the single-season field goal record today – who signed with the Green Bay Packers as a free agent. When he was released, he faced the same question thousands of athletes ask every year:
What now?
He didn’t have a mapped-out corporate career. He didn’t step into a dream job.
He took an opportunity in staffing – a field he had never studied.
That was the turning point.
Rich went on to become:
- Chief HR Officer for a $30B global organization
- Head of Global Talent Development for a Global 500 company
- A leader overseeing programs in 60+ countries
- Founder of Podium X, XPG Recruit, and Xtra Point Group
- One of the most respected voices and a published author in culture, leadership, and performance today
His rise didn’t come from following a perfectly aligned academic path.
It came from taking the job that moved him forward and letting performance do the rest.
Amy Carlisle’s Story: When the Job You Didn’t Plan Becomes the Career You Were Built For
Amy, now Managing Partner at XPG Recruit, earned:
- A B.S. in Interdisciplinary Social Science (Anthropology focus, History secondary)
- A Master’s degree in Psychology
- Had a corporate role she excelled in
Then she got laid off.
A former coworker offered her an unexpected opportunity: a role in recruiting. Not her field. Not her plan. But she said yes – and discovered a career where she naturally excelled.
Today, she’s one of the staffing industry’s strongest performers, mentoring teams and placing professionals across the country.
Her success reinforces something every graduate should understand:
Your degree is a foundation. Your first job is a starting point. Your performance is what writes your story.
Why Sales and Recruiting Are the Best Launchpads for Athletes
Because these fields are:
- Hiring aggressively
- Built on resilience, discipline, and consistency
- Performance-based (just like sport)
- Rapid-skill-building environments
- Usually includes strong training/coaching
- Pathways into leadership, HR, operations, corporate strategy, and people management
In six months in a sales role, athletes develop:
- Communication mastery
- Goal-setting discipline
- Pressure management
- Storytelling and persuasion
- Persistence
- Professional resilience
- The ability to create opportunities rather than wait for them
These are the traits hiring managers want.
These are the traits Gen Z is accused of lacking.
These are the traits athletes already have.
The Earning Potential Is Real – and Performance Is Directly Rewarded
One of the biggest reasons former athletes thrive in recruiting and sales roles is simple: performance directly drives income. These roles typically offer a solid base salary plus commission, meaning your effort, consistency, and results have a measurable financial upside. Recruiting is one of the fairest jobs there is – you truly get out of it what you put in. Top performers routinely outpace traditional early-career salary tracks because their work ethic and competitive drive translate directly into earnings. That performance-based structure is exactly why so many athletes don’t just survive in these roles – they excel. You can learn more about a typical recruiter role here.
If You’re a Gen Z Athlete Trying to Launch Your Career… Hang in There.
You’re entering a job market where employers are more selective, expectations are higher, and AI is eliminating many of the roles that used to be entry points. That doesn’t mean you’re behind. It means the rules changed – and nobody told you.
But here’s what matters:
You are already equipped with the qualities the market rewards – discipline, accountability, grit, and the ability to perform under pressure. Those qualities translate exceptionally well to sales and recruiting roles, which remain two of the strongest, most reliable pathways to meaningful professional careers. Taking one of those roles doesn’t mean giving up on your dreams; it means starting your momentum. And momentum is, and always has been, your competitive advantage.
And When You’re Ready to Take That First Step… Podium X Has Roles Waiting.
Our platform includes opportunities from companies that specifically want to hire former athletes because of the mindset you bring.
You don’t need the perfect résumé.
You don’t need the perfect plan.
You just need to start.
Sometimes the job you didn’t expect becomes the job that changes everything.