Here's why student athletes are likely to succeed in a finance job
Mar 4, 2015, 02:57 IST
One Equity Partners is not a sports marketing or entertainment company - it is a private investment firm.
The high concentration of athletes at this investment firm - which some may find surprising - is no coincidence.Dick Cashin, senior managing director at One Equity Partners, knows from personal experience the type of "get-it-done mentality" that competitive athletics fosters, having competed on the US Olympic rowing team at the 1972 Summer Games.He is also familiar with the agony of defeat - and has learned that losses can lead to incredible opportunities."Everybody thinks sports is about winning," he told BloombergBusiness. "For me, it's more about losing and then figuring out a way to win. It's those things that make working with athletes and hiring former athletes a reasonable thing to consider." Cashin's approach to hiring aligns with findings from experts that suggest college athletes are more suited for a certain type of job - one that requires competitiveness, commitment, time management, and a high pain tolerance.These types of jobs can be found on Wall Street, the hub of the financial industry. Steve Bell-Irving, cofounder of Athlete Evolution Services, which helps connect college athletes with employers, spoke with Business Insider and explained why Wall Street is the perfect match for former athletes: "Employers see how athletes are driven to compete, strive to constantly improve, and have the thick skin to accept critical feedback. Industries that require great tenacity target these individuals when hiring, because the employer believes these skills will transfer to the workplace. The financial industry is a perfect example of a group of employers that zero in on former high performance athletes as recruits."Bell-Irving continues, "The money to be made and the lifestyle to be had can only be achieved through well-educated decisions and a 'get-it-done' mentality. Former student-athletes display these qualities and thus are in high demand by financial firms."Powerful people in finance and student-athletes share many qualities - they are confident, competitive, and hard-wired to win - but perhaps the most striking similarity is their ability to hunker down and do whatever it takes to get the job done.