Luck, Acknowledge It & Overcome It

In my first installment, I told the story of how I made my first attempt to get a job in the NBA. I left out one detail to that story of April 2017 that ended up a much bigger determination in my life than anything mentioned before. I wrote a letter. A month prior, Coach Hopkins had been hired as the new head coach at Washington. I knew going through the process of trying to get a job in the NBA may not come to be at that time, so I kept my options and interest open to finding a graduate assistant position in college as well. I decided as part of that effort, I’d write Coach Hop a letter to see if he would be looking for any support staff or graduate assistants. I found a UCF foldable notecard and one of the gold envelopes we had at the time and wrote him a short note, wishing him the best in his new role, that my family wishes him the best as well, and I’d love the chance to work for him if he had room for me. I put it in the envelope and sent it thousands of miles across the country, to a pile of envelopes just like it in his office. I made sure the family part stood out in the letter because while I had never had the chance to meet Coach Hop, my family happened to live across the street from his family when they were growing up in Southern California.

Coach Hop still tells his side of this story to others when I come up, mainly because sure enough, sometime in late May, he decided to open that letter among all the others in the pile. Remembering who my father was quite well, he called me on the spot, and I can still recall the long pause I had sitting in my apartment in Orlando, getting a call from an unknown number from an Upstate New York area code.

I tell this story for one reason only: I am incredibly lucky he opened that letter, that my one connection to someone else in basketball has turned into another four years working in this industry. It’s an important story I tell often, particularly when people ask me for advice in finding a job or starting their careers. When you go out and network, you’ll hear a lot of stories like it. The point of the matter is that regardless of all the effort you can put into finding a job, it will always take a bit of luck. Some of our graduate assistants have taken my advice on trying to network as much as possible, and a few stories get back to me of people giving their advice on this subject, often coming off as bitter at times because things haven’t been easy for them to make it as far as they have. Whether it was that person’s intention or not, that can be a discouraging feeling from someone receiving that advice in an area where there is no right answer to finding success.

My recommendation to anyone that asks for my advice is in three areas: Who You Know, What Can You Do, and What Effort Are You Putting In. I believe in putting everything you can into each of these areas, and by doing so, be in the best situation possible to prepare for when your lucky day finally comes. The issue that makes this a tough conversation is that there is no guarantee that a lucky day will come. That’s life as Frank Sinatra would say. Acknowledging that single point is the motivation to keep trying, rather than expect it to happen and give up when it doesn’t.

So now that we have acknowledged it, what can we do to overcome it? Let’s start with who you know. Everyone in any industry has to network for numerous reasons. The more people you know, the better position you’ll be in to hear about jobs, be considered highly for one, and hopefully be the right fit to be hired. I’ve heard a lot of stories out there of how people approach this and I’d say the biggest recommendation I have is to figure out what outlet suits you best. I prefer meeting in person, it’s easier for me to be more genuine as an introverted person. Knowing this of myself, I try to make it out every year to Summer League, or the Final Four and just catch people in a more casual setting. Others may be better on the phone, or playing the social media game and getting their name out there. Any method could work, just find what you feel most comfortable with. Managing those relationships you begin is important too, I’ve seen others in the past just go out and try to meet as many people as they can but then stop there. There is a difference between people knowing of you, and knowing you personally. Not every relationship is going to develop, so hold onto the ones that do.

Now, what can you do? This is a tricky subject in this industry. It’s easier for an analyst like myself because analytics is what I can offer naturally. What can you offer as a coach or an operations person? I think some people have trouble getting to a good conclusion here and just default to hoping who they know will be enough. I believe your experience is what you can do. You’re naturally going to develop skills as you work in different environments. There’s going to be something unique to my analytics work because of my background and where I’ve worked, therefore I’m constantly considering what that might be when selling myself. It takes a lot of time and effort to consider, and I think the more you can just bounce ideas off people, the better you’ll be able to shape your value proposition to others and separate yourself.

Lastly, what effort are you putting in? Not to just finding the job, but making sure you are always moving forward, learning something new, gaining from the experience you are earning. I have never believed in telling someone to take a job they don’t see themselves in long term, just to help climb the ladder to where they want to go. Embrace your role as if it’s your last and you’ll probably be happier in what you accomplish. As a result, you should create value wherever you are, and your colleagues will be quick to vouch for you as references.

The journey to where we see ourselves is a tough one. I know I’ve made many mistakes along the way, and the one lesson I felt I needed most was enjoying the journey more as it happens. You never know when your day will come, or if your idea of what that day looks like becomes the reality, but the best thing we can all do for ourselves is knowing what we can control as we put energy into it, and work to be in the position to be happy with what we are doing now and working towards something we hope to achieve.