The Post Game Podcast #82: James Grugan - Helping Athletes Turn Athletic Experience Into Career Success
James Grugan is the founder of Five Star Hiring, a recruiting firm specializing in helping student-athletes and former athletes transition into successful careers.
After spending most of his career at JG Wentworth, James identified a gap in the recruitment space, specifically working with student-athletes and helping them translate skills learned from the field to the workforce.
What You'll Hear About:
- Why James left corporate life to focus on recruiting student-athletes
- Building a professional network that opens doors and how to leverage it
- LinkedIn strategies that get recruiters' attention
- How to identify and articulate transferable skills from sports
- Positioning athletic experience as equivalent to internships
- Why sales roles can be great careers for athletes
- Resume essentials that separate you from 95% of applicants
- The one-minute follow-up email only 3-5% of candidates send
- Interview preparation tactics borrowed from elite athletic preparation
- Creative outreach methods in the application process
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Introduction to James Grugan
(3:10) - Background at JG Wentworth and career transition
(4:30) - Discovering the student-athlete recruiting niche
(6:20) - Starting Five Star Hiring and early business strategies
(7:20) - "People want to help people"
(9:00) - LinkedIn strategy
(11:30) - Authentic follow-up techniques
(13:15) - The "Going Pro" presentation overview
(16:00) - Making skills transferable from sports
(18:30) - Performing under pressure and real-world application
(20:30) - Why sales is ideal for student-athletes
(23:00) - Resume essentials and common mistakes
(24:15) - Networking as the #1 strategy
(28:30) - Small actions that can lead to big advantages
(30:15) - Interview prep strategies
(36:50) -Universal job search principles
(38:15) - Current job market conditions and opportunities
(41:30) - Company partnerships and placement approach
(43:00) - Future plans for Five Star Hiring
(45:30)- Specialized approach vs general career services
(46:15) - Contact information and where to find James
Links:
Email: jamesg@fivestarhiring.net
https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-grugan-713246169/
https://www.fivestarhiring.net/
Social Media: @fivestarhiring (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X)
The Post Game Podcast:
https://postgamepodcast.beehiiv.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thepostgame_podcast/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-post-game-podcast/
Email me: joe.poduslenko@gmail.com