Finding a great professional opportunity that makes the most of your knowledge, skills and passions can be as daunting and challenging as any opponent you've faced on the mat.
Now there's a new tool to help wrestlers and athletes in other sports put those skills to work for them in finding a great career position -- and help employers find top talent.
It's called InXAthlete.
InXAthlete was developed by two former college athletes for Lehigh University -- Max Wessell, an NCAA All-American wrestler and EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) champ, and Cody Ferraro, lacrosse player for the Mountain Hawks.
Max WessellWasn't Wessell supposed to wrestle in the WWE?
Loyal InterMat readers may remember an article at this website back in Sept. 2016, announcing that the former Lehigh heavyweight had reportedly signed a developmental deal with WWE to become a professional wrestler.
"I was offered a contract but never signed," Wessell told InterMat in the conference call to discuss InXAthlete.
"Instead, Cody and I formed InXAthlete while we were in college together."
And so what appears to be the WWE's loss is a gain for student-athletes as well as for organizations seeking individuals with job skills gained from participating in collegiate sports.
Cody FerraroThe inception of InXAthlete
"I was a lacrosse player, and a former wrestler myself," said Cody Ferraro. "I blew out my wrist. That was the end of my athletic career.
"It occurred to me that my athletic career helped me build skills that are appropriate for business," Ferraro continued. "I couldn't help but notice how many companies and organizations were seeking former student-athletes."
"However, there was no direct link to finding all possible positions seeking ex-student-athletes," according to Ferraro.
"We started InXAthlete while we were in college. It went official in October 2017."
Matching student-athletes and the companies that seek to hire them
InXAthlete is unique in that it seeks to match former student-athletes seeking a career beyond sports with employers actively seeking candidates who bring the benefits of a sports career to their organization.
"For student-athletes, InXAthlete provides 'one-stop shopping' convenience for career opportunities for current athletes, recent grads, or those whose sports careers were in the past," said Wessell.
"When an athlete signs up, you indicate the type of employment you're seeking -- full-time job, internship, whatever."
"As soon as an athlete fills out the form and sets up a profile, your profile is immediately available for all employers within the system to see."
"Companies can set up their search function to meet their specific needs," according to Ferraro. "You can customize search criteria to be as specific as 'seeking former wrestler with a finance degree.' Or you can simply post your job listing without any parameters."
"We wanted to make sure the website and software worked seamlessly," said Wessell. "We came up with the idea, and with the guidance of mentors and software development professionals, the idea is now totally functional as InXAthlete."
Max Wessell wrestled at LehighProviding student-athletes with competitive advantages
InXAthlete is designed to serve as a tool to help student-athletes and employers make a connection ... in an efficient, effective way that understands the time constraints of both.
"Forbes (business magazine) said that a typical student-athlete spends about 40 hours a week on their sports career -- practice, training, workouts, as well as games or matches," said Ferraro. "That's in addition to 40 hours each week spent on academics -- not just in-class time, but homework, research, writing papers, etc. That's like having two full-time jobs."
"Every day, student-athletes are conditioned to excel in terms of goal-setting, determination, being a team player, and other attributes that most employers view as positive," Ferraro continued.
"That kind of hard work -- not to mention effective time-management -- is greatly appreciated by large numbers of potential employers," said Wessell. "Many employers value student-athletes for all the hard work they've put in at college."
"In the past, student-athletes didn't always have time to attend job fairs or to use other traditional ways college students use to connect with prospective employers," the former Lehigh All-American wrestler added. "However, with InXAthlete, a student-athlete goes from being at a disadvantage to gaining a distinct advantage."
InXAthlete: Beautifully simple
InXAthlete is designed to be simple and easy to use, for both student-athletes, and for businesses seeking student-athletes.
"InXAthlete delivers simplicity in its platform that benefits time-strapped student-athletes," according to Wessell. "We wanted the sign-up process to be quick and easy. For most users, it takes only 5-10 minutes."
"What's more, InXAthlete makes it easy for student-athletes to upload a 60-second profile video, allowing them to emphasize unique skills for potential employers."
All these benefits are available to student-athlete users of the InXAthlete service ... at absolutely no charge. There's no upfront fee, no finder fees, no per-use charges.
Organizations seeking student-athletes to fill available positions will also find a lot to like about InXAthlete.
"For businesses, drop-down menus -- not word-search menus -- make it easy for employers to custom-tailor search requests to specific needs," said Wessell. "It's easy, one-step job posting."
InXAthlete offers employers two options for payment: pay by job search, or with a monthly fee.
InXAthlete is a unique service that is a win-win for both student-athletes, as well as for employers seeking the unique skill-sets available from those who participated in sports in college.
To learn more about InXAthlete, visit their website. If you're a student-athlete or former college athlete seeking a career position or an internship, you can sign up for free here. Businesses seeking student-athletes to fill available career opportunities within their organizations can get on board with InXAthlete's online registration.
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