Hey Reader,

Most career advice feels like shouting into a void.

Apply here. Network there. Build your portfolio. Post on LinkedIn.

All true. All necessary. But there's something missing that nobody talks about - and it's the thing that actually changed everything for me this year.

The WhatsApp Group I Didn't Know I Needed

In January, I started building the Recruitment Room. A membership community for people who want to work as recruitment analysts and scouts in professional football.

I came out flying. Energy high. Ideas flowing. Work getting done.

Then reality hit.

How do I set up calls properly? What should my emails actually say? How do I talk to people considering membership? The questions piled up. The energy dipped. The doubts crept in.

So I did something simple. I put together a WhatsApp group of people building their own football businesses. Mentorship programmes. Coaching services. Communities like mine.

That group helped me learn so much this year.

You Are the Average

Jim Rohn said you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

I used to think that was limiting. You can't always choose your family. Your partner. Your colleagues. Your day-to-day life is full of people you didn't select.

But then I realised something. The internet changed the rules.

You can't always control who you live with or work alongside. But you can control who you learn from. Who you ask questions. Who sees your struggles and says, "I've been there - here's what worked."

That's the room you need to get into.

The Problem With Going Alone

If you're trying to break into football, there will be moments when life gets full. When the passion fades. When you hit a wall.

Your code breaks and you don't know why.

You can't find free data sources.

You don't know where to watch matches without paying.

You post your work and get silence. No feedback. No direction.

You can push through alone. Some people do. But most people give up right there.

What Changes When You're in the Room

When I hit problems this year, I didn't have to figure everything out myself. I asked the group. Someone had already solved it. Someone shared what worked.

The 30+ members inside the Recruitment Room have the same experience. They get stuck. They ask. They get unstuck. They keep moving.

That's the difference. Not motivation. Just practical help when you need it most.

How I Actually Got Started

Here's the strange bit. I work in football as a data analyst now. But when I started five years ago, I couldn't code. I'd never heard of Tableau. Those are two of the most important skills for an analyst in football, and I had neither.

I didn't know where to start. So I reached out to people who were a few steps ahead.

​Ben Griffis. Chris Kearney. Carlon Carpenter. Jay Socik.

They were on the same path. Just further along. They answered questions. They shared resources. They showed me what was possible.

That room changed my trajectory completely.

What You Can Do Right Now

You don't have to join a community to do this. You can build your own room.

Find one person working towards the same goal. Start there.

Find five people posting about football analytics on LinkedIn. Message them. Ask if they'd be open to sharing resources.

Look for people already doing the work publicly. Reach out. Most people remember what it was like at the start.

Or join a space where the room already exists. Where people are asking the questions you're stuck on. That's exactly what the Recruitment Room is for.

The Real Shift

Getting in the right room doesn't make the work easier. It makes the work possible.

You still have to learn Python. You still have to build your portfolio. You still have to apply for roles.

But you don't have to do it alone. You don't have to reinvent solutions that already exist. You don't have to stay stuck on problems someone else solved last month.

The right room keeps you moving. And movement is what separates people who break into football from people who burn out trying.

Liam