Enrolling 40 students for our first class. Services begin January 2027.
The problem
Entry-level hiring has gotten harder. Fewer roles, more applicants.
52%
of graduates are underemployed a year after they finish.
73%
of those are still underemployed a decade later.
2×
as many applications for every opening as in 2022.
Why? Three things have changed. All three were underway before AI, but AI is speeding up each of them. Each one has an answer.
One
Entry-level jobs got promoted.
Employers didn't cut entry-level jobs; they rewrote them. The same title now asks for experience and judgment a new graduate hasn't had a chance to build, and AI now does the routine work that used to teach it.
Curriculum
One Textbook, personalized.
Investment banking's bar didn't move the way product management's did. Your student's Textbook covers what the work is now, what the hiring bar has become, and what to build each term to clear it. Each semester it's updated with feedback from mentors in the field.
One size does not fit all. Every industry is changing rapidly, and each in its own way.
Two
The apprenticeship is gone.
The first two years of a career used to be where you learned the job, with someone senior correcting your work. That structure has thinned, and AI is thinning it further. Graduates are now expected to arrive already knowing the job.
Coaching
One Coach, twice a month.
One person who knows your student, term after term: building the plan, asking what an interviewer will ask, and noticing when your student drifts. It's the apprenticeship, starting four years before the job instead of after it.
If employers have stopped doing the teaching, someone else has to.
Three
The application pile is too big to read.
AI makes applying almost free, so openings now draw more than twice as many applications as in 2022, and software filters most of them. To get through, an application has to stand out to a computer, or the student has to know someone.
Connections
One Mentor Network, at least twice a semester.
Your student talks with people doing the job now, from new hires to executives. Mentors give real feedback, explain the job from the inside, and get to know your student and their work.
You can't introduce your student to an industry you're not in.
Sources: 52% and 73%, Burning Glass Institute and Strada (2024). Fewer roles, more applicants, Handshake (2025). Twice as many applications, Greenhouse (2026): 116 per job in 2022, 244 in 2025.
Every Textbook covers up to four years, from the first conversation to three months into the first job. Each Textbook has several Editions, and each Edition runs on its own calendar: its hiring windows, its interviews, the people your student needs to meet. Here are three examples: an Edition from Finance, one from Sports, and the Exploratory Textbook for students who haven't chosen yet. Choose one, then step through the terms.
Too many families wait until too late in their college career. By then too many of the decisions on this page have already been made.
Students join any time from freshman year through junior year, and the work compresses to fit. A later start is more intensive, and in some fields the earliest windows will already have closed.
It's your student. You should be able to see it working.
Parents get a monthly update from the coach: what your student worked on, what's next, where they stand against the calendar. What your student says in a session doesn't go home. Your student chooses how much detail you see.
Monthly update · SampleOn track
Maya · Sophomore · Finance & Professional Services
Finished the networking chapter and sent four outreach notes
Mentor conversation with an investment banking associate
Mock interview with her coach: strong story, technicals next
Next up
Junior-summer applications open in November. Resume final by mid-October.
John Sheffield, Founder and CEO
Who's behind it
I graduated from Yale after four years of varsity football, with a degree and no real career plan. It took a mentor who made the time, vouched for me, and opened doors until I found my footing.
That crossing has gotten much harder. It's easier than ever to send in an application and harder than ever to talk to a person. Causeway is the help I wish I'd had: a coach, a plan, and connections to people already doing the work, from the first semester to the first job.
Tuition and payment options are covered on the call.
Finance & Professional Services
Sports Industry
Exploratory
Example shown:the Investment Banking Edition, one of 5 in this Textbook.See every Edition
What students aim for
The junior-summer analyst internship is the most direct route to a full-time banking offer, and banks fill it during sophomore year, a full year earlier than one might expect. The networking and technical preparation has to be done before the window opens.
When one door closes...
Management consulting, wealth management, accounting and corporate finance programs, the other Editions in this Textbook, each hire on their own clock, often later in the year and through smaller, more personal processes. Middle-market banks, regional banks and smaller boutique firms recruit on their own timelines too, often with a handful of seats filled through people they already know, and the technical skills carry across all of them.
TermHiring windowsMentor meetings
FreshmanFreshman year
EntryGetting started
Finance & Professional ServicesFreshman year · entry
Getting started
Where your student is starting, how much runway they have in a field that recruits a year earlier than families expect, and how banking differs from the other finance Editions.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
The Five Finance Tracks and the Work in Each
No mentor meetings this term
SpringThe foundation
Finance & Professional ServicesFreshman year · spring
The foundation
Accounting on the schedule, the coffee chat as the industry's basic unit, a first résumé in its strict format, and two tracks seen from the inside.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
The Networking Funnel
2 mentor meetings this term
SummerTechnical summer
Finance & Professional ServicesFirst summer
Technical summer
A week-by-week technical plan for the summer, alongside whatever work the summer holds, and a first wave of outreach to alumni and analysts at the banks on the list.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
The Technical Bridge: the mandatory summer workplan
No mentor meetings this term
SophomoreSophomore year
FallReady before the window
IB Technical Drills: the weekly quiz bank
2 mentor meetings this term
Reviewing the Campaign Term, and Planning the Summer
2 mentor meetings this term
Making the Summer Matter
No mentor meetings this term
Planning Ten Years Out from Three Real Careers
2 mentor meetings this term
Negotiating Scope, Not Salary
2 mentor meetings this term
Planning the Summer Before Fall Recruiting
No mentor meetings this term
Locking the Post-Graduation List
2 mentor meetings this term
Your Launch Plan, in Use
2 mentor meetings this term
Your First Ninety Days (revisit)
No mentor meetings this term
A typical year in the Investment Banking Edition of the Finance & Professional Services Textbook.
the Franchise Management & Operations Edition, one of 4 in this Textbook.
The Athletic Department Is Your Closest Employer
No mentor meetings this term
Outreach and the informational conversation
2 mentor meetings this term
The summer check-ins: keeping it moving when nobody is watching
No mentor meetings this term
Count your remaining terms and map your recruiting deadlines
No mentor meetings this term
Networking 101 and the Informational Interview
2 mentor meetings this term
Debriefing Your First Summer While the Details Are Fresh
No mentor meetings this term
Publishing Short Notes So People Who Hire Can Find You
Presenting to People Who Run Things
2 mentor meetings this term
The Sports Interview
2 mentor meetings this term
The last three weeks: leaving well, and asking about coming back
No mentor meetings this term
When Roles Actually Open
2 mentor meetings this term
The post-graduation list, and who gets activated
2 mentor meetings this term
The summer before the hiring season
No mentor meetings this term
Finding Roles Before They Are Posted
2 mentor meetings this term
The standing monthly check-in: spring of senior year
2 mentor meetings this term
The handoff, and a career-long network
No mentor meetings this term
A typical year in the Franchise Management & Operations Edition of the Sports Industry Textbook.
2 mentor meetings this term
Workshop 10: Describing Your Exploration in an Interview
2 mentor meetings this term
Debriefing the Summer Before You Commit to a Direction
No mentor meetings this term
Workshop 13: Mapping Your Destination's Application Process
2 mentor meetings this term
Locking the Post-Graduation List
2 mentor meetings this term
Planning the Summer Before Hiring Opens
No mentor meetings this term
Workshop 20: The Direction Portfolio, Finalized
2 mentor meetings this term
One Dated Action
2 mentor meetings this term
Your First Ninety Days
No mentor meetings this term
A typical year in the Exploratory Textbook.
Junior-summer recruiting
Finance & Professional Services
Sophomore year · fall
Ready before the window
Coffee chats with analysts and associates at every target firm, so the relationships and referrals are in place before applications open; weekly technical drills; the automated screens; and every firm's calendar mapped. Apply the day a window opens to both sophomore insight programs and junior-summer internships.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Spring
The campaign
Finance & Professional Services
Sophomore year · spring
The campaign
Recruiting for the junior summer: interviews drilled to a standard, preparation firm by firm, and an honest read from a mentor while it can still change the plan. It ends with a re-plan, whatever came back.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Summer
Sophomore summer
Finance & Professional Services
Second summer
Sophomore summer
A boutique, wealth, corporate finance or research role that builds the record, coached like any internship.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Junior
Junior year
Fall
The long view
Later-moving firms
Finance & Professional Services
Junior year · fall
The long view
Later-moving firms still recruiting, where first seats lead over ten years, and graduate school timed right.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Spring
Lock the list
Finance & Professional Services
Junior year · spring
Lock the list
The post-graduation list locked, relationships kept warm without asking for anything, and the launch plan drafted.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Summer
Junior summer
Junior-summer internship
Finance & Professional Services
Third summer
Junior summer
For most, the summer that decides the offer: the work done well, and the return-offer conversation handled right. Coached through the summer.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Senior
Senior year
Fall
Offers, or the backstop
Offers, or backstop search
Finance & Professional Services
Senior year · fall
Offers, or the backstop
Deciding on a return offer, or a full-time search for students without one.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Spring
Support
Finance & Professional Services
Senior year · spring
Support
A standing monthly check-in against the launch plan, through a semester when everything else competes for attention.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
After
After graduation
3 months
Start
Finance & Professional Services
After graduation
Start
The gap between signing and starting, the first ninety days on a desk, or a search that's still going. Later tracks are still hiring.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Main application window
Other hiring
What most students aim for
Mentor meeting
Hiring calendars shift from year to year and firm to firm, so the exact dates live inside the program: your student's coach tracks the live calendar and changes the plan when it moves.
Example shown:
See every Edition
What students aim for
There's no single deadline. Team and league front offices hire against the season, with few published windows and hundreds of applicants for each opening. Introductions matter more than applications, and many front-office careers start in ticket or inside sales, or in a paid seasonal role after graduation.
When one door closes...
Athlete representation, analytics and sports law, the other Editions in this Textbook, each hire their own way, and college athletics, minor-league clubs, venues and brands hire throughout the year. Sales and game-day roles are real starting points, and the experience travels across the industry.
Term
Hiring windows
Mentor meetings
Freshman
Freshman year
Entry
Getting started
Athletic department
Sports Industry
Freshman year · entry
Getting started
The intake conversation, and the first place to look for work: the athletic department a short walk from the dorm.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Spring
The landscape
Sports Industry
Freshman year · spring
The landscape
How a team's business actually runs, where operations sits in it, ticket and inside sales as a front door, and first mentor conversations for listening.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Summer
First summer
Sports Industry
First summer
First summer
Real work around sports: the athletic department, a ticket office, a minor-league club.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Sophomore
Sophomore year
Fall
Build the case
Sports Industry
Sophomore year · fall
Build the case
One real project someone in the business would take seriously, a target list mapped against each organization's season, and first introductions.
Example shown:
the Exploratory Textbook
, for students who haven't chosen a field yet. Students move into a field Textbook when they're ready, or stay in Exploratory for a field outside our Textbooks.
See every Textbook
What students aim for
Choosing a field by the end of junior fall, with the deadlines that matter kept in view. In fields like investment banking and tech, the earliest internship cycles start in sophomore year, so the plan keeps those doors in sight while your student explores. Fields that hire through relationships give more time, but the relationships take years to build, so exploring starts now.
When one door closes...
Every field Textbook is open to an Exploratory student, and changing course later is expected. A student headed for a field we don't have a Textbook for can stay in Exploratory: the curriculum is more general, but the coaching continues and we find mentors in that field. What carries over: the habits, the way your student talks to people who do the work, and a record of what they tried and why they moved.
Term
Hiring windows
Mentor meetings
Freshman
Freshman year
Entry
Getting started
Exploratory
Freshman year · entry
Getting started
Where your student is starting and what they already know about themselves. No career decision is made yet, and starting undecided is the normal place to begin.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Spring
Try and test
First-year programs
Exploratory
Freshman year · spring
Try and test
Testing fields against your student's own evidence, and first mentor conversations across fields.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Summer
A first real test
Exploratory
First summer
A first real test
A summer job, project or shadowing chosen to test one field, not to impress.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Sophomore
Sophomore year
Fall
Narrowing
Exploratory
Sophomore year · fall
Narrowing
Fields narrowed to two or three, each checked against its calendar: which deadlines are coming, and what it takes to be ready for them.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Spring
First internships
Internship applications
Sports Industry
Sophomore year · spring
First internships
Internship applications, many posted in spring; the conversational sports interview; mocks with people who hire. It ends with a re-plan.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Summer
Sophomore summer
Sports Industry
Second summer
Sophomore summer
An internship or seasonal role, coached: do the work, build relationships across departments, ask about coming back.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Junior
Junior year
Fall
The long view
Sports Industry
Junior year · fall
The long view
Sports ladders are long: the ten-year map, when roles actually open, and the full-time plan.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Spring
Second internships
Internship applications
Sports Industry
Junior year · spring
Second internships
A second round of applications, and a post-graduation list that includes seasonal roles as a planned route.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Summer
Junior summer
Sports Industry
Third summer
Junior summer
A second, more senior placement, coached through the summer.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Senior
Senior year
Fall
The window
Entry-level hiring, by season
Sports Industry
Senior year · fall
The window
Asking a former manager for the job, finding roles before they're posted, and preparing for each real interview.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Spring
Support
Sports Industry
Senior year · spring
Support
Monthly check-ins against the launch plan. Hiring keeps moving with the seasons.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
After
After graduation
3 months
Start
Sports Industry
After graduation
Start
Jobs start against a season rather than a date. Coaching continues through the first ninety days, or through the search.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Main application window
Other hiring
What most students aim for
Mentor meeting
Hiring calendars shift from year to year and firm to firm, so the exact dates live inside the program: your student's coach tracks the live calendar and changes the plan when it moves.
Spring
Testing up close
Earliest internship cycles
Exploratory
Sophomore year · spring
Testing up close
Each remaining field tested up close through a project, a short program or a shadow day, with a mentor conversation in each.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Summer
A summer in the leading field
Exploratory
Second summer
A summer in the leading field
Work in the field your student is leaning toward, coached like any internship and chosen to confirm it or rule it out.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Junior
Junior year
Fall
The choice
Field chosen
Exploratory
Junior year · fall
The choice
A field Textbook and Edition chosen by the end of the term, or a decision to stay in Exploratory for a field outside our Textbooks, with a plan to catch up wherever the field's calendar is already moving.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Spring
Telling the story
The field's own calendar takes over
Exploratory
Junior year · spring
Telling the story
Applications in the chosen field, with the exploring framed as a strength rather than a delay.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Summer
Junior summer
Exploratory
Third summer
Junior summer
For many, the summer that leads to an offer, coached through the summer.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Senior
Senior year
Fall
Offers, or the search
Exploratory
Senior year · fall
Offers, or the search
Deciding on an offer, or a full-time search run on the chosen field's calendar.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Spring
Support
Exploratory
Senior year · spring
Support
A standing monthly check-in against the launch plan, through a semester when everything else competes for attention.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
After
After graduation
3 months
Start
Exploratory
After graduation
Start
The first ninety days of the new job, or a search that's still going.
Previous term
Next term
An example lesson this term
Main application window
Other hiring
What most students aim for
Mentor meeting
Hiring calendars shift from year to year and firm to firm, so the exact dates live inside the program: your student's coach tracks the live calendar and changes the plan when it moves.
