This study was an investigation of the effects of social identity on career progression. Particular attention was given to the predictive impact of social identity of membership in an identifiable professional sub-grouping. Using NCAA basketball coaches as an empirical setting, quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to predict the status of next employer for job seekers who voluntarily changed jobs (n = 282). Job seekers with the social identity of membership in an identifiable professional sub-grouping (in this empirical setting, defined as membership in a coaching family or coaching tree) were hired for positions with employers of higher status. Furthermore, additional career benefits were accrued by individuals who claimed their ascribed identity. Because membership in an identifiable professional sub-grouping signals concise information about the social identity of an individual above and beyond prior performance, network connectivity and status affiliations, it is theorized that individuals with such a social identity are more easily understood, more predictable, and are therefore more valuable in the labor market.