Getting Back into the Sports Industry After Working Elsewhere – Work in Sports Podcast e20
Summary: Getting Back into the Sports Industry After Working Elsewhere - Work in Sports Podcast e20<br> Hi everybody, I'm Brian Clapp, Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast Monday QA session.<br> <br> Kirsten N from Denver writes in<br> <br> I have been working in the sports industry in some capacity since I was 13 years old. My experience ranges from coaching figure skating, retail, Collegiate, NBA, NHL and NFL internships while also getting my BA in Sports Management/Business Administration from Washington State University.<br> <br> However, long story short, my last internship did not result in a full time job due to budget constraints, a bad Super Bowl loss and their need for someone with a bit more experience than I had at the time. I have been out of the industry for about 2 1/2 years now and am itching to get back into sports. Currently 90% of my resume/experience is Marketing, Sales or Event planning related, however I would like to get into the Player Development/Community Relations divisions.<br> <br> My questions for you are how can I 1) make my resume appealing and relevant to people hiring for CR/explain my time away from the industry and 2) break into Player Development when usually those roles are held by men (working on getting some informational interviews set up currently).<br> <br> I’m going to get into the specifics of community relations and player development, but first things first, let’s start a little broader.<a href="https://www.workinsports.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/qa_cover.png"></a><br> <br> Unlike many industries, if you want to work in sports you have to be open to the idea of relocating, sorry but that is just a reality. And I think this is where many people get frustrated with breaking into the sports biz. There are sports jobs in every state, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right job for you, you have to keep your options open and your luggage ready.<br> <br> Think about this for a second – even if you live in a major city, like Kirsten, who lives near Denver – there are probably 3-5 major pro teams, 5-7 collegiate athletic programs ranging in size and potential, a few fringe sports teams like indoor lacrosse, a minor league team or two in the area…maybe a marketing firm, an agency. And that’s it, and while that may sound like a lot, if you can’t get work there you have to be willing to look elsewhere. You can’t afford to be stubborn.<br> <br> This isn’t like being in human resources, or accounting where every company in the world has these roles and you can go exactly where you want to work and choose your industry.<br> <br> In sports, opportunity will dictate your circumstances.<br> <br> As I have shared many times before, I’m from Massachusetts, moved to Atlanta, moved to Seattle, moved the Denver and now live outside Philadelphia… and most of those moves were 100% based on job opportunities.<br> <br> And I’ve interviewed and didn’t take jobs in Boston, Charlotte and Austin.<br> <br> I wouldn’t change a thing – but I’ve always been open to the adventure, and I think being in multiple locations has made me a better more well-rounded and open-minded person. So there is that.<br> <br> To tie this all in – if you have been out of the industry for a while and want to get back in, just keep that in mind… cast a wide net, don’t limit yourself to your current location or else you just made it even harder to get back in.<br> <br> As for breaking into community relations…first off…. doing a quick search on workinsports.com -- 53 jobs with the term ‘community relations’ comes up…including a job as a manager of community relations for a major sports league… if your broaden that search to just the word community, because sometimes I like to start wide and then narrow… 864 open jobs come up, including a manager of marketing and fan development for a USL soccer team.
