If you’re reading this right now, odds are we’re going to be speaking shortly. You have a desire to work in marketing, sports, or some related field or have found me by way of wanting advice.
I’ve asked you to read this before we get started so we can have a very productive thirty minute conversation. I’ll be asking some things of you and sharing some pieces of advice generally. This is not a one size fits all but hopefully I can peel back 50% of the time by laying some basic standards out.
Before we get started:
Please email me with your resume and available times to meet
If you’ve already been applying for jobs, please share where you’ve applied and how you’re finding these roles
Include what types of roles you’re looking for
Things to think about:
Where do you want to live? Do you care where you would like to end up?
Do you know what type of company you want to work for? Brand, Agency, Team League
If Agency, what type of agency? A good place to start is by looking at top experiential, activation, consulting agencies from the nominees list of Sports Business Journals annual awards
Does salary matter to you for the first 5+ years - if so you need to consider going into a sales first role vs marketing. In this industry it’s called partnerships & business development
What do you think working in the sports industry really is like?
Working for a baseball team may mean being at 81 home games a year, till the end, every game, even when the team is losing
Being the next Jerry Macguire means answering someone else’s phones and emails for 5-10 years, and then you will get the opportunity to find local social media and car deals for them till you sign your own talent
Big companies are very hierarchical
Where are you currently reading about the sports industry? ESPN is the wrong answer…
Sports Business Daily/ Journal are the industry standard - most colleges provide free or discounted subscriptions. This is your future invest in it if you can.
What have you read about the history of the business? Any books about famous agents/ leaders who have started companies? See future email list about good books I’ve read over time
There are tons of great free resources too such as Front Office Sports and Sports Pro Media, etc
Let’s talk about the types of jobs you may be considering…
Teams/ Leagues - Your competition is hardest here. Everyone who has ever watched football wants to work for the NFL. I wish you the best but these are the IVY leagues of sports especially for early jobs.
Depending on your market what are your other options? Is there a local college that has a marketing department?
Agencies - this is your widest variety of opportunity. There is talent representation, brand consulting, traditional media, content, social media, PR/ Comms, advertising, experiential, creative
This is a rabbit hole and knowing where to begin is half the battle. Each of the big three letter agencies all have consulting arms and there are more bespoke agencies popping up every day that have top companies to work for lists
Brands - See top 11 companies that own the world. If you’re comfortable in a very structured environment, this can be a great path. Eventually even if you do not start working in sports, this is an amazing way to ultimately become the decision maker on how you’d like to invest in sports. Don’t forget, deodorants banks and chocolates sponsor the Olympics, College Sports and pro teams too, they don’t just sell product.
No matter which of these paths you choose at some point you’ll be curious about the other side and if you’re on one side too long it is increasingly difficult to make the jump. There is no wrong answer but there is a right time in life to do certain things you need to. Your job is not about your plan today, but how you’re setting yourself up to be who you want to be one day.
Take aways + Next Steps
Make sure your resume is clean and clear and tells the story of who you are and what you can bring to the table
Once you’ve had your first job ensure you have your results grounded in data`` to support your work
Ensure your resume is tailored to the roles you’re looking for.
Follow up personally and authentically - if you don’t follow up with me, I wont be able to help you down the line
Develop your personal CRM - Through your early career keep track of who you met and where you met them
Your network is who you become - some of the best advice I ever received was I had too many of my own friends. It is not about balance, it’s about integration.
If I had a choice I would work for a company with a large amount of peers. Your peers whether good bad or ugly will continue to rise and varying rates and eventually will become powerful in their own fields
Be intentional - if you ask for a job you’re going to get advice, if you ask for advice you may land yourself in a job one day
I hope that by reading this you agree we’ve already doubled the impact of our first conversation…. Now the question is what area do you want to dive into first?
Sports/ Marketing/ Brand is an amazing world and over time you’ll have as much experience through blood sweat and tears as I have so far.
Don’t forget, the hardest times are often the ones everyone laughs hardest about as we look back.
