Eight Tips For Recent Undergraduates Trying to Break Into Sport

"So now what?", "Do you have any leads yet?", and "Do you have a job yet?"

I graduated undergrad in May of 2019 and these were the debilitating questions that family members and peers would ask. It didn't help that I also worked behind a front desk at a hotel in rural Iowa, so the same questions would be echoed by dozens of truck drivers, businessmen and businesswomen daily. I always interpreted "So, what's next?" as a less-confrontational way of saying "So you graduated with an expensive communications degree and this is what you have to show for it? Just check me in and show me to my room."

That may or may not have been true but I always assumed the worst.

Regardless of who asked the job questions, virtually all I could say was

"I'm working on it."

Reminding myself to "trust the process" was a bit corny but nevertheless valid. I didn't know how to verbalize to people outside of sport that the track into sport was anything but linear or certain. To amplify that even more, I wanted to get into operations or athlete development for a professional sports league. I'm sure most of you have noticed that those roles, like many non-business-side roles, are difficult to come by, highly competitive and rarely posted publicly. How could I possibly express to this truck driver in front of me that I'm hoping for a phone call regarding a position that I haven't formally sent in an application for?

All of that to say that post-undergrad was pretty nerve-racking with a lot of pressure. The array of rejections didn't help.

So the purpose of this is to pay it forward. This is a culmination of eight things that I wish someone would have told me and that worked for me when graduating three years ago.

I'll preface that there's really no one recipe to breaking into sport. But (if you haven't yet), you'll quickly learn that it's all about luck and probability - so use that to your advantage. Do the little things that can increase your probability of getting an interview or getting a phone call. Nothing is guaranteed but you'd be surprised what persistence and consistency with a jolt of calculated risk can yield.

1.Gain Momentum (And Understand How It Can Help You)

There was a week in May of 2019 where I had three interviews, including two-second round interviews. The next week I had none. I was seemingly back to square one - and it was defeating. A week later, a fruit from a seed I had planted way back in February came in the form of a phone call. It was a jolt of energy and it kickstarted a storm of momentum in my favor. I was back.

Those who know me know that momentum is my favorite word. It comes down to the fundamental idea that it's easy to stay motivated when things are going well. In the case of job searching, it's easy to keep applying for jobs when what you're doing is working.

This takes form of applying, applying again, applying a dozen more times and then doing it all over again. Likewise, reaching out to people, reaching out to more people and reaching out again. Do this daily, regardless of any outcomes or how you feel. How you stay motivated when things aren't going your way or when you're facing adversity is one of the most important concepts in the business of sport.

You may go a month without a response, interview or even a lead but then all of the sudden you've landed an interview or a phone call - perhaps even multiple. Once you have a formal interview here or an informational interview there, you'll notice that your persistence is working. This builds confidence and you now have momentum.

Protect your momentum at all costs and use the confidence to keep applying. Again, it's easy to stay motivated when things are going well - so use that law to your advantage.

2. Fortune Favors the Prepared

During my time at the University of Northern Iowa, the coach I worked under provided me the contact information for an assistant coach for the New York Jets. While coaching wasn't where my passion lied, I knew this was a great opportunity to learn from someone in the thick of the fast-paced nature of the NFL.

During the phone call, I'll never forget his response for when I asked him if his end goal was to be a head coach.

"My goal isn't to be a head coach but to put myself in the best opportunity to be a head coach."

For lack of better words, his response seemingly unlocked a new level consciousness for me: I can't control much.

There are 32 NFL head coaches running around at any given time. Highly competitive and very limited openings are two of the many barriers to entry when analyzing the position of an NFL head coach. So in addition to needing a perfect resume built upon years of experience - a lot of what determines landing a head coaching role is uncontrollable, like timing.

For example, who thinks of you when a position becomes available? Sometimes, despite all accolades and efforts, timing isn't in your favor. There are many other variables, too, such as family and unforeseen life events.

The key theme here is uncontrollable. So while you cannot control exactly when you receive a "yes" or get an interview, you can control being prepared, being informed and putting yourself in the best possible situation for when it's your time.

In the case of entry level roles, picture these two scenarios:

• You send emails, ask for help, shoot LinkedIn requests, send handwritten letters, travel and so forth and are left with what appears to be absolutely zero job leads. Then, three weeks later, you receive a random phone call from an executive returning your note and ready to answer any questions. You have five minutes.
• You get rejected from a role but something happens during the company's background check and you're their number two. The company calls you back.

In both situations, are you prepared? Not to put pressure on you or anything but all it takes is one single interaction or phone call to change your life.

3. Keep Learning From Those Doing What You Want to Do?(Stay Curious)

Applications are good (and necessary) but informational conversations are of equal importance. Regardless of whether you want to get into scouting, sponsorship, operations or any other department - learning from those within those spaces is priceless. You're not going to bat 1.000 when reaching out to strangers. In fact, you may reach out to 30 different people and receive zero responses. But all it takes is one.

I know what you're thinking: "Reach out to 30 people? I don't even have contact information for 30 people."

Here's the fun part:

• LinkedIn is your friend
• We are in an age with an abundance of information. Everything is out there if you look hard enough. Sometimes it just takes a bit of digging and creativity.

Be curious, protect your curiosity and understand how to walk the line between persistence and annoyance. If you're wondering where the line between persistence and annoyance is - Google the term empathy.

4. Recognize and Squash Any Self-Handicapping Behaviors

"I can't get rejected if I don't apply, right?"

Rejection sucks but I wish I could go back and tell myself that rejection is a good thing.

Oftentimes, I would rush on a cover letter or spend minimal amounts of time on an application because if I got rejected, psychologically, I could just say "Well, I didn't put much effort into that - so that's okay."

In other words,

"Company X didn't reject the real me."

Putting hours into an application process and getting ghosted - or rejected - is painful. Likewise is spending 45-minutes on a handwritten letter that may or may not be tossed in the trash. But remember what I said about creating your own luck?

Seriously, getting an interview for a role that has 1,000+ applicants is lucky. You, quite literally, can do everything right on top of having the perfect resume - and the odds will still be stacked against you.

So, having your application built upon a foundation of 100% effort - such as tailoring your resume and cover letter to the job - increases your chances. That's all you can really ask for.

5. Tailor Your Resume

I'm going to make the assumption that if worked on minimum-wage or volunteer basis, your job responsibility of "other duties as needed" was wildly prevalent for you.

I went to the University of Northern Iowa, a smaller-FCS school. This meant athletic resources were sparse relative to bigger schools, which was great for experience.

One day I could be writing a recap for women's golf and the next I could be catching field goals and punts to optimize the number of reps special teams could put in.

So, whether you're applying for a role in community relations, scouting, communications, operations, recruiting, development or whatever - I'd suggest making sure your resume and cover letter highlight experiences relative to those roles.

In other words, I wouldn't include "Assisted special teams with coverage and optimized the flow of practice by fielding punts" on a community relations application.

6. Remember To Run Your Own Race - And That It's Not a Sprint

I'll avoid inserting the overused marathon quote here but just know it's applicable.

You're going to have peers outside of sport land jobs. You're also going to have peers in sport lands jobs.

Celebrate successes and avoid comparison. Run your own race and wait for the opportunity that you want. Remember, while you can't control when your moment comes, you can control how prepared you are (see tip 2).

Lastly, if you can maintain a job that pays the bills while continuing to work in sport part-time or on a volunteer basis - even beyond the summer - do it. This leads into my next point.

7. Stay Involved

Graduating, while a bit nerve-racking, is a blessing. School is done and you can now focus even more on your next move. Just because your student-status has run it's course, doesn't mean you have to stop volunteering. Yes, you may have people outside of sport look at you sideways like I did while working behind the front desk (see intro) but remember to run your own race.

If you're involved with your athletic department or with a local team, continue to put in the work and stay involved in sport (as long as your timing allows it). Also, there are events going on year-round - both remote and in-person - that provide experience and can get you in front of people, such as basketball tournaments, summits, League meetings, forums, etc.

Don't be afraid to travel if you feel comfortable and don't be afraid to volunteer your time if you're able to. Again, this is where calculating risk falls into play.

8. Stay Educated

Staying involved is important. However, I'll argue that staying educated and up-to-speed with the latest trends regarding your industry is equally as or even more important.

Two tools that have been instrumental for me: Google Alerts and Podcasts.

If you're unfamiliar, Google Alerts is a tool that emails you a daily list of news relevant to topics that you choose. I still use Google Alerts heavily to this day.

If you're interested in breaking into sponsorship in the NBA, for example, I'd suggest saving the terms "NBA Sponsorship", "NBA Partnership", "Sports Sponsorships", etc. Be creative and do whatever you need to do to never miss a current event.

Another bonus? I'd encourage you to save the names of those doing what you want to do. If someone you recently spoke with or look up to recently received an award or launched a new program - this is one way to be notified as it happens.

Genuine congratulatory notes and even nuggets of advice can go a long way.

As for podcasts, it's incredible how much information is available. Industry experts are sharing information and gems all the time. It's a great opportunity to takes notes.

Conclusion

If you take anything away from this, it is to do whatever you can to foster your own luck and kickstart (or maintain) momentum in the job search process. How do you respond on the days that you are defeated, unmotivated or in doubt? It's not easy but I'm firm believer that if you're consistent - you will thank yourself later.

Apply, ask questions, get rejected, listen to podcasts, read articles, shoot emails, get bounce-back emails and then do it all over again. If you send in 100 different applications, you're likely to get 99 or 100 rejections. Rejections are a guarantee and almost always deflating but keep in mind that all it takes is one.

For What It's Worth, Here Are Some Helpful Resources and Tools That I Used (And Still Use)

• Teamwork Online
• Google Alerts
• NCAA Market
• LinkedIn Job Board (use quotations to filter out and get notifications for specific roles i.e., "Basketball Operations")
• Media guides, generally, are public
• Teams and Leagues oftentimes have their own postings outside of TeamWork (i.e., Seattle Seahawks , NBPA and NFLPA ).