How To Go Pro: Starting Your Career In The Business of Sports & Entertainment - Part I

“What are you going to do after you graduate?”

This was a dreaded question for someone like me during my first couple of years in college. Upon being asked, I immediately went full-blown Eminem: palms sweaty, knees weak, arms were heavy. My heart rate would shoot up, and I would find a sufficiently vague way to answer.?

“I’m still exploring some potential opportunities”

“I’ve applied to a lot of places, waiting to hear back”

“We’ll see! I’m in the process of figuring it out”

Well, here was the real answer that I was too polite to say:

I have no clue!

To compound this, I went to a University where many of my friends already seemed to have this question figured out, either by themselves or for themselves. As freshman year ended, I needed to work on a plan to find my answer. Not necessarily for those who were asking, but ultimately for myself.

All that I knew for certain was I had a passion for sports, music, and marketing. What I did not know was how I could turn these passions into reality upon graduation.?

I grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh: The Steel City. Pittsburgh is a historically blue-collar town that has since transformed itself into a hub for Healthcare, Technology, Education, and Sports. I was lucky to have both of these worlds collide during my upbringing. This led to my foundation passed down from my parents and community that would impose the values of hard work, family, and sports combined with a 21st-century approach to marketing in an ever-changing business landscape.?

Sports and Music were integral parts of my childhood and still very much are today. Some of my greatest memories were attending Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates games with my dad and friends. I started playing football at 10 years old and had the opportunity to play Running Back and Kick Returner at Carnegie Mellon University, where I attend the Tepper School of Business. Since playing in the NFL wasn’t in my deck of cards, I wanted to find a way to still “Go Pro”, but on the business side of Sports & Entertainment.?

Fast forwarding from my freshman year of college to today, I have had experiences working for professional teams in the NBA, MLB, and NFL. I have also worked for a global sports & music agency, a world-class endurance race, and currently am the Director of Marketing & Influencer Partnerships for an entrepreneurial sports marketing company that works with some of the renowned athletes, entertainers, and brands. I could have never imagined this being my resume just 10 years ago. My goal throughout this informal series is to share tangible strategies that you, as a college student with little to no experience, can use to create a career path aligned with your passion for sports & entertainment.?

I can say with certainty there are people far more knowledgeable and with much more experience than myself on this topic. Equally so, there are infinite ways to approach starting your career in this particular field of interest. I will simply share my experiences and allow you to trust your judgment on what may, or may not be, of value. I do not have any scientific research or case studies to prove what’s ahead to be grounded in fact. Rather, my failures are the primary source of truth behind what I’ll share. This includes failed classes, anxiety-ridden interviews, job changes, mistakes, and many other moments along the way.

Throughout this brief series, I will provide takeaways from the early part of my career working in sports & entertainment that can help current students looking for their answers on what their future can become. This is general enough for anyone that is considering this career path, even if you are currently studying in a non-sports-related program or have no previous work experience. Both of those were so on my starting blocks too.?

In this three-part series, I will first share my experience and best practices in securing an internship. Second, we’ll look at ways you can make the most of your internship experience and leave with great relationships, lessons, and confidence towards starting your career upon graduation. Lastly, I’ll share some thoughts on your first job search and starting your career off with a bang.?

Why am I sharing this? I’ve had the opportunity to connect with many current business students over the last few years that are interested in exploring a career in sports & entertainment. I’m often told that they are unenthusiastically pursuing roles in industries of less interest to them because of external factors such as their peers, their families, their university’s curriculum, etc. When I was in college many of my friends in business school were interested in finance, consulting, analytics, and others that are all very lucrative and commendable career paths. However, if you’re like me, those business industries are not where your passions lie. You don't want to pursue a future with a potentially mundane attitude towards your work.?

I often challenge these conversations I have with students with subtle sarcasm:

“Well…. It’s only your career.”

Upon graduation, You’ll be spending the majority of your time and energy on your job. Your professional network will be built in the field you pursue. Your salary, your happiness, and your work-life balance are all tied to your decisions from here forth. That’s a lot of pressure and important considerations to pursue in an industry of less interest than where your true passions lie. It’s time to control your path!

I hope that by the time you turn your tassel on graduation day, you can answer with confidence:

“What are you going to do after you graduate?”

“I am excited to be starting my career in sports & entertainment!”

The first step for a current student is securing an internship in sports & entertainment. Resources and opportunities are abundant around that you may not be aware of, even right on campuses such as Sports Business Clubs and Associations. There are easy ways to dispel your anxiousness around networking through using LinkedIn and by re-framing your approach of building meaningful new connections. I’ll provide you with some things to consider for your resume and cover letter for when you want to start applying to roles, and also help with interview preparation by highlighting the importance of preparation, thoughtful questions, and quick follow-up.?

Second, now that you are hired, it’s time to make the most out of your internship experiences. Building relationships and going above and beyond your “intern level” expectations can be the best investment in your future you can make. It’s why getting coffee as an intern is one of the best things you can do to gain priceless information. It can be surprising during your first experiences how different the workplace culture can be from organization to organization, making it important to understand what type of office vibe works best for you. You’ll see how a literal web of connections is created from just one internship - emphasizing the importance of keeping in touch while providing reasoning behind why you should be open to moving to new places.?

Finally, Senior year is here, and it’s time to get a job. You’ve had a meaningful internship experience(s) in college and are ready to take it to the big leagues. I’ll share my own story on why it’s important to stop comparing yourself to your peers and forge your path. We will then break down the timing of when you should be applying to jobs if you intend to start during the summer after your spring graduation. There are subtle differences to highlight between networking for a job vs. for an internship now that you have more direction on where you want to start in the workforce. You’ll see a breakdown of the opportunities that exist in different departments to gain a stronger understanding of the entry-level job market in sports and entertainment. Once you secure a job, you’ll continue to grow through rejection and failure. I’ll share how I transitioned from my first job to the next and the key differences between how I then transitioned years later.?

Let's Go!

Part I: Securing An Internship

As I took my last mid-term to put a bow on my freshman year of college, I was just relieved to have survived it. I had moved away from home for the first time, met new people, balanced academics and athletics, and tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to form a social life on campus. It certainly wasn’t an easy year. I had failed a class my spring semester and was in a position to have to take summer classes to get back on track towards staying on the four-year plan.

*Side note: In fairness, the class I had failed was called multivariate analysis. I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me why a marketing major needs to know how to classify maxima and minima of surfaces of the form z = f(x, y) using the gradient vector?… I’ll wait.

I found myself taking summer classes and secured my first “job” in “sports”: a mini-golf attendant behind a Dairy Queen in my hometown. My primary responsibility was to pass out putters and neon balls in a 6’x8’ wooden shack. Safe to say, I was starting from zero with a long way to go towards my dream of one day working for sports teams, professional athletes, and musicians. While sitting in my “office” on a blazing hot day, I wrote down a goal that within 12 months from then I will have a job working for a professional sports team. I wasn’t sure how, but I was going to achieve it come hell or high water.?

?In Part I, I will discuss ways you can secure your first internship. One of my favorite quotes is:

“If You Always Do What You’ve Always Done, You Always Get What You’ve Always Gotten”.

This quote rings very true of internship and job searches. If your current strategy is to blindly apply to every opportunity you see online and you’re not having much luck, then I’ve got bad news… it’s probably not going to change. With this lazy strategy, you are essentially throwing your inexperienced resume into a pool of hundreds of others that may or may not have a stronger background than yours. Instead, let’s look at ways to do something you’ve never done and in turn get something you’ve never gotten.?

?As my sophomore year rolled along, I took the aforementioned poor strategy of applying to whatever I could find online and then praying for an answer. Believe it or not, many teams were not interested in my previous summer’s mini-golf experience of leaf blowing the carpeted greens and making proper change for a $10 bill. I had not gotten a single response during the Fall Semester. As the spring approached, I realized that I had to do something out of my comfort zone as a hard-headed football player: ask for help. I turned to my Head Football Coach of whom I had much admiration for and asked if he knew anyone within Sports & Entertainment that I could connect with about potential internship opportunities. He fluttered his mental Rolodex and ended up putting me in touch with an executive at the time of Palace Sports & Entertainment, the owning company of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.?

Within a week, I had my first phone interview. This was shortly followed by a Zoom Interview (this was in 2014 before it was cool to Zoom). In late March I had gotten the email I had dreamed about the previous summer: I got the job!

I followed this internship with another the following summer with my hometown Pittsburgh Pirates. This search was much easier given the powerful experience I had the prior year and the references that offered to put in a positive word on my behalf. Throughout both of these searches, I discovered ways you can stand out among the crowd to put yourself in the best position to get your foot in the door of a surprisingly small industry.

The first simple step I would recommend doing is to figure out what you want. The great Yankee Yogi Berra once said,

“If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.”

This isn’t exclusive to road trips, I find it very applicable to your life and career. While I would also caution against being too limited in your search, you can start by putting together a list of 25 - 50 Teams, Agencies, or Companies that you’d be most interested in working for. Take your time and put some deliberate thought and research into this as you don’t want to spend your limited energy each day on opportunities that wouldn’t excite you. I was very open-minded during my search to go far and wide geographically to find a position, but I knew I wanted to find an opportunity within the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL. Maybe you want to work for a music agency, a fashion brand, a sports-tech start-up. Whatever the case may be, start taking action by making this list (not just in your head, type it or write it down) and putting it in a place you see each day as a reminder that your future destination may potentially be found within this list.??

Once that is complete, it’s time to stop, drop (your phone, for once), and look around at the resources on campus that can help you.

According to the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation, there are dozens of accredited student sports organizations across the country that exist to educate and help students interested in pursuing this field. Maybe your school even has a sports management program that you may not be necessarily enrolled in yet but can connect with to learn more about the opportunities that may exist. There are also sports business associations/clubs that exist separately from a standardized curriculum that provide members opportunities for students to network and prepare themselves for professional careers. This is not only a convenient and accessible way to learn more about pursuing a career in this field, but also provides a way to make new friends and connections you may not have made otherwise. See if your school has any of these offerings for you to take advantage of.??

My school unfortunately did not have any type of organization like this I could leverage, and even if yours does I do not believe participation in these clubs is enough on its own to make you the best candidate for a job. The ideal candidates are familiar ones the hiring manager knows and respects. How can you become this?

What’s the image that comes to mind when you hear the word “Networking”? For me, I envision a career fair with students dressed in neutral-toned, oversized suits and conservative dresses parading around to booths, invoking the vibe of a professional speed dating atmosphere. Sweaty handshakes, studders, and anxiety are included for free in every interaction. In today’s digital world, perhaps you think of networking as “liking” a LinkedIn post or sending a connection request to a leader of a big company (neither of these is particularly effective). Well, I can assure you that networking doesn’t need to be something to stress over. In fact, if you approach it the correct way it can open doors to new relationships and opportunities that can change your life.?

Now let’s envision a different scenario. It’s a picture-perfect day on campus and you and your friends head to a day party. You meet someone there with a mutual interest in sports and music and begin to strike up a conversation. You’re not looking for anything specifically from this person, just to learn more about them and discuss your similar interests. You're confident, happy, and intrigued. Why does networking for an internship or job have to be any different?

Once I made my list of desirable opportunities, it was time to put myself out there and connect with other human beings. I recommend utilizing LinkedIn to find a person within those respective companies you could connect with. While it would be cool to chat with the CEO, they are likely not involved in the internship hiring process. It would also be easy to chat with a current intern, and I'm not necessarily against it to learn about how they got to their position, but it’s doubtful they’re in charge of hiring their intern peers. I looked for Managers and Directors within the departments I was interested in such as Marketing, Ticket Sales, Business Development, and Corporate Partnerships. I sent these people a connection request or found their emails through a simple online search and added a “Contact” column to my wish list with their info.?

Next comes the typically scary part, reaching out! Think about it this way: if you reach out and they don’t respond, are you any worse off than you already are? The answer is a resounding no. I sent dozens of messages throughout my internship search and probably 85-90% never responded. Your message may have gotten lost in the mix or just flat-out ignored. Who cares? That's why you have prepared at least 25 potential opportunities to explore that have multiple people you could connect with at each organization.

When I first started reaching out I was sending messages like “Hey Joe, I saw your team had some internship opportunities. Could we chat?”. These were often met with silence or a terse rebuttal. If there is one piece of advice I could offer in your Networking journey, it would be to approach it with a genuine curiosity about people over positions. After many failed attempts, I tried another approach that started receiving a much higher response rate from people who were in positions I wanted to emulate one day. Here is the exact LinkedIn message that I sent to set up an informational interview (with the name changed to my Dogs name) that would eventually lead to my first professional experience:

Mac,

Hello, my name is Troy Witt. I'm currently a senior at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, where I will be graduating with a degree in business administration this coming May.

The past two summers, I have interned with the Detroit Pistons and Pittsburgh Pirates in Business Development and Premium sales, and Ticket Sales & Services. Through these experiences, I have solidified my vision to dedicate my career to the professional sports & entertainment industry.

I was curious if you would be available to hop on a brief call sometime this week so I could ask you some prepared questions about your career in sports & entertainment,? in addition to seeking some advice as I wrap up my academics and begin my professional career.

Hope to connect, Thanks, Mac!

-Troy

In my message, I did not mention or ask about anything regarding a job, but rather asked about the person I was sending my message to. Be sure to tailor your note with a personal touch if there is any relevant information or anecdotes you can include. This could include things such as:

• I noticed you are alumni of my University
• I saw you used to live in the same city I’m from
• I saw you are connected with someone I have a professional relationship with
• I noticed XYZ on your profile that stood out to me

I’m confident that if you use this strategy for reaching out, you’ll find yourself having a new connection and call scheduled in no time. We’ll dive into interviewing a bit later on, but the most important thing for this informational interview is to prepare as you would for your Final Exams (or if you are like I was… even more so). Prior to your interview, you should in the very least have the following information committed to memory:

• Whom you are speaking with, including their job title, career background, and college attended. This should all be easily found via LinkedIn or their company website
• A basic understanding of the history of the organization you speak with. This would include things such as their founding year and location, their current corporate HeadQuarters location, the most renowned players/clients in the organization’s history such as Hall of Famers, what their home stadium is called, and any recent team or individual success such as making the playoffs or winning a music industry award
• Who the fanbase is. Is there a “nickname” for their fan group, such as “Bills Mafia” with the Buffalo Bills? Are there any pre-game rituals or digital activations that take place as traditions? Use social media to discover the ethos of the organization with how they engage with their fans. If you’re interviewing for a Corporate Partnerships position, you should know who the top sponsors of the team are.?
• Important People: The Owner, The CEO, The Top Executive in the department you are interviewing for, Star Players, Most Successful Musicians

That may seem like a lot for an informational interview, but most of this could be found in less than 30 minutes with the online tools that are easily at your disposal. Take notes with this information you can keep handy during your conversation.?

The other, and perhaps most important thing you should prepare, is 3-4 thoughtful questions that you can ask during your discussion. Remember - this isn’t a job interview you need to be nervous about, you are simply chatting with that new friend at the party. Similarly, you want to share things about yourself to form a genuine connection rather than just asking all of the questions.?

Below are a few examples of how you can frame and ask informational interview questions:?

• I was very excited to chat with you today and learn more about your career. I am a Pittsburgh native and grew up going to Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates games with my family and friends. That’s really how my passion for sports began and now that I’m a sophomore at Carnegie Mellon, I wanted to speak with people like yourself because this career path interests me. I saw that you are a University of Texas alumni and have been with the Houston Rockets for 4 years now. Can you tell me a bit more about your career path since you graduated from Texas and what your current role entails?
• I was checking out the team's social media and saw that the Seahawks have an honorary captain to raise the 12th Man Flag before each home game going back to when they first moved into Lumen Field. The game-day experience seems incredible. What does a game day look like for someone in your position and how would you describe the work culture under Jodi Allen’s ownership?
• I am a member of the varsity football here at school and am also involved in the sports business club. It’s been a great challenge to manage academics, athletics, and social life, but it all has helped me form a foundation for my future career. There aren’t a lot of other students here who are interested in working in sports and entertainment, so as I begin this “different” career path I am curious... if you could go back in time at your alma mater UCLA, what would you do differently and what would you do the same about your approach to building a successful career in this industry?
• This has been incredibly helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to share more about your role, about Creative Artists Agency, and the advice on how I can continue to explore a career in this industry. These kinds of conversations give me more confidence that I can achieve my goal of working for a renowned music representation agency. What is the timeline and structure of the summer internship structure at CAA and what are a couple of things I can work on while here at school to stand out as a strong candidate for these types of opportunities?

Ultimately, it’s important you show your personality and preparedness since you have a limited window of time to make a first impression on someone you meet. You also want to ask about potential jobs in a genuinely curious manner rather than asking for them through your questions or perceived intentions. Realize that it’s not commonplace to secure a job from someone you just spoke with for the first time.?

On one of the first days on the job at my Detroit internship, I was faced with the task of finding?Picnic Baskets. I had heard of interns being in charge of getting coffee and donuts, but this request surprised me. After the baskets were purchased and brought back to the office, I learned the reason for them was a potential sponsor that worked in the Natural Food Industry was coming in to discuss a partnership. Included inside these appropriately-themed baskets were team merchandise, jerseys, and other swag. The meeting went over very well and this personal touch immediately bonded the corporate partnerships team and the client. Immediately afterward, the partnerships team wrote a handwritten note of thanks for their time and consideration. As the summer went on, I had a chance to write a few notes of my own while delivering gifts for courtside clients.

What I learned through this experience in my first week on the job is that there is gratefulness among business people for thoughtful acts and timely follow-up. Even though today’s world is as digital as ever (Look at your phone screen time stats. Imagine what you could do with that time each day!), you should find Thank You Notes at your campus bookstore or local retailer and write a brief message of thanks for taking the time to speak with you. I would also send a similarly toned email within 24 hours of your conversation... even if it occurs on a Friday.?

Now that you have had your conversation and said your thanks, don’t ghost! If you see there is exciting news from the company you work with, send them a quick email of congratulations. Perhaps they make the playoffs, drop an album, or wear some new alternate uniforms - these are all examples of opportunities to reconnect and remain in touch as you continue the search for your internship.?

Hopefully, you will have gained a solid understanding through your conversations of when and where internship opportunities will become available to apply to. There is also an abundance of job boards you should frequent to stay aware of, such as www.Teamworkonline.com, LinkedIn Jobs, and the “Careers” page of the respective organization’s website. It’s also important to know that typically Sports & Entertainment companies work on shorter hiring windows than other industries such as finance or consulting. There’s no reason to worry or especially to compare yourself to your peers who are pursuing different industries if they secure summer internships in the Fall Semester and you are still on the hunt. The general timeline for summer internship application windows in this industry typically ranges from January through April.?

I’m often asked by students to review their resumes. I am far from a resume expert but would encourage you to consider the following things that you should avoid. These recommendations come from Barstool Sports CEO, Erika Nardini, from her Token CEO podcast...I could not possibly agree with them more:?

1. Formatting Issues and Spelling Errors. You will immediately disqualify yourself in some instances, or at the very least prove that “attention to detail” isn’t a strength of yours. There are no successful businesses that embrace a lack of detail. Review your finished resume, review it again, send it to a trusted friend or family member to review, and then review it once more.?
2. Show real results vs. consulting Merriam-Webster for buzzword adjectives. Rather than saying “Consulted a brand through a Marketing Research class assignment”, you should include the results, “Provided three research-based recommendations for a Fortune 500 Business, one of which was implemented that resulted in a 27% higher digital engagement rate”. Simply say what you did, learned, or accomplished.?
3. Be transparent. No one is expecting interns to have a comprehensive list of accomplishments or experiences yet. Don’t be the person to exaggerate, or especially lie, on your CV.
4. Do not include photos on your resume. Keep it simple and clean. In the same spirit, avoid funky fonts and colors
5. Keep your resume to one page. Be concise and clear.?
6. Create a professional personal email listed under your contact info. If you’re still using “[email protected]”, you’re not doing yourself any favors.?

Once you apply to a role, let your contact person(s) know and attach your resume to let them know your name has officially been thrown in the hat.?

*Side note about Cover Letters. In my career thus far, I can’t remember having to submit a cover letter for a position, so I am not inclined to offer much advice on this front. I would encourage you to utilize resources on your campus in addition to what you can find online about crafting a personalized and meaningful cover letter. Here is a thread found on Twitter that I found to be very insightful.

When interviews eventually come around, use a similar approach to the aforementioned prep to put yourself in a position to succeed. Think about the questions you want to ask at the end, which now can be a bit more specific to the role.?

• What are the characteristics of a high-performing individual in the Boston Red Sox internship program?
• Can you tell me a success story from a former intern that has developed into a full-time member of the Los Angeles Rams team?
• What hesitations or concerns do you have about my background that I could address while we have this time together?

The more you can display preparedness and personality, the better off you’ll be. Stay committed to sending a thank you email and handwritten note within 24 hours of your interview.?

While that seems like a lot to consider to secure an internship, it is quite easy if you just get over the mental hurdles of putting yourself out there, putting in the work to prepare, and following up promptly.?

To recap:

• Embrace taking a different approach than blindly applying to opportunities. “If You Always Do What You’ve Always Done, You Always Get What You’ve Always Gotten”
• Figure out what you want and create a list of 25-50 organizations you would most be interested in working for. Follow this by finding the right person at each of these you can begin to reach out to.?
• Send a personalized message that shows you’ve done some research on whom you intended to speak with. Remember to ask for a conversation with a genuine intention to learn more about who they are and the organization they work for, not for a job.?
• Prepare for your interviews as if they were a Final Exam
• Always send an email and a handwritten Thank You note within 24 hours of your interview
• Stay up-to-date on news from the organizations you work with and remain connected?
• Make sure your resume is clean, concise, and clearly shows what you’ve accomplished
• Stop comparing yourself to your peers. You want to do something different... wear it with confidence!?

Check back next week for Part II: Making the Most of Your Internship Experience