How Michael Jordan Changed The Trajectory Of My Professional Career

It was the end of my junior year in college and I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to be when I grew up. Originally, like most kids that went to school in Washington, DC, I had wanted to go into politics or government. I had already interned for my congressman one year and worked at a lobbying firm the next – but all it taught me was that I actually did not want to go into politics or government.

So what was I supposed to do?

Well, going into that senior year, Michael Jordan announced that he was coming out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards. I know, I know – you are shaking your head. I know MJ's tenure with the Wizards was not nearly as spectacular as his time with the Bulls. But as a kid growing up a huge Bulls fan, and an even bigger Jordan fan, I was so unbelievably excited. I knew what I wanted to do next: I wanted to get a job with the Washington Wizards. 

Like so many of you, I had been to basketball games before. I knew that I certainly wasn’t going to be joining the team as a basketball player (my basketball playing experience ended in high school, with my prime in middle school), and I obviously wasn’t going join the coaching staff – but those men and women walking around the arena during games, in suits and carrying clipboards; I figured I could do that! I could wear a suit. I could carry a clip board. How hard could it be to get an internship-turned-job with the team that my idol was going to play for in the city that I lived in?

Well the short answer is: very. Very hard. I called the team inquiring about openings. Often. I emailed my resume to different departments. Repeatedly. No one responded. When I finally did get someone on the phone with the team, and managed to just say that I was a senior in college and would love to apply for an internship, I swear he laughed at me before hanging up. It’s hard to get a job with a professional sports team. Especially one with Michael Jordan. And I tried for months.

"There is always more than one way to get a job. . . I am a HUGE proponent of the non-traditional path."

Then I had was given an assignment in my Public Relations course (I was a communication minor), which changed everything. Our professor instructed us to conduct an informational interview with a PR professional. Specifically, we had to find someone working in PR, and ask them questions about what their days were like, what kinds of projects they worked on, and anything else that would give us a sense of what it meant to work in PR. 

Well, I decided to reach out to the Wizards – one last time. I figured maybe I could find someone in PR that I could talk to for this assignment, and maybe get a tour of the arena if I was lucky. 

So I called the Wizard’s team number and asked to speak with someone in the PR department. I was so used to being rejected, that it almost didn’t register with me when the person on the other end of the phone replied that no one with the Wizards PR team was currently available, but that they could connect me with the WNBA team, the Mystics' (same offices, same arena, same ownership group!) PR Director. 

Before I knew it, the Mystics PR Director was on the line. I was so stunned that I barely recall getting out the scope of the assignment, but she was gracious enough to agree to an informational interview at her office – at the arena!!

The informational interview could not have gone better. I learned so much about PR, what it was like working in professional sports, and even got the arena tour I had dreamed about. As the interview was winding down, I blurted out to her that I would love to intern or work for the Mystics one day if there were ever any opportunities.  

To my surprise, she responded that the Mystics were not looking for any interns right now, but she new that the Wizards might have an opening – and that if I wanted, she would reach out to the team’s PR Director and recommend me. If I wanted?! I could not believe it. 

That evening, I received a call from the Wizards PR Director, and she offered me a PR - Game Day Internship. She told me that the position involved helping check in members of the press to the game, running stats to the media and coaches during timeouts and in between quarters, and helping to get quotes from players after the games, and then dispersing them to news outlets and the team website group.  I would be joining a group of other PR – Game Day Interns, and we would all rotate between getting quotes from the home team, opposing teams, and yes, even Michael Jordan.

I started the internship a couple of days later – and will never forget meeting MJ (although there is no way in the world that he would ever remember a lowly intern over fifteen years ago), and how amazed I was that I was able fulfilling a professional dream. I went onto finish the season in the PR group, before landing my first job out of college with the Wizard’s Season Ticket Group. Man, what a thrill that was for a college student that had no idea what to do next. See? I knew I could carry a clipboard around and wear a suit.

Seriously though, as Maui from Moana would say (yes, I have two kids under 5 years old...): “What’s the lesson? What is the take-a-way?” 

Well for me, I learned a couple things. The first is that there is always more than one way to get a job. I tried so damn hard to get my foot in the door the traditional way, but sometimes a non-traditional path is better. Second, something clicked in me about informational interviews from that point forward – they are AWESOME! I can honestly say that every job that I have ever gotten since has been from an informational interview – I am a HUGE proponent of the non-traditional path. Plus, I teach college now myself, and I always try to incorporate some lessons about how students should try their own informational interviews. It’s amazing how many of my students have landed their own internships and jobs just from following the same formula. 

Have any of you had any experiences with informational interviews? Let me know if you are looking for any tips on how to conduct some of your own.  I am here to help.

Dave Strousberg, JD, MA, has built his career working with both individuals and businesses. Dave is an expert in helping people find their first jobs, make unthinkable career changes, and maximize their own professional opportunities. Additionally, he routinely advises corporate clients in complex negotiations, human capital matters, and multi-million dollar revenue generation programs. 

Dave is a frequent speaker on effective communication practices to both employees and corporate executives alike, and also teaches a variety of courses at the collegiate level, including Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication. Originally from the east coast, Dave lives in Colorado with his wife, two children, cat, and dog. Never a dull moment.