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Uncovering the Hidden Sports Job Market

Sports PR jobs seem like they’re hidden, but they’re really not. You just have to know where to look.

Most people can’t find Sports PR jobs because they have blinders on. They get so focused on working for their favorite team, they can’t see the big picture.

That’s understandable because of all the excitement surrounding the team and the media attention superstar athletes generate.

Team Jobs = Only Six Percent of Market

According to Sports Careers founder, Mark Tudi:

“Team jobs make up only six percent of the jobs within the entire industry.”

That means there’s another 94 percent of sports jobs out there that you should know about. That’s what we’ll cover today.

Opportunities Within Each Sector

To uncover the hidden job market in Sports PR, we need to look at the various business sectors that make up the sports industry.

To simplify it, I’ve divided the sports industry into eight basic business sectors below.

  • Teams / Leagues / Governing Bodies
  • Corporate Sponsors
  • Sports Agencies
  • Sports Media
  • Sports Apparel
  • Sporting Goods
  • Stadiums / Live Events
  • Health / Fitness

Thousands of companies make up each of those sectors. Here’s the good news: 99 percent of those companies have a PR department. And if they don’t, they hire an outside agency.

Companies within the Corporate Sponsor sector, like Coca-Cola for example, employ PR experts to help grab as much attention as they possibly can in order to maximize those expensive sponsorships.

Sports Media companies, such as ESPN and Fox Sports, also have PR departments. They’re constantly promoting new programming. Same with Sports Apparel companies like Nike and Sporting Goods companies like Spalding. There are always new products rolling out.

Every company, every brand, every organization in the sports industry has a unique story to tell. And it’s the PR department that helps make that happen.

The Biggest Opportunities

Once you discover the wide-range of companies that exist within the sports industry, you’ll have an easier time uncovering the Sports PR opportunities.
As for the biggest Sports PR opportunities happening in 2011, they can be found in two areas:

  1. Social Media Coordinator
  2. Sports PR & Marketing Agencies

If you’re bent on working for your favorite team, I would suggest that you start educating yourself in social media if you haven’t done so already. Darren Rovell, CNBC Sports Business Reporter told Sports Networker in an exclusive interview: “I think that the social media coordinator is the best job that will open up on sports teams.”

Looking beyond the teams, the sector with the most opportunities would be Sports PR & Marketing Agencies. Media fragmentation has caused sports properties to partner with agencies that specialize in highly-targeted audiences.

I am currently writing a book on America’s Top 200 Sports PR & Marketing Firms, and would love to hear your successes and struggles, so please let me know how I can help below!

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6 Responses to Uncovering the Hidden Sports Job Market

  1. tejones January 31, 2011 at 10:30 am #

    Yeah, more teams are starting to open up “officially” to social media. It’s a great start. Grab a copy of Shama Kabani’s book on Social Media and start learning.

  2. missjacklewisbaillot.blogspot.com June 14, 2013 at 8:26 am #

    Much agreed. Anytime I go on %source_url&%, I happen upon a website
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  3. santa rosa July 19, 2013 at 10:37 am #

    I’m impressed at how easy you make this topic look thanks to your articles, although I must say I still don’t quite understand it.
    It seems too elaborate and extremely exhaustive for
    me. Still, I’m keen to see what else you have to say in later posts: with luck , I’ll be able to grasp it at some point.

  4. Jeff November 19, 2013 at 9:08 am #

    What are some of the best markets in the US for landing a decent sports job?

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