If you want to discover the black hole of job-searching, the place where resumes and cover letters vanish, and the place I call a “dead-end street” for aspiring sports executives, look no further than the HR department.
I’ve heard too many sad stories where students or career-changers blindly send hundreds of resumes and cover letters addressed, “To Whom It May Concern” within the HR department, only to find out later that no one’s concerned.
The reason the HR department is the worst place to go when you’re looking for a job in sports is because HR doesn’t make decisions on who gets hired and who doesn’t. It’s a complete waste of your time — and theirs — to mail out expensive paper that ultimately ends up in File 13 (i.e. the trash can). [click to continue…]
Chris McKinney is the president of SPORTS LAUNCH™, a career services firm dedicated to helping college students and career-changers launch sports careers. Chris' new book, How to Land Your First Job in Sports: 7 Simple Steps can be found on www.SportsLaunch.net.
The number one reason people don’t get hired in the sports industry is “Likeability.”
In other words, if you’re not likeable, if you have a chip on your shoulder, if you’re a negative person, if you talk trash about other people, or if you’re just a miserable human being all the way around, nobody will hire you. (With the exception of your state’s DMV department, of course.)
On the other hand, the number one reason you WILL get hired in sports is also because of your “Likeability.” Employers, regardless of industry, will always hire the person they like the most, assuming each candidate has equal qualifications.
Fortunately, there are ways to become more likeable. Dale Carnegie, the best-selling author of the iconic book, How to Win Friends & Influence People, says there are Six Ways to Make People Like You. I’ve listed them below in bold letters. I’ve also included my own comments after each one. [click to continue…]
Chris McKinney is the president of SPORTS LAUNCH™, a career services firm dedicated to helping college students and career-changers launch sports careers. Chris' new book, How to Land Your First Job in Sports: 7 Simple Steps can be found on www.SportsLaunch.net.
There are many types of pitches. Some pitches are for raising money for a new company. Other pitches are designed to pique the interest of a book publisher or a movie producer.
The pitch I’m going to help you with is designed to get you in front of the person who has the power to hire you, specifically in the Sports Industry.
We’ll call this pitch, the “First Pitch,” because it will be the first pitch you’ll make to the Hire Authority.
The primary goal of the First Pitch is to establish a connection. Making a connection is a lot different that just making contact. A connection with someone is more personal, more meaningful and much more memorable. (Please note: The First Pitch is not designed to land you a job on the spot. Think of it as the “first step” toward getting an interview.)
Chris McKinney is the president of SPORTS LAUNCH™, a career services firm dedicated to helping college students and career-changers launch sports careers. Chris' new book, How to Land Your First Job in Sports: 7 Simple Steps can be found on www.SportsLaunch.net.
Maintaining life as an athlete takes a massive amount of dedication and focus. Not only does the athlete need to demonstrate talent on the field, he needs to translate that talent into an effective media presence. After all, the athlete is himself a brand and he needs to ensure he doesn’t water down his brand with an improper and unsuitable media style.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with one of my strategic business alliances, Forrest Dorsett, Founder & Principal of Dorsett Sports Marketing and Managing Partner at Fred Hickman Communications. We had the chance to dive into the subject of media training. Here is how our conversation evolved: [click to continue…]
Michelle Hill, the Strong Copy Quarterback for Winning Proof, is a sports and fitness copywriter. My mission is to help pro athletes, coaches, and sports agents increase their success score in their entrepreneurial endeavors with my writing expertise and creative turn of mind.I write website content, client letters, media pitch letters, sponsorship proposals, and brochures for sports-related companies. www.winningproof.com
I recently took a trip to New Zealand for some fun during the Holidays.
It is an amazing country to say the least (and that story is for another article) but I had the opportunity to meet with a few great sports professionals during my trip.
One of them was non other than sports ticketing and online marketing genius Shane Harmon.
Shane is General Manager of Marketing and Communications for Rugby New Zealand 2011, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for Rugby World Cup 2011. He holds responsibilities in Marketing, Ticketing, Media and Communications, Ceremonies and VIPs.
I had a chance to spend some time with Shane and hear about what his team has done to strategically promote the games and sell the maximum amount of tickets in what is considered a very small market in New Zealand to host such a large event.
The commercial model differs between major events. For Rugby World Cup, ticketing is the sole source of revenue for the LOC. The Tournament owner, the International Rugby Board, retains all other revenue such as sponsorship and broadcast, which it invests in the growth of the game globally.
The ticketing numbers are big by international standards. However, by New Zealand standards they are huge. Shane and his team have a sales target of 1.4 Million tickets worth $268 Million NZD for the 6 week tournament. With 8 months to go they are on track with 60% of the tickets sold and 85,000 international visitors confirmed.
In the interview below, Shane talks about the ticketing challenge and how RWC 2011 has embraced Social Media to address that challenge. I hope you enjoy the video, and feel free to share you thoughts on what Shane and his team are doing with the RWC. [click to continue…]
Voice of the Box recently sat down with Brock Huard, the co-host of ESPN Radio’s Brock and Salk show and a familar face on ESPN TV. Not only is Brock one of the best at what he does, he is also a former all Pac 10 QB and enjoyed a 6 year NFL career too. In the interview, Brock details his transition into the sports broadcasting segment and provides guidance, advice and tips on how to break in to the sports industry. Any aspiring media personalities or pro athletes looking beyond their career should definitely take a look.
If you are passionate about pursuing a career in the sports industry and want to discover how top level insiders got their start, connect with Matt today. Matt provides a unique look into the careers of many sports industry executives, revealing their success stories, advice and techniques you can put to use as part of your search strategy. Collaborate with Matt and start listening, learning, creating and executing your own action plan!
Equipped with business background and sports insider’s knowledge, Matt is ready to share his passion and knowledge with you! He delivers to his individual clients a unique process and format which gives sports industry hopefuls a unique look into the numerous career opportunities available in the sports industry and more importantly how to position yourself to break in.
The San Francisco Giants enjoyed a banner year in 2010: they won the World Series and embraced social media as a means of engaging diehard fans at AT&T Park and across the country. We sat down with Bryan Srabian, the Giants’ Director of Social Media, and asked him about the successes in 2010 and the future of social media in sports. [click to continue…]
Brendan Wilhide runs Sportsin140.com, a site that covers sports and social media. He is currently co-authoring a textbook on social media for the sports industry. Follow him on Twitter: @BrendanWilhide and @Sportsin140.
I was able to spend three days with Evander Holyfield earlier this year in Tampa during the Super Bowl. I was amazed at all of the stories he had to tell, and all of the many variables in his personal brand. Later, we sat down so I could get the full details on how he has been so successful and how he has managed his brand along the way. His faith, perseverance, and up-bringing helped shape his brand and provide guidance through a rollercoaster of a professional career, and the following interview shares some great insight on the life of Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield.
I had the pleasure of meeting Martine at a local sports tweetup where I first heard about the Hockey Community. Along with her two roommates, they have used their passion for sports and technology to create an online social community where hockey players of all levels can find open rinks and players to play with. After launching for barely a month, their team has already connected with over 4000 different rinks across Canada and USA. I recently sat down with Martine to talk about how Hockey Community came about, the future of technology and sports, and what it’s like to work in a startup with close friends. [click to continue…]
Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.
As Director of Interactive Media for the Boston Celtics, Peter Stringer (@PeterStringer) oversees the social media entities of one of the NBA’s most successful, storied and beloved franchises. I caught up with Stringer recently and asked him about social media, engagement, mobile apps and how job seekers can help their cause through social media.
What is your primary objective in representing the Celtics brand via social media?
We can only host so many fans in our arena throughout the season, but there’s seemingly no end to the amount of fans who want to experience the Celtics whether it’s in the arena, on TV, the radio or online. Our fans actively seek out Celtics content and we need to have a presence everywhere our fans are willing to engage with us. Social media platforms allow us to direct interact with those fans without the middle-man, and it’s a powerful tool for us, given the massive audience we’ve built on social media. Right now, at almost 1.9 million Facebook fans, we’re the third largest team sports brand in North America, and at 85,000 followers, the fourth largest (North American team sports) team on Twitter.
What is the biggest challenge facing an NBA team (or any pro sports team) when it comes to social media?
The biggest challenge is the pace of change. It’s constant, there’s always something new to learn, and the rules of engagement and technology change on a daily basis. Facebook loves to roll out new rules or features with little or no notice and as marketers, we have to be ready to adapt. And from a league standpoint, some of the rules that are in place hamper our ability to market to some of our most passionate fans. Leagues really need to rethink how teams are allowed to engage fans and leverage corporate partners, and not just inside their own marketing territory. There’s opportunities well outside a team’s DMA upon which they currently aren’t allowed to capitalize.
Brendan Wilhide runs Sportsin140.com, a site that covers sports and social media. He is currently co-authoring a textbook on social media for the sports industry. Follow him on Twitter: @BrendanWilhide and @Sportsin140.
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If you want to discover the black hole of job-searching, the place where resumes and cover letters vanish, and the place I call a “dead-end street” for aspiring sports executives, look no further than the HR department.
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