This week we’re gonna take a different spin on learning to sport by hearing from one of my closest friends and blog extraordinaire, Cassidy Davis! Cassidy comes from a sports marketing background and has a ton of experience working for both professional and collegiate teams. Currently, she hosts her own blog, CU from the Sidelines, that talks about her behind-the-scenes experience working for the University of Colorado Boulder athletics department.
With Cassidy’s unique perspective, I thought it would be interesting to have her write a post with a step-by-step guide on how you too can work in sports. Make sure to check out her blog after you’re done reading to hear more about what she does for CU, and read the fun post I wrote on here blog too!
Now here I am gonna pass it onto Cassidy!
About Me
What’s up sports lovers?! My name is Cassidy and I’m so honored and excited to be a guest feature on Learn to Sport! I’m a huge fan of this blog and think it is so cool that Sumedha is giving you guys an all-in-one look at everything you need to know to become a sports fan.
Before I start, I want to give you all a little bit about me and my background so you can get an idea of what you’re getting into.
As a senior in college at the University of Colorado Boulder, I am currently on track to graduate this December with a Bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communications (emphasis on Public Relations) and a double minor in Creative Technology & Design and Sports Media. I’ve had six internships during my time at CU, four of which have been within sports, and my goal is to hopefully graduate with a full-time job in the amazing world of sports and entertainment. So far, I have gotten the incredible opportunity to work with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, and Colorado Rapids), CAA ICON (an agency that acts as a team owner’s representative when building new stadiums), and CU Athletics (seven PAC-12 teams including Football and Basketball).
Aside from work, I am an extremely avid sports fan with my heart and soul given to my love for hockey and the Colorado Avalanche (if you like the St. Louis Blues, you suck). Although my passion for this sport initially sparked my interest in working in this type of career, being a sports fan is not the only thing driving me forward and that’s something I’m going to talk about later when it comes to making it in this career.
In this blog, I’m going to talk about my advice on what you should start with if you know you want to work in sports but have no clue where to start. While this isn’t by any means an all-inclusive list, it should get you started thinking about the right things to do as a beginner.
With that being said, let’s get into it…
Advice #1: Start Small
The first two positions I held were during my freshman and sophomore years and they were EXTREMELY small. My first marketing position was with a super small non-profit scholarship foundation where I was the only one on staff and the rest were volunteers who took care of the organization as a hobby. There, I was one of the only ones with any type of communications background and I was tasked with handling every single marketing effort for the entire company by myself. The second position was a role with a logistics and e-commerce PR agency where I was one of two people on staff and my time was spent researching reporters and writing about companies in charge of transporting products.
Although these weren’t always the most enjoyable positions, I would not have made it anywhere in the sports world without them. You may have heard this before, but I promise it’s incredibly true: Any experience is a good experience.
These positions set me up for skills I would have never gotten from sitting in a class. They not only taught me marketing and communication skills, but they also taught me professional skills and how to use professional opportunities to my advantage when building my resume.
Whether it's through an internship, a club, or volunteer work, start by doing anything and everything you can to just get something on your resume. It shows that you’re dedicated to learning and you’re willing to put in the effort to be successful.
Advice #2: Network. Network. Network.
If you take only one thing away from this entire article, take this: LinkedIn is your best friend!!! The best thing you can do for yourself is to make a LinkedIn profile and use it like it is any other social media. Connect with anybody and everybody you can and send them personalized messages about who you are and what you want to do.
The first thing that I did when I knew that I wanted to work in sports was follow every single major league sports team on LinkedIn so that my feed is constantly being flooded with updates on teams and when they are hiring. LinkedIn is catered toward business and employee engagement so the posts you see from teams on here will be much different than what you see from a fan perspective on Instagram and Twitter.
From there, I used the search bar to type in keywords that would help me find people in positions that I’m interested in working one day. For example, “Denver Broncos marketing” will pull up a TON of people from entry-level to executive positions in the marketing department at the Denver Broncos. My go-to introduction is to hit the Connect button, “Add Note,” and then write something like “Hi! My name is Cassidy and I’m currently a student at CU Boulder. I’m super interested in working in the sports industry and would love to learn more about what you did to get to your position. Do you have any advice?”
Nine times out of ten, they will respond. People love to talk about themselves! And through this simple message, you will have gotten them to:
1. Connect with you
2. Recognize your name
3. Start a conversation with you that gives you an automatic “in”
This is so incredibly important when trying to get your foot in the door of the sports industry because this field is incredibly competitive and it automatically strengthens your chances when you have someone who knows you and who can advocate for you. If anything, you will be able to message them again in the future when you see a position open up at their company and they can give you insider advice on how you should apply.
Advice #3: Sell Yourself
Like I said before, the sports industry is very competitive and if you want a chance at getting a position, you have to learn how to best sell yourself and prove to hiring managers why you should be there.
One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give you when you start applying for sports jobs is that it doesn’t matter if you are a sports fan. Every single person applying for the same role as you is a sports fan. That is one of the biggest turnoffs to hiring managers when they see that the main reason you want to be there is because you like watching sports. Now I’m not saying that being a sports fan is a bad thing because a lot of times that passion can be a great motivator and liking your job can definitely make you better at it. But when it comes to submitting your application and/or interviewing for a position, you need to set yourself apart from everyone else.
For example, whenever I get the question, “Why do you want to work in sports,” my go-to answer is always to talk about my passion for creating memories. As someone who loves to be the relationship between a brand and a consumer, I love that sports allows you to tell stories and build a narrative that creates lifelong memories for fans and even for athletes.
Make it your own. Set up “informational interviews” with hiring managers when you apply for positions. Ask your connections to hop on a 5-minute Zoom call or grab a cup of coffee. Post your accomplishments on LinkedIn, no matter how small. Anything that will set you apart from your competitors and showcase your passion and drive for an industry where being the best of the best is mandatory.
Conclusion
Although I could go on and on about the little things you can do to start your career in sports, I don’t want to make this too long. Instead, go give my blog, CU from the Sidelines, a read, follow me on social media (X and Instagram), and connect with me on LinkedIn!
The sports industry is one of the most amazing places you can work, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Just remember: Don’t give up, keep dreaming, and your hard work will pay off!
Source: All images were taken by Cassidy Davis
コメント