Internships are a commonly advised route for people looking to "break
into" the sports industry. And one way to educate yourself about
internships is to talk to others who have completed sports related
internships. But what if you do not know such people? Well you are in
luck, because I do know some recent interns willing to share their thoughts on this topic.
In addition to writing about sports careers and my "day job" as a marketing professor at Sonoma State University, I occasionally teach in the University of San Francisco's Sport Management Program. (Full disclosure: I'm also an alum of the program.)
The
students I am engaged with currently at USF are approaching the end of
their Master's Degree program and have already amassed an impressive
list of internships and full time positions with sport entities like the
Oakland Raiders, Cal Athletics, Stanford Athletics and Positive Coaching Alliance.
I
recently asked them about advice they would have for others entering
the sports industry, starting with a question about their internship
experiences.Each respondent's name is linked to either their
Twitter account or LinkedIn profile, if you would like to learn more
about their careers. What follows is a sampling of the responses
received from the next generation of sports leaders
What did you learn from your internship experiences?
Andrew Kohler
People working in professional sports (interned with NHL's San Jose
Sharks) are extremely dedicated to the work they do and could probably
make more money working outside sports, if they wanted. Also, interning
is a great way to get invaluable experience and exposure to the
industry. It may be the only way to get such entry-level experiences in many cases.
Casey Miller
People hire people. Be easy to get along with, genuine and teachable.
If people enjoy being around you and you work hard, you may go further
than someone more skilled than you. You spend a lot of time together.
Roshan Gupta
I learned how to ask the right number of questions at work - not too
many about instructions - and not too few so that I make mistakes. I
developed a sense of intuition about the right number of questions to
ask.
Mark Gosen
In my internship I learned to use my time effectively. This is done by
taking on as many tasks as possible and creating your own tasks when
there is down time. This will lead your employer to look to you when a
task needs to be completed and will help you build a strong foundation
at an early stage of the internship experience.
What was
interesting about their responses is that they did not reflect on the
specific roles they played or experiences with specific tasks as the
most impactful element of their internship experiences. Instead, most
of the lessons were about the interpersonal nature of their professional
development: working with others, professional self-presentation and
the value of networking - things that are easier to learn from
experience than in a classroom.
Part 2 of this article
features responses to questions "What do you wish you knew about the
sports industry three years ago that you now know?' and "What is the
best career advice you have ever heard?".
Be sure to read it to gain additional glimpses into the experiences of these young sports business professionals.
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