The Work in Sports Podcast - Insider Advice for Sports Careers

Not every job is in sales, but getting every job requires you successfully sell yourself to the hiring manager. That process begins when you apply for a job and submit your resume in the hopes that it sells you well enough to get an interview. Here is what you're selling: Your skills Your ability to get the job done Your ideas This episode of the WorkInSports Podcast tackles how to sell yourself i...

LinkedIn can do wonders for a job search if utilized properly. One tool that could focus your network is the Boolean search. Here's an example of using one if you want to be a sports reporter: "Sports Reporter" (searches for profiles with only that job title) "Sports Journalist" OR "Sports Reporter" (finds profiles with either job title) "Sports Reporter" AND "Boston" (narrows to profiles with job...

Today’s guest on the WorkInSports Podcast is James Price, who at the time of this interview, was Director of Marketing and Digital for the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA’s G-League. He is now Director of Social Media for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. After graduating from Marquette as an advertising major, he worked as a marketing and promotions lead for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals and a public rel...

Internships are a game changer for starting your sports career, but obtaining one can be intimidating when you don’t have experience. That’s what concerns Alexis in her question to the WorkInSports Podcast: “Hey Brian, love the show. I’m a college sophomore and you’ve really inspired me to start acquiring more workplace experience through internships. You’ve made it extremely clear how important i...

Professional sports brands are valuable, and companies line up to associate with them to bolster their bottom lines. Previous WorkInsports Podcast guests such as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Luke Mohamed and Ilitch Sports and Entertainment’s Molly Wurdack Folt have given us a glimpse of how to build relationships between sports franchises and external brands. In this episode, we dive into how to form...

Not getting along with coworkers can be jarring if you are used to forming close ties at work easily. While difficult coworkers can drain your energy, be careful about devoting too much bandwidth to someone you don't get along with. That isn't to say you should ignore problems that pertain to your day-to-day job duties, but be sure to focus on how the conflict is affecting your productivity rather...

The goal of networking is to build quality relationships instead of racking up a large number of LinkedIn connections. Building and maintaining authentic relationships with people you reach out to benefits you personally and professionally by gaining a friend and, eventually, someone who can advocate for you when a career opportunity opens up. Hannah has this networking question for the WorkInSpor...

Your resume is one of the most important things you will write in your sports career. It sets the tone of who you are to prospective employers. Today’s question for the WorkInSports Podcast comes from William in South Carolina, who is looking for some resume tips: “Hey Brian – I recently read an article on Buzzfeed from a Google Senior Recruiter explaining what she wants to see on a resume. Do you...

Fundraising is the lifeblood of competitive college athletics. While TV contracts, ticket sales, and sponsorships make up a sizable portion of an athletic department’s revenue stream, securing donations is the main catalyst for the capital projects, scholarship funding, and endowments that drive programs forward. Getting these projects off the ground takes dedicated workers in development offices...

The sports betting industry has rapidly grown since the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on sports betting in 2018. One profession in the industry that has benefited from this growth is sports media. Traditional media outlets were already cutting staff in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, and sports betting companies have become a soft-landing spot for sports media specialists....

Internships are particularly important in establishing yourself because they help with you gain experience and build a network. Molly from Alabama is looking for internships and has this question for the WorkInSports Podcast: “Hi Brian, I’m a junior in college, and as part of my curriculum requirements, I have to do an internship. I don’t have much on my resume right now, and I keep hearing how co...

Nicole from Minnesota slid into Brian Clapp's inbox searching for some job search strategies: “Hey Brian, I’m embarrassed to admit this, but after graduating in May, I’ve kind of slacked off the last three months. September is the month to get me back on track. Can you help me build a job search strategy?” When searching for a job, you naturally want to hit the ground running and blast out as many...

Today's question for the WorkInSports Podcast comes from Michael: “Hi Brian, I am starting my sophomore year in college, and I just declared as a sports management major! What advice would you have for someone like me to maximize my college years and be primed to hit the workforce in 3 more years?” Host Brian Clapp addresses Michael's question by sharing what your objective should be when gaining...

With the Supreme Court unanimously ruling that the NCAA cannot restrict education-related benefits for student-athletes in 2021, student-athletes can now profit from NIL deals, which created opportunities for companies to stake a claim in this new marketplace. Today’s guest on the WorkInSports Podcast, Hall of GOATS CEO Greig Carlson, runs one such company. A former NCAA wide receiver who won two...

Networking is important in any industry, and sports are no different. One effective way to make connections is through informational interviews. But, once you have secured one, what are the best practices? That's what Jean-Christian from the University of San Francisco asks the WorkInSports Podcast: "First, I wanted to say I love your WIS podcast. You bring an energized and dynamic vibe to the gre...

The competition for sports jobs is fierce, and every experience you get before transitioning from college to your career is golden. However, to advance in the industry, you typically must move around the country when stepping-stone opportunities open. That has been the experience for past WorkInSports Podcast guests such as Auburn Assistant AD Dan Heck and New England Patriots Reporter/Producer Ta...

Starting a new job can be daunting, especially while you get your bearings in those first few weeks and try to quickly learn new processes, tasks, and faces. However, even after settling in and becoming high achievers, some people still doubt their abilities. Known as imposter syndrome, this phenomenon is the subject of Jeremy’s question for the WorkInSports Podcast: “Hey Brian, I really enjoyed y...

Sports teams are among the most popular follows on social media, and it's easy to see why: They present an entertainment product that is in demand. Aspiring social media professionals can see their content's engagement in real-time as it dominates newsfeeds with shares, likes, and mentions. While managing sports teams' social media channels is a glamorous job, it comes with a lot of responsibiliti...

Much of our advice on the WorkInSports Podcast focuses on getting hired in the sports industry. From tailoring your resume to the roles you are applying for to crafting a compelling cover letter, building and leveraging a network, and tips to nail the interview, there is a detailed road map for aspiring sports professionals to follow and land their dream job. However, how do you excel at work once...

WorkInSports VP of Content and Engaged Learning Brian Clapp rubbed elbows with a mix of sports business professionals at the 2022 Hashtag Sports Conference in Las Vegas in July. With professional hockey flourishing in the desert, one of the executives Clapp got a chance to talk with was Xavier Gutierrez, Arizona Coyotes’ President and CEO. Front office jobs in professional sports are highly covete...

The #sportsbiz is fast-paced, and successfully working in the field requires adaptability in terms of work hours and constantly changing circumstances. Unfortunately, that non-stop pace can lead to burnout if you aren’t careful at managing your mental health in the workplace. On today’s WorkInSports Podcast, VP of Content and Engaged Learning Brian Clapp addresses how to avoid burnout and care for...

Journalism in all forms is constantly evolving as consumer demands change, and the sports industry is no different. For decades, the way sports fans kept up with everything going on with their favorite teams happened like this: •   Watch SportsCenter (probably multiple times). •   Subscribe to magazines such as Sports Illustrated or ESPN The Magazine. •  &nb...

On the latest episode of the WorkInSports podcast, host Brian Clapp recaps the Hashtag Sports conference that he spoke at last week in Las Vegas, and dives into a lively discussion on how to handle the interview question, "Why Should We Hire You?". Tune in and learn a little something!

WorkInSports Podcast host Brian Clapp extolls the virtues of having multiple versions of a resume and diversifying your experience with a strong internship strategy, but how do you ensure a human set of eyes is reading your resume? In this episode of the podcast, Clapp explains how to get through the applicant tracking system by: Matching your skills and experiences on your resume to the keywords...

Today’s guest on the WorkInSports Podcast is the Milwaukee Bucks’ Hollis Brown. She serves as the team’s Coordinator of Partner Strategy and Management. Brown joined the Bucks as a Sales Associate in 2021, right as the Bucks were starting their NBA Championship run. Her day-to-day includes fulfilling sponsorship contracts with the Bucks’ clients with traditional media assets, digital and social me...