The Work in Sports Podcast - Insider Advice for Sports Careers

The sports industry changed drastically due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but job openings rebounded this year. During this resurgence of sports job openings, WorkInSports took a look at the pressing issues that matter to candidates in the State of Sports Hiring Report. As the industry adjusts to the new realities of a candidate-centered job market, the WorkInSports Podcast continued to offer...

Working in the sports industry comes with a particular shine. Many people watch sports, and when they hear someone at a social gathering say that they work in the field, their ears perk up. However, the exciting stories at parties cover up that salaries in sports careers sometimes lag behind other professions. Jacob tackles this topic with his question for the WorkInSports Podcast: “Hey Brian, I’v...

For sports brands, content creation is its version of show business. Check any sports social media feed and you’ll see energetic hype videos, crisp infographics, and trendy TikTok crazes. Fans can’t get enough of them when they come out, and then they move on to the next thing. Of course, that next thing could be more of the same, or it could be a new platform that the brand maneuvers into to stay...

One of the draws of working in the sports industry is witnessing amazing athletes excelling in high-pressure situations. From hitting a game-winning kick at the end of the Super Bowl, to sinking a pair of free throws with a championship on the line, to getting the final out in the World Series, there are countless opportunities when an athlete is under the spotlight with all the pressure on their...

Preparation is everything in life. At WorkInSports, we approach finding a job in the sports industry through the lens of developing a specific strategy to give you the best chance of landing the job you are after. Even if you aren't a list person, chances are you have a plan in the back of your mind laying out how to achieve a goal. A higher-level strategy actively or passively influences how you...

One of the goals of this site along with the WorkInSports Podcast is providing a roadmap to getting your career started in the sports industry. That roadmap includes tips for optimizing your resume, building a network that gets you noticed, and job interview advice to land you that dream job. Today’s question addresses a crucial moment of the last point, we’ll let Janice from Illinois take it away...

Today’s WorkInSports Podcast guest, Fan Controlled Football’s Senior Director of Marketing Partnerships Jasmine McGee, runs the marketing and sponsorship efforts for a new league that considers itself football for the modern world. The games are an hour long, streamed on Twitch, with no kickers or punters, and played on a 50-yard field at 7-on-7. The hook is that fans call the plays as part of the...

For all the allure of a sports career, who you are working for is just as important, if not even more important, as the job itself. The following question from Matt dives into workplace culture: “I am not sure if you saw the recent article about the Suns owner, Robert Sarver, talking about the toxic workplace he created. I wanted to ask you, as a job seeker, what measurements can I take to make su...

Given the immense competition to land sports social media positions in major professional leagues, it is noteworthy when someone fast tracks their career and bypasses those stepping-stone positions. Lexi Ross, Memphis Grizzlies’ Social Media and Digital Content Producer and our guest on the WorkInSports Podcast, is one such person. Lexi earned her Bachelor’s in Sport Leadership and Management from...

When he isn’t dispensing job search advice on the WorkInSports Podcast, VP of Content and Engaged Learning Brian Clapp makes the rounds with speaking engagements at various universities. There, he shares his wisdom with college students to build the foundations of their careers. This week’s Q&A podcast episode comes from a topic that came up time and again during Brian’s most recent encounters...

We all face them. Sometimes they are dramatic, like the failure of a relationship, or the bankruptcy of a business. And sometimes they are less dramatic, but no less important like a new assignment at work, or an uncomfortable conversation. As humans, we often tend to take action when we feel comfortable the results will be positive. We lean into those things where we know the success rate is high...

Having a polished resume highlighting your professional attributes is job hunting 101, but Jim’s question for the WorkInSports Podcast takes it a bit further this week. “Hey Brian, big fan of your podcast. I have a professor who is advising us to have multiple versions of our resume. I’m a junior in college. He gave us this advice, but he couldn’t explain why. I pressed him on why and he said he h...

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month – you are now aware of this concept. But let’s go deeper. We need to get past awareness, we need to think about our collective contributions to the solution.  Joining me today are Megan Gausemel, Director of Awareness Planning and Operations at Special Olympics International and Ben Collins, 40-year Special&nbs...

We got our first video question in our Q&A session of the WorkInSports Podcast as Matt asks about leveraging the Great Resignation that the job market is smack dab in the middle of. This episode discusses why employees are leaving their jobs, even without another position secured, along with advice to turn this sports industry churn into a landing spot for you.

Sometimes it can be helpful to look back into sports history to understand where we are now and how radical the changes have been over the last 10 years or so. I’m going to read two quotes and I want you to guess what we are talking about: Here’s former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue: "It is a matter of integrity, It is a matter of the character of our games, of the character of our fans, and a m...

One of the most useful traits of maintaining a strong presence on social media is branding yourself as a professional. On our latest Q&A segment of the WorkInSports Podcast, Darren from Atlanta writes: “Hey Brian, Big-time listener here, I’ve picked up a lot of great advice from you so thanks for all that you do. I have a question regarding TikTok, I see a lot of people posting their resumes t...

The introduction, improved performance, and “free” nature of the internet upended every business model of sports consumption. Suddenly, all the content you paid for individually was at your fingertips with only an internet bill to pay for it. Magazines went online, struggled to maintain subscriptions, and several shut down permanently. As time went on and streaming apps became prominent even ESPN’...

Our latest episode of the WorkInSports Podcast hits an area in the middle of a slew of reasons for career changes as we approach what employment experts are calling the Great Resignation. We’ll let Bre, one of our newest listeners, set the stage: “My name is Bre, and I'm a new follower of your podcast –which by the way, is so awesome and informational! I saw that we could send you emails with ques...

On our latest WorkInSports Podcast, we go a little deeper into the realm of college athletics as VP of Content and Engaged Learning Brian Clapp sits down with Auburn University’s Assistant AD for Marketing and Fan Engagement Dan Heck, who details his journey from a marketing graduate assistant at Central Michigan University to his current post running the Tigers’ marketing efforts in the football...

No fan questions this week for the WorkInSports Podcast, but VP of Content and Engaged Learning Brian Clapp has advice all the same for our aspiring sports professionals. Communication. It’s a crucial part of branding yourself not only as a trusted expert on your social media accounts and in your industry. Communication is also an important and exciting aspect of branding yourself because you can...

Adversity. Everyone has had to overcome it in some form or another in their lives, but the amount of barriers differ between people. On this episode of the WorkInSports Podcast, Brian Clapp speaks with someone who has overcome countless obstacles throughout his life to excel, and he is paying it forward. Desmond Dunham turned to running as his way through those obstacles, an elite cross country at...

On the WorkInSports Podcast, we pride ourselves on offering career advice to folks looking to break into or move up in, not only the sports industry, but wherever talented workers ply their trade. Our question from Jonathan in Texas is one that definitely applies to everyone finishing up a job or internship application: “Hey Brian – I'm Jonathan; I am a junior in college who is just starting to ap...

We have this vision of the sports agent. Contracts. Negotiation. Schmoozing. Glad handing. A lot of this is true... but times have changed. Elite athletes used to choose their agents based on their history of signing massive long-term contracts for other clients -- “oh you helped Pedro Martinez sign a record-breaking contract extension – you're my guy!” Now, athletes are looking deeper into the br...

Last week, WorkInSports.com released its inaugural State of Sports Hiring Report . Naturally, Brian Clapp leaned into the data it revealed in the latest episode of the Work In Sports Podcast to determine what the findings mean. One takeaway: A Lot of Movement is About to Happen Industries nationwide have been dreading a “Great Resignation” that is supposedly fast approaching, and the data in sport...

With every sports gambling enthusiast's favorite season kicking off this week, the WorkInSports Podcast is doing a repost of Brian Clapp's Jan. 13 conversation with Nigel Eccles, Co-Founder of FanDuel. Strap yourselves in for an inside look at how he helped start up the sports book and daily fantasy sports service that boasts over six million users today. He takes us through the journey to disrupt...