The sports internship market is more competitive now than it’s ever been. Students are faced with a lot more challenges due to the increase in available talent on the market.
So, how are you supposed to stand out?
Below I share with you five (5) tips to stand out and land your next internship in sports. I personally used all of these tactics when I was in college and I share my personal stories with you below. If you’re wondering what you need to be doing differently, start here with these recommendations.
Shoot your shot
Take advantage of any opportunity you can to make a connection. If you have a guest speaker in your class, introduce yourself after and hand them a paper copy of your resume (don’t just add them on LinkedIn). This is the type of behavior that stands out. If you are at a career fair or an industry event and you see someone you want to connect with, just go up and do it. It’s always going to be awkward at first but if you do it confidently, you have the potential to build an important relationship that could prove beneficial for your entire career.
When I was a senior in college, I needed to secure an internship for my spring semester to earn credit towards my degree. As a huge baseball fan, a certain flyer that I saw in the student center on campus caught my attention. It said that someone who worked in HR at Major League Baseball was going to be guest speaking in a labor relations class. I was not in the class. In fact, I had another class at the same time, but I skipped that class and attended this one instead. After class, I walked up with my resume in hand and told him I loved baseball and really wanted to intern at the League Office. Coincidentally, he knew of an internship opening that hadn’t even been posted publicly yet - it was being posted in a few days. He took my resume, gave it to the hiring manager, and I got that internship. I never would have gotten it if I didn’t shoot my shot.
Get in front of industry professionals
If you are able, attend as many events as you can (whether in-person or virtually). Go to your school’s career fairs. Look up other industry events like the SABR Analytics Conference or any of the Sports Business Journal conferences. Attend events around major sporting events like the Super Bowl or NBA Finals. If you can’t get out to any of these, start messaging people on LinkedIn until you get some replies. Whatever you do, make sure you are being noticed.
I once attended a career fair at my college and there was a recruiter there from the New York Mets. That is my favorite team! I was so nervous to go up to that table because I didn’t have a lot of previous work experience and I wasn’t sure what to say to them. But I took a deep breath and I did it. I met the recruiter, remembered his name, and gave him my resume. It was easier than I thought. But then I wondered how I would get him to remember me alongside all these other students. I went home that night and found his LinkedIn profile. Then I started trying to guess what his email might be just off of his name. Eventually I got it right and my email went through. I set up reminders for myself to email him every two weeks on the dot to continue to express my interest in a summer internship. After two months, he responded back and invited me to interview for the internship. I got it.
Build your brand
The earlier you can start building your personal brand, the easier it will be for you to stand out all throughout your career. There are several ways you can work on building your brand:
Post thoughts, stories, articles, and news on LinkedIn.
Create a personal website to showcase your experience and passion in a different way.
If you want to get into social media or marketing, create business profiles on Instagram or TikTok and build up those accounts.
Start a blog, vlog, or a podcast about an industry topic you are passionate about.
If you’re a creative, put together a professional portfolio website and link it to your LinkedIn and your resume.
When I was about 18, I started a blog about the New York Mets. I would just share my opinions on roster moves, team performance, game updates, front office decisions, and more. I did this so that I could put something sports-related on my resume. I didn’t have any internships to share yet. When I went to apply for the Mets internship, I believe that my persistence definitely helped but that my blog really set me apart from other candidates. It showed that I was passionate and driven but also that I was extremely knowledgeable and could communicate well. These are ways that you can showcase your potential to employers for free.
Document your experiences & success
I wish I had known to do this when I was in college. One of the best things you can do is document your successes. It’s easy to forget the wins and accomplishments. The big ones you remember but not necessarily all the other ones in between. Keep a journal or a notepad with you and just keep a running list of major projects you worked on, successful outcomes, the process you went through to get there, etc. This will come in handy when you are networking or interviewing and you want to impress the other party. You will have concrete examples of your accomplishments right at the top of your head that you can pull out and share with people to showcase your skills. Since most people don’t do this, they don’t remember specific examples when it matters. If you can share specifics on how you have been successful in the past, you will stand out from all the rest.
When I was interviewing for my first full-time job at the NFL, I remember the hiring manager asking me specific questions about projects I had worked on. In most cases, I would have struggled to remember the specifics of those projects and what exactly I needed to say to make it relevant to this role. However, since I started writing them down, all I had to do was review that list before the interview and I was able to pull examples off the top of my head in an instant. I got this job because I was able to prove that I had the skills required through my previous experiences.
Get professional help
Let’s be real. No one really teaches us how to manage our careers. They give vague advice and maybe some professors will have you write a resume for class but that’s about as far as it goes. It’s up to us to figure out what we want to do and how to go after it. That’s hard to do.
An easy way to get started is to go to your school’s career services center. Most students forget about this resource but I promise you, you will be thanking me once you do. Not only do they help you one-on-one edit your resume and cover letter, they can help you with your interview skills, identifying what you might want to do in the industry, figuring out how to meet and connect with people, helping you build your LinkedIn profile, assisting with salary negotiations, and so much more. Every college student should be using their career services department.
In addition to that, you’ll want to seek expert advice from industry veterans who have done this before, hired people like you, and know exactly what it takes to succeed. That’s where we come in. I wish there was a company like this when I was in college. A dedicated resource where I could get connected with leading industry professionals and reserve guaranteed one-on-one time with them to get all my career questions answered. Many of our coaches also offer special pricing just for students. Browse through the list today!
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