Tons of people start every year a sport management education in order to later work in sports, to get that dream job. There are also lots of unanswered questions or hidden tips of how you actually getting through your education and getting closer to that dream job in sports. Therefore, you will get some advice about what to know as a sport management student.
Networking breakfasts are both tasty and inspiring
In early February, our founder, Jakob Wikenstaal, had the honor to talk to current sport management students at his former sport management university, Malmo University. During the past decade, sport management program have built up a great tradition at the program where a few networking sessions are taken place throughout each year. This is usually a setup like a breakfast event (of course free breakfast, need to think about the students) where about three people from the sports industry come and talk about their work experiences and sometimes also ask for interns or other help.
In the past few years, these networking breakfasts have been developed into always inviting alumni to do one talk, in order to inspire what other graduates have been up to after the studies. Jakob have been invited a few times and he always felt proud being asked to do a talk and to have the opportunity to talk about his journey so far. It is always great to show that the future sport managers have a lot of opportunities ahead.
This is what sport management students should be aware of
What Jakob did talk about during this breakfast was about what sport management students should be aware planning ahead. Jakob always focusing on how far you can go by trying out new tasks and being curious to meet new people.
How to get a job in sports?
Many students in sport management enter their first days at the university and have a hard time understanding how and what they can do to get a job in sports. But that is nothing to be scared of. Jakob had the same challenges. It is hard to know what skills you have and what value you could add to your surroundings.
How Jakob made this trip? Well, he created his own path. Jakob has been (and always is) curious and asking questions to experienced people in the sports industry. He is also reading a lot of different books, news, and trends on the web. All of these sources gives him a lot of inspiration and knowledge. Make sure to have different perspectives with different sources, which gives you a critical and more creative and open mindset and this has also been a good benefit in his career.
Jakob Wikenstaal´s personal advice to find a job in sports:
- When looking at jobs, one working title doesn’t say everything about what that job means and require and if you would like it
- Ask people that already know
- Go out and volunteer
- Keep asking yourself if you do and have tried tasks that you enjoy
Be unique and have your own USP
When it comes down to your name and another candidate to get the job, you need to make sure the recruiter chooses you. How? Well, you need to be different. Be unique and make sure you show it. This will be your unique selling point, USP. Find out at least one thing that is your unique selling point, why YOU? In order to get there, here are four ways to become a bit better than your competitors:
- Do more than your future colleagues/job seekers
- Read a little bit more
- Get to know one person more
- Say yes to that extra task
If you liked this article, may want to read these:
How to build a sustainable career in sports?
