Don’t Underestimate the Power of Twitter: How Extra Credit Led to a Job

By: Tyler Endebrock, @tjendebrock

For some reason, I was late to the Twitter game. It was not until I was offered extra credit for tweeting a specific hashtag in one of my undergraduate classes at the University Of Florida that I joined the big leagues of social media. Once I got Twitter, I followed the teams I like, the writers I like, and the people in the sports business who share what I deemed to be the best information in the sports biz. I then stumbled upon a retweet that had “@frntofficesport” tagged in the post. I clicked on the handle, and immediately gave Front Office Sports a follow since I loved the content I saw on their Twitter page and their website. They just kept putting out articles, interviews, and infographics that I soaked up like a sponge. If I were to follow the best accounts in the sports business, I had to follow FOS.

Fast-forward through 2015, and they were awarded a spot on the Forbes 2015 #SportsMoney50 Top-50 Must-Follow Sports Business Twitter profiles. Serious business (or sports business) this company was. I continued to read their content, but one day I saw a link at the bottom of the website to join the FOS team. Immediately, I opened a Word document to type out why I think I would be a great candidate to join FOS, and I polished my resume. I heard back later that week that I was to be interviewed via phone in a few days, and the rest is history.

In my capacity as the Public Relations (PR) Associate, I have worked to grow the FOS newsletter and the LinkedIn page, while working behind the scenes to make sure our content is put together in a neat way that is easily accessible to our viewers. I have also been steadily building a great list of sports business professionals to interview for the site. Within this work, I have learned different ways to reach out to people, and I have also learned that some strategies may look good on paper, but they do not always work once implemented. It has taught me to look at things in different ways to see how we can make a larger impact on our audience.

I love working for FOS because I am meeting so many amazing people, while learning so much about the sports biz that I won’t learn in a classroom. I have been given so many opportunities in my short time with FOS and I wouldn’t have those opportunities without the support from the FOS team, and the knowledge I have gained from working for such a great company. This work has positively impacted me because it has given me a new perspective on multiple sides of sports. I like to think that I am steadily becoming well-rounded in PR, marketing, networking, and many other aspects of sports. Instead of sticking with only one side of sports, I have been able to broaden my horizons and make myself more marketable for the future. I have also been able to connect with some incredible people, and I really enjoy working for FOS each day. The work environment that Adam has given his employees is awesome, which leads to more confidence and creativity among all of us.

FOS has opened a lot of doors for me, but I like to think working for FOS has helped open doors for the people who use our content. The FOS team cares about helping people, and that is why FOS is so great. Now, I sit as a member of one of the best up-and-coming entities in sports business, and I could not be happier with my decision of making a Twitter handle, following FOS, then applying for/accepting the job.