Whatever top you want to get to, you will need help along the way.
Human beings have an internal desire to help other humans. While we may not always act on this desire, we all have it.
We all know how great it feels to help someone, so the question is why aren’t we always doing it?
Well, one of the main reasons is… people don’t ask for help. Why? Because, they are scared they’ll be bothering someone, scared to be vulnerable and open to receiving help, scared to be rejected, and the list goes on.
What I’ve found, and experienced, is that people want to help other people succeed. You just have to ask!!!!
You have to put your ego aside and ask for help if you want to be great in life and in your career. This is especially true for students and people looking to start their careers.
For anyone starting out in their sports journey, look to ask for help from the following three groups: family and friends, professors, and alumni.
Family and Friends
Your family and friends are typically the people closest to you, and they are most likely to be willing to help you launch your career. If you know you want to work in a particular aspect of sports or for a specific company, ask your family and friends if they know anyone in that space or at that company.
You never know who your Uncle John might know until you ask or what advice he might be able to share with you.
Don’t wait until you’ve graduated before you start asking for help. The best time to start is now because as a wise man once said (aka my dad), “The only SHORTCUT in life is to START now!” If you want to be great, do your research and then ask for help.
Friends can be just as helpful as your family because they’ll have a completely new pool of people to reach out to. Depending on your relationship with your friends you can ask them for help in different ways ranging from introductions to working at their parent’s company.
Professors
It amazes me how few students invest time in getting to know their professors. Professors are some of the best resources! Their job is to help prepare you for the job you want.
Professors in sports management, business, finance, entrepreneur, marketing, and every other specialty are experts in their field hence why they are professors. This means they have experience and knowledge they can share with you. This also means they have connections in their field of expertise. They are literally the perfect people to help you land your dream job.
Don’t think that just because they are your professor they aren’t involved in other endeavors or projects. As a matter of fact, most professors are actively engaged in outside work whether it is research or as board members of companies.
As Nicole Imbrogno, the internship placement coordinator at Syracuse says, “If we don’t know you or what you are looking for, we can’t help you. We want to get to know you too.” Let your professors help you achieve greatness. All you have to do is make an effort to get to know your professor.
Don’t become a brown-noser with the intentions of using your professors for personal gain, but give them a chance and see what kind of relationship you can develop.
Alumni
Alumni can be some of the best people to ask for help. Outside of family, alumni might be the easiest to connect with as attending the same school is a powerful bond. It automatically gives you and the person you are reaching out to some common ground making it easier to facilitate a relationship.
All you have to do is go on LinkedIn and search by alumni for specific roles or companies you are interested. If you want to learn more about this email me here.
I’m fresh in the journey of life and I know that alumni are always willing to help. Sometimes it’s intimidating, but you just have to go for it!
Life isn’t easy. If it was, we’d all have perfect lives, beautiful partners and no problems. You can, however, make life easier on your path to greatness. It begins with asking for help on your journey! People want to help you; you just have to ask!
This piece has been presented to you by SMU’s Master of Science in Sport Management.
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