By: Ryan Gazdacka, @RyanGazdacka
Having an internship during or immediately after college is crucial to getting your foot in the door to the sports world. It’s all about who you know, right? How many times have you heard that?
Internships are more than just getting coffee and doing busy work. If you want to make the most of your internship experience, follow these steps.
Network
The sports industry is a close-knit community. If you don’t already have a LinkedIn account, make one now. Add everyone you meet in your internship and grow your professional network.
Socialize
Don’t be the intern who sits behind a desk all day. Get up and talk with co-workers and get into your job. Make yourself memorable to employees, so that when you’re applying for full-time jobs you can stick out from the crowd.
Say yes
Internships are a unique opportunity, and you’ll have a lot of different tasks. At the time, some tasks might seem unnecessary, but you need to get as much experience as possible. For example, I was interning in minor league baseball, and our staff had to dress up as superheroes for a themed game. Instead of moping around, I had fun with it and made it a memorable night for myself dressed up as Robin.
Once in a lifetime opportunities come along — do them
Either big or small, I can promise something will happen during your internship that you will remember for the rest of your life. Interning in minor league baseball, I was able to put on a World Series ring, and interning with a sports television network, I was able to get free skybox tickets.
Find your niche
Sales, marketing, PR, social media, content development, guest relations. There is a handful of different career paths you can take in the sports industry. Use your internship as a way to find which area you enjoy the most.
Get involved as early as you can in sports, and go in to every internship with an open mind. “It’s all about who you know” is only the beginning, the full quote is “it’s all about who you know, and who likes you.” Make the most of your internship.
