The Work in Sports Podcast - Insider Advice for Sports Careers

Mike Judge, Cleveland Browns Manager of Ticket Sales Joins the Work in Sports Podcast.This episode is a rebroadcast from March 28, 2018 - one of our fan-favorite episodes. The University of San Francisco’s Sport Management Master’s program has been educating industry professionals for 30 years!! Take the fast track to the career you’ve always wanted. ○      Earn your Sport Management master’s degree at USF in 23 months○      Learn from industry-experienced faculty○      Gain over 1,000 hours of internship experience○      Join a network of 2,500 alumni who are leaders in the industry — and mentors to youFor more information go to the University of San Francisco’s Sport Management Master’s program WEBSITE at usfca.edu/smAnd the Work in Sports podcast is brought to you by the Work In Sports Academy -- four different online courses designed to make you the best possible candidate for sports jobs. Just going to class and getting good grades is not enough to work in the sports industry! We’re going to teach you all the extra strategies and tactics you need to start implementing now if you want to really work in the sports industry.Check it out -- workinsports.com/academyHi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of content and engaged learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…For 20 years the Cleveland Browns have been a miserable franchise. Sorry, that is harsh, but I think you’ll find it difficult to argue with me. Throughout the last 19 seasons, the Cleveland Browns have amassed 88 wins. Total. That is an average of 4.6 per season. 29 quarterbacks have come and gone. Last winning season... 2007. What is remarkable is how stalwart the fans are, through it all. Hue Jackson won one game over two years as head coach of the Browns but the fans still came. They still cheered. They still believed and hoped.Sure some of that goes to the overall power of the NFL and rules of scarcity -- there are only so many games on the calendar, it’s not like baseball or other sports with a plethora of opportunity to attend. But most of it goes to a really really good fan base.   But now, even despite a rocky start to the 2019 season -- the Browns are the team everyone wants to talk about. Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham, Myles Garrett -- they have stars to market, potential to reap and hope to sell.But that doesn’t mean the job of today’s guest, Mike Judge Manager of Ticket Sales for the Cleveland Browns any easier. There is still much work to do to sell the experience of game day to a fan base that may still have some doubts.Here’s Mike Judge…Listen in to the episode to hear from Mike Judge, Cleveland Browns Manager of Ticket Sales! 

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning for WorkInSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.Two years into this podcast and over a quarter-million downloads, I still get nervous before every single interview. The process of interviewing is daunting, I love it, it gives me great joy, but there is this overwhelming concern for sounding like an idiot or asking a dumb question.Often, due to technology, there is a bit of a lag before you hear the other person responding. Those few seconds can feel like a lifetime! I ask a question...and then it’s silent for a moment, and in that brief window you can convince yourself, “Oh my gosh, did I just not make any sense and they are thinking right now, how do I answer this garble?”Your heart races, and then they start to answer. Phew. Crisis averted. I spend so much time crafting my questions and researching, primarily because I am so afraid of sounding ridiculous and losing the respect of my guest. And then I get into the actual interview and don’t want to sound rehearsed so I start adlibbing… and I babble on and on.Does any of this sound familiar? Hit a little close to home?While this is all very true for me, I pretty much guarantee it is true for you as well during your interview process.  You are smart, so you research and prepare. You are savvy, so you don’t want to sound rehearsed.But you are also afraid to miss out on this opportunity, so nerves can take over. You want this to work out - it matters to you - so you put pressure on yourself to do well. Pressure is a tricky thing, it affects everyone differently - Tom Brady handles pressure better than Matt Ryan. Reggie Miller is better under pressure than Nick Anderson. Is that too old of a reference?1995 Nick Anderson of the Orlando Magic missed 4 free throws in the final seconds of Game 1 of the NBA finals against the Rockets which opened the door for the Rockets to win and then sweep the young Shaq led Magic -- that was so painful to watch. Does anybody remember Rick Ankiel? Top pitching prospect of the St. Louis Cardinals… electric stuff. I had him on my fantasy team back in the day.  The kid had all the talent in the world, comes in second in the 1999 rookie of the year voting, lighting it up in 2000… then game 1 of the playoffs comes around, cruising through 2 innings against the Braves and Greg Maddux...and all of a sudden he can’t find the plate. He’s throwing it behind guys, 10 feet off the plate, wild pitches walks...he was a mess. Never the same as a pitcher. Pressure affected him. So how do you deal with this? How do you get yourself ready for an interview so that you can be your best and not succumb to these thoughts of “what if?”For me, I’ve learned that having perspective makes all the difference. I think back to high school and college, how many tests I took or papers I wrote that stressed me out, I thought they were the lynchpin to my success. But today, I couldn’t tell you about a single one of them. Those moments I thought were life-changing… weren’t. All the stress, anxiety and nervousness ended up being wasted emotions in the grand scheme of things. Then I remember, this moment is what defines me. Michael Jordan didn’t make the varsity team in high school. At the time, he may have doubted he was good enough or thought this was a life-defining moment. It wasn’t. JK Rowling was rejected by 30 publishers who thought Harry Potter wasn’t marketable. Oprah was fired as a Baltimore news anchor. You will have multiple chances at everything in your life -- jobs, relationships, interviews -- don’t build pressure into the equation on each one. Breathe. Be the best version of you.Now, with all that said, I interviewed Leigh Steinberg for this here podcast and was nervous as could be. Nobody is perfect...but as you’ll hear in this podcast interview,

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning for WorkinSPorts.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.It is always my goal to avoid extremely topical discussions -- the reason being, if I talk about the Browns - Rams game last night, or the impact of Tean USA failing at the World Cup -- these things become out of date and are no longer relevant in short time. The thing about this podcast is all the information in the first episode 2 years ago is just as relevant today as it was then. So if you are a new listener, know that every episode is still worth listening to, becasue the content has meaningful and relevant ideas about working in the sports industry.Now I give that preamble because before I get into today’s question I am going to talk about something topical… something happening right now, but also something we all deal with as fans. Antonio Brown. As most of you know I’m from Boston. Been a Patriots, Celtics, Bruins and Red Sox fan for life. Not because of success, rather because of failure. I sat through miserable seasons, and I relish in all that is great right now….but I’ve had a major problem with the Antonio Brown saga as it relates to my fandom.Here’s the thing -- I believe very much in the spirit and sanctity of the locker room. It’s a special place. A family. A unique bond between men and women which should be the safest emotional place in the world for athletes. When Antonio Brown went live on facebook from the Steelers locker room, against the team rules, I was off that guy forever. I love elite athletes and I’ll apologize for some misbehavior, but this broke every rule of being a good teammate and to me that was enough to say -- don’t like this guy. Watching from afar as he had his issues continue with the Steelers and then on to the Raiders -- I thought many times, I wouldn’t want this guy on my team. And then they did it, they signed him, and I listened to fans and media types alike twist themselves into pretzels to say it’s OK now becausse he’s on our team. I hate this attitude. If he had signed with the Chiefs we’d be mad, but since he signed with our team we forgive? That’s crap. And then it got worse. Sexual assault and rape allegations, not paying people who had workd for him, general disrespect of his fellow man. I literally, for the first time in my 44 years didn’t want to support my team. I kind of felt over it. Other things seemed more appealing to me than cheering on this guy. My team had a chance to say -- we’re not going to play you as we investigate what happened here -- hell they could have even covered for him more and faked an injury, or said he wasn’t ready to participate in the offense yet. But they didn’t - they trotted him out there in their jersey out to practice every day then played him against the Dolphins. It all just felt icky. Of course everyone deserves the right to be innocent until proven otherwise, and of course nothing has been proven about him… but again, I didn’t like his comportment as a teammate before the alleged sexual assaults, rape and other crimes. And let’s not forget this is the same a hole who tossed furniture from the balcony of his 14-story apartment building last April, nearly killing a 22-month-old toddler. These are not the actions of a good person. You become conflicted as a fan… do I forgive and forget because they give my team a better chance of winning? I’m sorry, I can’t do that anymore. For the first time ever, this scenario made me question being a sports fan… where we perceive winning is mor important than being good. Yes, I am naive, yes this has been happening quite literally since the dawn of sports time… these aren’t boy scouts, they are flawed humans. I get it. Something felt different this time around… maybe it’s the tyreek hill situation here too. Hurting his kid...allegedly...and then getting a contract extension.

Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…Oftentimes you learn the most from the mistakes you’ve made.As the host of this program, I’m in a very unique position, learning the ins and outs of various peoples career choices, how they built themselves up to be the person they are, the steps they took the tactics they employed. I find it all fascinating. So many different stories, so many different people from various backgrounds and influences. And often, an ‘in-my-face’ reminder of all I’ve done wrong. This isn’t some ‘woe-is-me’ tale, quite the opposite, this is a deep appreciation of what others have done to reach their goals. That’s the unique thing about goals and aspirations - just having them isn’t enough. I knew by my junior year of college I wanted to be in sports television. Something like ESPN. Didn’t know exactly what, I just wanted to be in there. It is one thing to know it, and quite another to do something about it. I prioritized A LOT of other things ahead of reaching this goal. I’d talk about what I wanted, voice it aloud in my classes, but when tough choices came around like, should I go to Wilburfest this weekend, which was a big party on campus, or volunteer for the ESPN college football broadcast…. I chose the party every damn time. Funny thing is that didn’t change all that much when I got my first job at CNN/Sports Illustrated. There were co-workers I started out with who were immediately looking ahead to bigger roles and training themselves to be bigger. I was pretty content with mastering my responsibilities, working hard in my role...and then going out at night.  I’m not about to tell you you should be 100% dedicated to your career, you shouldn’t. I think you need life and social experiences, I think you need balance and you won’t be happy without it.BUT. I hear guests on this show describe the effort they went to in order to get into the industry and think… wow. It is tough out there. Despite low unemployment numbers, the number of talented people who want to work in sports out supply the demand. We have over 18,000 jobs active on our site WorkInSports.com right now..which sounds like A LOT… until you go to Monster.com and type in accounting, and realize there are 526,000. You have chosen a competitive path - and that’s awesome - because if you are into sports you are likely competitive by nature. Just remember there is no time to waste, there are things you need to be doing right now, there are experiences and skills and opportunities you need to be pursuing. You can be at the top of the list for jobs, but it isn’t just going to happen because you say it out loud. There is work to be done. Today’s guest knows this better than most. Carlton Robie is a college senior at the University of New Hampshire… he wants to work in sports just like you. And he is taking advantage of every opportunity out there. Why is Carlton on? Because he is your benchmark. He represents your competition. Maybe not literally, maybe he won’t be the person applying for the job you want… but others like him will be. So ask yourself as you listen… does this inspire me to do more? Worry me? Scare me? Or set you at ease?  Whatever emotion you feel, own it, and take action from it. Here’s Carlton Robie. (Listen in to the Work in Sports podcast to really hear Carlton)Final Thought on Carlton Robie:I didn’t bring this up during the interview but there is one other thing I’d like to mention about Carlton -- I didn’t bring it up because I didn’t want to embarrass him, but I think it is important. Carlton asked me to speak to his college club a year or two ago. When I did, he sent me a personal card thanking and a Mookie Betts bobblehead and a t-shirt from the UNH football team. He built the relationship.When he asked me about interning in Seattle,

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…Hope everyone had a nice weekend -- We’re going to do a two-parter today. Two questions I really like, but neither should take me super long to explain… so let’s turn two!First one comes via our Private Facebook group.Katrina Hunt from the Work in Sports podcast group - (reminder on podcast group):Looking for some resume advice and I have looked through previous posts as well as listened to podcasts and wanted to confirm some information! Is it necessary to have a summary at the beginning of the resume? Should you list relevant skills in bullet points and if so where at in the resume?Thank you in advance for any and all help!  Katrina -- the summary and the bullet points. Look I won’t deny that I had versions of my resume with summaries and bullet points, but I learned over time these are not the right way to go. The fact you are asking these questions early in your career and I didn’t figure it out until my 30s means you are way ahead of me, so congrats on that!Let’s explain why. The summary. The mission statement. The objective. Whatever you want to call it, it is the paragraph of wasted space, filler, that sites right below you contact information on a resume99% of the time it says something like: “Accomplished, diligent, recent graduate interested in pursuing a career in the sports industry”Or“Motivated student who demonstrates a strong work ethic and creative ability. Seeking to apply my marketing and sales skills as an intern this summer at your organization.”These are a waste of space. And they are telling me things I should already know about you.I know you want to work in the sports industry...or else you wouldn’t be applying for my job in the sports industry. I know you want an internship this summer or you wouldn’t be applying.I know you think you are creative and diligent or you wouldn’t be applying for a job that requires you to be creative and diligent.I need you to show me these things -- not tell me.Objective statements are a waste of space. Gimme a minute and I’ll tell you what you should do instead… but first.Now, if you are going to do one, and I really suggest you don’t, but if you are going to do one, do it right. Some of you are listening and thinking...my professor told me I have to have one! Fine. if you are going to do it despite my advice … listen up so you can do something to attract the right attention, not the wrong first impression.Listen up...are you ready… make it customized to that position you are applying for, AND make it about what the company needs. Not whaat you want and need, what they need.My friend Carl Manteau, Senior Director of Group Sales for the Milwaukee Bucks gave a great example he said:For example, if you are applying for a sales position with the Milwaukee Bucks, then your objective should be "To become the top revenue generator for the Milwaukee Bucks sales department. To help the sales team reach its' goals and to help the entire organization fulfill its mission of being the most successful and respected sports and entertainment company in the world."Now that required some work on your part -- you had to research the mission of the company you are applying with and cater your response to their mission. This shows you have done your homework and makes a great first impression.Anything less than this style, and you need to just forget the objective/summary section.Now, what do you do instead? Rather than you telling me, you are diligent, figure out how to incorporate that into the body of your cover letter and your resume.Rather than telling me you want a job in the sports industry, spend more time detailing your experience in the sports industry.The body of your resume is what counts. What have you done! What change agent metrics can you include? How have you impacted former businesses?

Building out a content strategy for a pro sports team...sign me up! Learn more about careers inside an iconic sports brand from Kara Walker, Boston Celtics VP of Content Strategy and Marketing.Hey everybody I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning for WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast.In 2007 today’s guest, Kara Walker,  graduated from Ithaca College. The Massachusetts native began her career in Ticket Operations with the Boston Celtics. Today she is the VP of Content Strategy and Marketing with the Boston Celtics.I’m not just reading her resume, there is a very clear point, or at least it should be. Kara started in sales but today she is a VP in a much diiferent part of the org. I mention sales jobs and customer service roles to people who want to work in sports and I watch their face change. It’s a reflexive reaction that borders between disgust and annoyance. It’s like they think I’m insulting them by saying they should look into sales roles, rather than be named the GM of their favorite team right out of college. I get it everyone has big dreams and those dreams don’t include cold calling people for season tickets, or convincing a church group to buy 30 tickets to the Sacramento Kings game in November sounds like fun. I speak in college classrooms all the time and I’d guess about 25% of the people want to be sports agents. Ask them why and they’ll say they want to be close to the players and it looks like fun. Good luck. You think it’s glamourous, it is not. There are around 830 agents certified by the NFL Players Association and 1,590 active players on 53 man rosters. Not great odds...but now go even further 75% of the players are represented by just 17% of the agents. A half dozen or so super agents handle all the big players and the big deals. The other 824 agents scrap for what is left. When NFL rosters go down to 53 people at the end of training camp as many as 300 agents have no active clients at all. Now, let’s compare that to jobs in sports sales. The opportunties are out there. Of the 17,864 jobs currently posted on WorkInSports.com - the industries leading job board -- 7,353 are connected to sales. Those numbers are in your favor.  I get it - you aren’t convinced - you’ve been told all your life to do what will make you happy, and sales isn’t it. I’m with you, I have never worked in sales, I haven’t even been a waiter at a restaurant trying to sell someone a steak dinner, and I turned out OK.But, I’m not giving up on this. You need to see the truth.  Sales isn’t a life sentence, it’s a step inside the building of an organization.Kara Walker started in Ticket Operations with the BOSTON CELTICS, one of the most storied franchises in sports. She gave herself an opportunity to prove herself, learn the business, connect herself with revenue generation, build her reputation and grow from within a premium organization. In two years time she was changing departments in to content and marketing - she shifted her entire career, but stayed with her top organization where she wanted to be.I can go on and on about following the path of opportunity and least resistance but you need to believe it and buy into it. Now, I have to admit, before we get into this interview, I am a die hard Boston Celtics fan, and I am a content marketing geek -- so I was pretty fired up for this interview and my giddiness may come through a bit. Let’s get to it -- here is Kara Walker, VP of Content Strategy and marketing for the 17-time world champion Boston Celtics. Questions for Kara Walker, Boston Celtics VP of Content Strategy and Marketing1: You’ve been with the Boston Celtics for 12 years since graduating from Ithaca College in 2007 -- it’s pretty impressive to start your career with a pro team like the Celtics – what do you remember most about the hiring process?2: You started out in ticket operations – a role many wh...

This is the struggle! "I love sports, what should I do for my career?" Well, good news, we have a plan to help you with that. Hey It’s Brian --Want to know a growing field in sports -- mental health. The sports industry increasingly utilizes mental health professionals to help athletes achieve their maximum potential.Are you ready to Take the Lead and help the athletes you work with become the best they can be? If so, an advanced degree in sport and performance psychology from University of Western States may be for you.Learn how to teach the process of setting and attaining high-level achievements, creating and leading a highly effective team, and positive motivation and effective communication skills. UWS offers affordable master’s and doctoral degrees that can be completed online and on your own time. Take the Lead in helping athletes and teams bring home their next championship.  A degree in Sports and Performance Psychology is the next step in your athletic leadership career.  Visit www.uws.edu/takethelead for more information.Now let’s start the countdown...Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast -- Big thanks to the University of Florida and Grand Canyon University for having me speak to their classes last week. I’ll tell you it is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. I learn as much as, I hope, the students do, because I get to know what is on their mind. I do about a 30-40 minute set, and then open it up for questions...and thankfully these groups have had a lot to ask. It keeps me on my toes, not knowing what is coming, and just having to react and answer from my experience and knowledge. It really keeps me sharp. It also gives me a window into what students are gravitating toward for careers, what fears they have, what lingering questions or unsure decisions they have to make. I love it. If you’re a professor listening, feel free to invite me into your classroom - I’d be honored. So let’s get into one of these common themes that always emerges. From no one in particular but honestly just about everyone --“Hi Brian, you are awesome, I love sports, can you help me figure out what career in sports I should pursue”I added the “Brian you are awesome part” but suffice it to say, this is a question I get 20 times a week through LinkedIn, through our private facebook group, through email, through sessions like these in classrooms.This is the question.I’ll be honest - it used to make me mad. Well, not mad, but kind of frustrated. I can’t answer this question for someone, I can’t tell you what to do for your career and I can’t spend an hour looking at your resume and trying to figure out where you fit. That also happens. I used to have this quick response I’d provide, where I’d say something like “while I fully appreciate the struggle to figure out your life’s goals, I’m not armed with enough info to help you determine your career direction - I don’t know enough about you and what makes you tick!’To which people would respond with their resume, or 10 paragraphs about themselves and say here you go -- now you know me, so what should I do for my career. I want to help, but come on, not to sound callous but I have a full-time job and a family, I shouldn’t be spending my free moments in life doing a free deep dive on your and creating your life plan.I’m not that nice.   In truth, I was avoiding this conversation about “fit in the sports industry” because I knew it was reckless to answer this for someone. I try really hard not to peddle bad advice -- and while that may not sound like a  groundbreaking approach - you’d be surprised when y...

Shenandoah University's Dr. Joey Gawrysiak joins the Work In Sports podcast to discuss the first-of-its-kind, newly launched, multi-track eSports major and minors! Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged leanring for WorkInSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…We’re going to go into the wayback machine for a bit, but I’ll make it quick and it’ll have a point.Back in 1997 I was in my first year at CNN/Sports Illustrated and my cousin said to me, you know what we should do, we should make a website where all of the sports people you come in contact with can write their sports opinions and share them on the internet.Now that doesn’t sound like much, but this was 1997, the internet was a relatively new place, it wasnt the source of everything like it is now. The internet was like Las Vegas in the 1940s before Sinatra and the Rat Pack made it a destination. It existed...but it was basically a desert with a little bit of make-up.My cousins idea was essentially what would have been the beginning of sports blogging. We had all this major talent, from reputable sports anchors like Nick Charles, Fred Hickman, Vince Cellini and Bob Lorenz - to up and comers like Laura Okmin, Chris Rose and Steve Berthiaume. We had analysts from all the major sports -- guys like James Lofton, Trev Alberts, Bob Golic...who by the way has the largest hands I have ever shaken… dude had articulated cast iron pans for hands. But you know what I did -- I told my cousin, no way, no one would ever read that, I don’t think it would work. You know how you have those moments you look back on in life and cringe… yeah, that’s one of mine. I didn’t see it. Not one bit. In about 2-3 years time everything sports related was on the internet. BUT, this moment has shaped me. I never forgot my lack of vision...so since that date I’;ve taken this and turned it into a positive. I listen more to ideas, I try to see the forest through the trees, I don’t summarily dismiss anything. I try to see how things can work, rather than how they can’t.Analytics, social media all things I had a much more open mind for. eSports...well, that snuck up on me. I’m not a gamer, I think it looks like fun, don’t think I’m being highbrow because I’m not, I’ve just never committed the time to it. But I didn’t see it as the gigantic business it’s become. The business of eSports is huge and there is money and careers in it, not just for the gamers themselves for all the people that make these huge global events a reality without controllers in their hands. And with this demand, comes need. A need for educated students tailoring themselves to the business of eSports. New this semester, Shenandoah University is offering esports management major and minor, an esports media and communication major and an esports performance minor. This program is the brainchild of todays guest -- Dr. Joey Gawrysiak  -- who is going to share mor about the growing world of eSports and how students today can become a perfect match for this growing field.  Questions for Dr. Joey Gawrysiak, Shenandoah University's eSports Program Director1: In my experience – and please to all my professor friends listening out there don’t take this personally – but in my experience, advanced education is slow to respond to newly emerging trends. For example, analytics was all the rage for a decade before schools started incorporating this into their curriculum.You and your team at Shenandoah are challenging this perception – explain how this concept of adding an academic esports major came about.Follow up - You have this radical idea, something no one else is doing - you come up with a plan/strategy etc.  and you have to present that concept to your bosses – did you have a moment of doubt where you thought – this is insane! Or did you feel pretty confident throughout?

Joe Cuomo, Brooklyn Nets Equipment Manager joins the Work In Sports podcast! Hi everybody,  I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.There is a theme for today, and it is persistence. I’m not one of those “Rise and Grind” disciples. You see and hear people all the time talking about the grind, gotta love the grind, gotta throw yourself in, gottas give it your all...etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.  I read people on twitter and other social media outlets with their little quips and sayings… and I get it, that is motivation for many people - go for it if that is you. It is 100% not me.I hear “rise and grind” and I immediately think -- that person is lacking efficient systems to perform their job, and has a lack of balance. Maybe that makes me the weird one. Well, let me rephrase, that likely makes me the weird one. Don’t get confused, I work hard. Work is important to me. Achieving is important to me. Helping is important to me. But this idea of being a slave to the job isn’t. There is this new trend in being healthy -- intermittent fasting - it could be a fad, but it is an interesting premise. For those who are unaware, it is limiting your food consumption to an 8-hour window each day. So you set yourself a schedule, from 10 am to 6 pm I am allowed to eat, then for 16 hours, I am not. I feel the same way about work. I don’t want to grind all day. No interest in that. I want to do my job to my absolute best, metaphorically eat everything in sight, and then shut it down and get into other things. Of course there will be days that more is required - but if you aren't generally able to do your job in the allotted time, it's likely not about how hard you work, it's about how efficiently you work. Now mind you, this is a very personal evolution. I was a grinder. Matter of fact I was the very definition of the word. I always saw myself as less talented than everyone around me, so I would only get ahead by out-hustling and out-working everyone.This is a good short term plan, but it is not sustainable. I became obsessed with systems and processes in my 30s- I wanted to focus not on outworking, but by operating in a smarter fashion than others, so that I could go for a walk with my wife, or coach my daughters soccer team, and be present in that moment without concern for missing the grind.What does this all have to do with persistence? Well, part of being smarter is setting up systems that allow you to work without thinking. Late 2018 I reached out to today’s guest and asked him to come on the show. He said sounds great let’s do it! Over the next couple of weeks, we struggled to connect and it kind of fell off his radar. No worries, this happens, he’s in season, scheduling is tough.But rather than stress or forget about it,  I set myself a simple reminder. In 6 months contact him again. I didn’t have to think about it, I would get the reminder later. 6 months pass, I reach out, he remembers me, we get team approval and here we are… I’m interviewing Joe Cuomo Brooklyn Nets Equipment Manager. It’s not always the grind, it's persistence, and it’s the systems you put in place that help you get where you want to go.But enough about me, let’s learn more about Joe Cuomo, Brooklyn Nets Equipment managerQuestion for Brooklyn Nets Equipment Manager, Joe Cuomo1: Let’s start out at your beginning – you attended the University of Central Florida and earned a management degree with a focus in sports management – why sports? What inspired you to pursue a career in this industry?2: One of your first internships while in college was in baseball – you worked for the Washington Nationals as an operations assistant and in the spring training box office. As your first introduction to big time sports – what do you remember most about that experience?3: After graduating from UCF,

Hey it’s Brian - got a great question we’re diving into on this here podcast, but first -- You are all here because you want to grow and develop in your sports career, why else would you be listening… it’s not my sultry voice or sense of humor.  No, you are here to get ahead, and if you are truly serious about this, and you want to jump way ahead in your sports career - check out our Work in Sports academy courses. So far I’ve created four courses -- * Gaining the right experience* Networking and building personal relationships* Your resume cover letter and personal brand* And how to nail your interviews for jobs and internships.Maybe you need just one course… you’re about to head into some serious interviews and want some deep dive tips and techniques. Or you really need a strategy and tactics to build your network. Pick your course -- $39 bucks. DEAL!Or maybe you need all four courses -- if you are pretty new, that is likely. Well you can bundle them all together for just $99 -- that’s 38% savings over buying them individually. DEAL!Check out workinsports.com/gameplanAnd if you are a professor or High School teacher and think to yourself, whoa, this would be awesome to incorporate throughout our sports management program. I can work you a screaming deal so contact me today. bclapp@workinsports.com -- or just hit me up on linkedin… we’ll make this work.Alright, let’s start the countdown…Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkInSports.com, and this is the Work in Sports podcast.Let’s jump right into things...actually, I want to make one point first before I get into today’s question - which is a really good one. We just reached 17,000 active sports jobs on WorkinSports.com - 17,281 to be exact. I keep hearing people talk about how competitive it is in the industry right now, and they aren’t wrong… but the jobs are out there. We have them all.And before you think to yourself, I don’t need to pay for a premium membership to WorkinSports.com - I have google! You are going to waste so much time doing google searches and you are never going to find thousands of the jobs we have because you don’t even know the employers exist.We work with over 8,000 sports employers --- we have all the jobs. So make it easy on yourself and start with us, save time, be more efficient. AND for all of you students -- go to workinsports.com/students… the deal on there is crazy. $30 for a 6-month membership. That’s just $5 a month. Save time, find the best sports jobs...and match your resume against the job openings on our website. Oh yeah, it’s true. You don’t have to search through all 17,000 we’ll do th work for you -- upload your resume and we make the computers do the work for us. They look at you, and our 17,000 jobs, badda boom badda bing, you get matches.It’s awesome.Ok, today’s question from Joshua in Indiana, Hey Brian, everyone always starts out by kissing your you know what, and I guess I’m no different. Just a sincere thanks from this guy, you’ve taught me a ton.In the last year, I’ve built my network up and been doing your heat checks every 6 months or so…it really works. If people listening don’t know what I’m talking about… you need to take Brian’s gaining the right experience course.My question -- I have two job offers and I’d love your advice.One is at my dream company but isn’t in my ideal role or department.The other is a role I want, but the company is just OK. What would you do?Josh -- thanks for all the kind words and nice job phrasing the question. If you had said “What should I do, I would have gone into a rant about how I can’t make decisions for you, I can only advise… but since you asked what would I do, you gave me cover to answer this in full.First things first -- thanks for the kind words about our Work In Sports Acad...

Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.Back in the early 2000s, which seems like yesterday, but in our fast-moving world was actually, like, 100 years ago,  I was the executive producer for a TV show featuring NFL MVP Shaun Alexander. Shaun is an incredible dude, and I loved working with him, but that’s not why I brought this up. I bring this up just to show how much things have changed in the last 15 years.Back then, athletes had very few channels to share their personal stories, their point of view, their personality or perspective. Just a few of the top stars would have their own TV show, like Shaun, others may have weekly segments on sports radio, or maybe work with a local sports reporter for a newspaper feature.Most everything from a personal branding perspective worked through the media.  And then it all changed.Social media played a huge role - players could now voice their own stories, share their own vision, create their own videos - and have a channel to distribute them. But even more than social media as a tool - there was also a shift in attitude, utilization of the leverage players have, of the demand THEY create. Many in the media call this the player entitlement era, where they now call the shots. The athletes make the demands and they have shifted the leverage of every negotiation.I find that term kind of insulting, player entitlement. The word entitlement gives it a negative connotation, like how dare they express themselves or want for themselves, or demand for themselves. Entitlement to me has a connotation of being something that isn’t deserved, like a child acting like they should get the toy because they want it. It is their prerogative. In the instance of elite athletes, they are the product, they are the brand, they have every right in the world to express themselves, brand themselves, leverage themselves, for their betterment.And they are doing exactly that. Sites like the Players Tribune give all players a voice to share the world through their eyes. More and more athletes are creating videos, negotiating deals, creating documentaries and building a huge personal brand. Alas, the players don’t all go it alone. They often look for trusted advisors, creative visionaries who can enhance their portfolio and build their reach beyond what they imagined was possible.One such visionary is today’s guest - Rashida Gayle, Director of Talent Marketing with GSE Worldwide, a fully integrated talent representation, and sports marketing agency. Rashida works with stars, like MLS MVP Josef Martinez, Atlanta Falcons Running back Devonta Freeman and rookies Justice Hill of the Baltimore Ravens and 49ers WR Deebo Samuel. Time to find out how she got where she is today, and where she sees the world of marketing heading -- here’s Rashida Gayle. Questions for Rashida Gayle, Director of Talent Marketing GSE Worldwide1: I read an article where you were asked about breaking into the sports industry and if it’s been a smooth road for you – you responded “Absolutely not” – lets dig into that, because it is extremely hard and there are a ton of people that love sports and want to work with athletes – so take us back to the beginning, how did you break-in?2: I saw one background piece on you that said “Gayle credits her upbringing for enabling her to see the bigger picture in life” – can you explain?3: Your background and experience aren’t just in marketing - it’s public relations, community relations, event production, negotiation, finance – how important is versatility in the sports industry, and how did you learn all of these disparate skills?4: Your work is in a relationship side of the industry, the athletes you approach and recruit have to trust you to wo...

Learn how to present yourself in a favorable light to your internship coordinator and how it may help you land that entry level sports job you dream of. Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkinSports.com and this is the work in sports podcast.If I sound a little extra peppy today there are a few reasons for it:Reason #1: A friend asked me if I’ve been feeling down lately because my tone on the podcast has been very serious. Well, no, I feel great, but sometimes I worry I’m a little too excited, and then I tone things down a bit and try to sound like professional guy… but in my heart of hearts I’m like a giddy kid all the time.In fact, at Work in Sports they recently recorded my “giggle” during one of my interviews, turned it into a loop and play it often on our internal system -- we use basecamp - it’s pretty cool.Reason #2: We are unleashing our online course this fall semester in many schools and it has me really excited. I’ve worked really hard building out our Sports Career Game Plan courses, and so far the reception has been great. Now if your school isn’t implementing our course as past of their curriculum - you have two choices. Tell your professors about it, and have them reach out to me bclapp@workinsports.com. OR you can purchase it as an individual - visit workinsports.com/gameplan for more info. Or you can just hit me up and we can chat about it.Reason #3 - it is summer and I love summer. I don’t care that it is hot, I don’t care that it is sweaty. I love it and summer makes me really happy. So if I’m in a particularly good mood today those are some of the reasons why. Oh right, also, my interview with james kimbal VP of Operations for UFC Performance Institute was awesome if you haven’t listened to that you should. And tomorrow I’m interviewing Reshida Gayle, who is the Director of Talent Marketing for GSE Worldwide - she works with top athletes like Devonta Freeman on their personal marketing. Super psyched about that - she’ll be the interview this Wednesday.Alright, enough preamble - let’s get to todays question.Jimmy from Massachusetts. Says here Jimmy is from Worcester, which is about 20 minutes from where I grew up in Bolton, Mass. Head right down 290 and boom you’re in Worcester.  Ok, Jimmy asks -- Hey Brian, thanks for all you do with the podcast, I’m amazed at all I’ve learned and how it is so much more targeted than what I learn in school. I spent my summer interning with a local team, and it has been a great experience. I took your advice and really focused on building relationships throughout my internship. I’ll tell you I feel like I got more out of this internship experience than any prior because I had a plan, strategy and focus going in. One very interesting thing happened,  I went to my internship coordinator and asked her about full-time positions with the team and how I can make myself the best possible candidate. She responded with a smile and said “come back to me next week and pitch me on why I should be interested in you full-time?”So I have a meeting set with her later this week and was wondering if you could help me pitch myself -- I’ve been struggling.Ok let’s start with this. I love your internship coordinator. Don’t tell her I said that. But I love this idea.You tell me why I should hire you. Awesome.What is she looking for?What you’ve learnedConfidenceUnderstanding of the big pictureOrganizational ImpactDesire levelI’ll summarize this for you, she’s trying to see your heart. She wants to know how much this means to you, how seriously you will take this assignment, and how you’ve grown since you started the internship.Now, let's dive into this a little deeper I’m not going to do the assignment for you, hut I am going to help you frame your mind so you can present yourself in the best possible way.This knowledge is important to anyone who has had an internship an...

James Kimball, VP of Operations for the UFC Performance Institute joins the Work In Sports podcast to discuss getting hired at UFC, being part of the development team behind UFC's 30,000 square foot Performance Institute and what it's like to have a leader like UFC President Dana White.Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…Every time I see a list from Forbes or some other magazine, touting the most valuable sports franchises in the world, I’m blown away. * Dallas Cowboys worth 5 billion* Real Madrid worth 4.2 billion* Even the damn New York Knicks who haven’t won a game in 5 years and have a nutbag owner are worth 4 billion. Of course, that is hyperbole - the Knicks have won a few games. So often when these numbers are posted, the fans revolt. You see snide comments all over the place about greedy, money-grubbing owners, high ticket prices...you hear labor complaints about guaranteed contracts and health issues of former athletes.The organizations and leagues are painted as cold, manipulative monsters only out for the bottom line - dragging their athletes along, using them like cattle and then getting rid of them when they provide less value. But that is never the whole story - it’s kind of the easy story to tell. Dig a little deeper and you find that the soul of these organizations is a little more subtle than some revenue sheet. There are efforts that aren’t in the public eye organized by teams and leagues to help and support their athletes. Take the UFC for example. President Dana White recently stated that UFC was worth 7 billion dollars. That’s a jaw-dropping number. And you wonder -- how much of that goes to the athletes in one form or another, how much is done to support them?The short answer -- a lot. They have support programs for retired fighters, athlete development programs to assist the fighters outside the octagon,  and recently unveiled the UFC Performance Institute  - a $14 million, 30,000-square foot facility that serves as the world's first Mixed Martial Arts multi-disciplinary research, innovation, and performance center. This center, with its altitude chambers, nap pods, nutrition center, therapy rooms, underwater treadmills and more -- is 100% free to athletes on the UFC roster. Free.Completely focused on helping the athletes cut weight the right way, to build a solid plan for their fight needs and for their recovery. The man running this facility, and who played a major role its overall design, is James Kimball, VP of Operations for the UFC Performance Institute...and today’s guest:Questions for James Kimball, UFC Performance Institute VP of Operations1: Everyone I speak with seems to have a moment they can pinpoint where it became clear they didn’t just love sports; they knew they wanted it to be their career. What was that moment for you?2: Your first job out of college is in the NBA with the Washington Wizards in sales. We tell people all the time, the vast majority of the jobs in sports are in sales. Some love it, some hate it… where did you fit on that sales spectrum?3: You jumped around a bit after that, tennis, college recruiting for baseball, SB Nation on the content side – was this just part of the journey, or were you feeling a little lost and a little confused about what you really wanted?4: Boom. UFC in 2010 in fan experience. I’d imagine working in UFC is a little different than your other stops – how did it differ from those other environments, and were you hooked right away? 5: You’re a VP now, but back then you were an entry-level fan engagement coordinator – what was that specific experience like an...

Samantha Wood Philadelphia Eagles Director of Digital and Social Media joins host Brian Clapp on the Work in Sports Podcast.Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…Everyone wants to work in sports social media. Ok, that’s hyperbolic, it isn’t everyone, but it seems pretty darn close. No one, or at least very few people, remark that they want to work in sports sales, despite it having a really high career ceiling, and money making potential. Very few share their love and desire to work in facility management, or consumer goods, despite the enormous opportunities at sports facilities around the globe and massive consumer brands churing out shoes apparal and equipment and monumental clips.Nope, it seems most of you have sold your soul to Twitter. I’ll admit, I’ll see a tweet from friend of the show Katie Gillen from Atlanta FC when she shares a cool graphic, or behind the scenes video, or incredible photo, or funny comment related to the team… and think to myself, she’s got a pretty awesome job.Or I notice today's guest Samantha Wood, Director of Digital and Social Media with the Philadelphia Eagles do the same, and there may be a tinge of creative jealousy. As a creator myself, you see people put in positions to be creative and thrive… and sure, I can absolutely see the excitement behind working in social media for a team or organization.BUT - I don’t want to dampen the dream, but I want to be very clear with all of you. I believe wholeheartedly in settingreasonbale expectations. Telling people the truth about the industry and it’s roles…Social Media in sports is not just a content party.I lifted this directly from a job posting for a social media coordinator from our site WorkinSports.com - where if you hadn’t noticed, there ar 14,482 active jobs right now on our site… so for all you people struggling to get started in the industry… we have the jobs!Anyway, I lifted these details from one of jobs currently active on our site for a social media coordinator. Track & analyze social media insights, trends and new platforms.Execute paid social media campaigns and budgets.Assist with website content via the content management system including but not limited to events, weekly promotions, photo galleries, general info (contact info, hours, FAQ, inquiry forms), news articles, etc.Help with database collection through contests, promotions, campaigns and events.Ability to learn and create visually appealing graphic designs using Canva. Assist with coordination and management of photography and videography assets.Plan, design and manage the outbound emails including database management and content.Work with sponsors on activations and implementation of their contracts.Work with operations to execute Game Day promotions, sponsorship implementation and in game program elementsLet’s pull out some key skills there -- Tracking and analysing data. Budgeting. Executing paid campaigns. Database management. Creating graphics on Canva. Managing content assets. Activation. Contracts. Game Day promotions. Now a coordinator is an entry level role, imagine how this ramps up as you become a director!  As I said, Sports social media isn’t just a content playground, it’s a function of the business operations of the team or organization, and you need to have more than just the ability to tweet to get these jobs.No one better to teach you that, than todays guest Samantha Wood - Director of Digital and Social platforms with the Philadelphia Eagles!Listen in to this great episode of the Work in Sports podcast to hear Samantha ...

 Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…Before we get into today’s topic, I’m still a little stunned about something that happened this weekend. Longtime NFL reporter Don Banks died in his sleep at just 56 years old and the world is a worse place because of it. I didn’t know Don well, but I knew him a little. During my tenure at CNN/Sports Illustrated we would often reach out to the various Sports Illustrated reporters for more details on some of their reporting, or to get a quote from them, or have them jump on our shows live to answer a QA session.Most of these conversations were civil, well mannered and to the point. For a young producer, I was often intimidated a little, making requests of Peter King or Tom Verducci or Leigh Montville. They were all incredibly gracious with their time, but as busy people just wanted to get it done.Don was a little different. He wasn’t loquacious, not overly talkative, but he just had a different warmth to him. I remember having some technical issues once and was apologizing to him madly, and he just kept saying, it’s OK, not a big deal, don’t worry about me, just do what you need to do. He would ask you questions about your favorite team, make a comment from his reporting like -- oh they could be in for a really big year. He would make you feel like you were more important than your rank. He didn't judge you on your value to the corporate entity, he just valued that you were the person on the phone with him, and why not make it pleasant. You never felt like a means to an end with Don, just another cog in the machine, he always made you feel like you were reuniting with an old friend after you hadn’t spoken in a while. Don will be missed. Let’s get to today’s question from Ashley in California. Hey Brian -- I’m embarrassed to admit this, but after graduating in May, I’ve kind of slacked off the last two months. The summer has been great, I’ve enjoyed the beach, done some hiking in national parks and just enjoyed a life a little. August is my month to get back on track can you help me build an August game plan?YES, I CAN!First things first experiences are great and super important - now that I am in my 40’s I kind of wish I had done more exploring in my 20s. So do not apologize and do not regret enjoying your life. These experiences will last you forever. Not to get off track, but we have three pretty young kids, and we’ve made it our family mission to give them experiences they won’t forget. We go to national parks, we stay in log cabins in the woods, we go on road trips, we visit osprey nesting spots in Maine. That’s what we love to do as a family -- find out what you love, and do it. Not just in your career but in your life. That is really important stuff. You need balance. Don’t make it all about the rise and grind...because you’ll look back someday and wish.Ok, but since you are through your summer of fun...Listen in to the podcast episode for more details:1: LinkedIn Connections2: Refresh your LinkedIn profile, pictures and status - upate your resume while you ar at it.3: Clean up your social media accounts4: Organize your references5: Research your ideal companies to work for,6: Research your ideal roles and where your gaps are.7: practice your elevator pitch -- what you want. 8: Get active networking either through email or social media or events - maybe hit a conference9: Make a targeted outreach -- not a blast - to let the right people know that you are out there. 10: Interview prep -- once you start applying you could get a phone interview, or a video interview at any time, better be ready for it.That’s it for today, thanks for listening -- I have some really coo...