Sports Careers Saturday – Maintaining Your Network

Time for this week’s edition of Sports Careers Saturday!

Career Tip: The Power of Maintaining Your Network

Almost all the literature I have read about networking goes into detail regarding the necessity of expanding your network. Always building your network base. Former President George Bush made it a point to contact ten new people a week. Now, I won’t sit here and discount the theory because, well I believe in it, however, somebody just asked me the other day, what do you do with all the older contacts? What about the necessity of renewal?

This inquisitive individual wasn’t talking about those contacts you’ve made that are putting on a few more candles each year, she was talking about the contacts made a few years ago, last year or even those made during your last convention. Well, it is just as important to stay in touch with those you met as it is to stay strive to meet new ones. Dr Peter Titlebaum said it best during a Sports Careers Conference, “try to send a little something to a contact you’ve made. It could be a funny comic strip that reminds you of a conversation, it could be a business article, a book title you recommend, anything. It can even be a short e-mail saying hello.” The point Dr Titlebaum is making is that just staying in front is enough to maintain the “mind share” with the individual.

When the time comes to conduct business, get advise, or even get some help from your network, if you managed your network properly, people will remember you and be more willing to listen. Of course, you can only manage the contacts that are in your network, so you should also spend time growing our network. Reach out to industry leaders, schedule informational interviews, and attend networking events like the ones put on by The Business of Sports. Building and maintaining your network is the key to lasting success in the industry.

Five Hot Jobs of the Week:

• Director, Series Marketing - NASCAR (Daytona Beach, FL) - Looking for a dynamic marketing professional who will manage and oversee our three national series sponsorships: Sprint, Nationwide, and Camping World.
• Assistant Manager, Marketing & Promotions - University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) - Assist Manager of Marketing & Promotions with all aspects of DRIA marketing initiatives, including creation & implementation of marketing plans for multiple sports, design of marketing collateral and development of advertising strategies.
• Assistant Athletic Trainer - South Dakota State University (Brookings, SD) – Assist the head athletic trainer and athletic training staff with administering athletic training services for 21 men’s and women’s intercollegiate sports teams.
• Head Golf Coach - Eastern Washington University (Cheney, WA) – It is the responsibility of the Head Women’s Golf Coach to design, organize, implement, facilitate, oversee and evaluate all facets of a Big Sky, NCAA Division 1 golf program.
• Project Management Intern / Films - National Football League (Mount Laurel, NJ) - Project Management is responsible for assessing the creative needs of Producers & Directors, and determining the fiscal and material resources needed to complete projects. Interns will support these tasks by being available to support Project Managers with their job responsibilities.

We also have an internal posting for a virtual internship with this site. Click here for the details on the position and instructions on how to apply!

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