A Do and Don’t List for Sports Job Interviewing

By TED CURTIS
Professor of Sports Management / Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL

            There are plenty of “interviewing do’s and don’ts” rules out there – but a few are unique to the sports business and can be the difference between being shown the way to your new office and being shown the way to the door.

Do be well prepared
Don’t share EVERYTHING you have learned
            With most sports organizations putting their entire corporate lives on their websites, preparing for an interview is easier than ever. Don’t be one of the forgettable candidates who fail to adequately prepare. “You would be amazed how many people just show up to an interview with no idea,” says Allison Rich, Senior Associate Director of Athletics and SWA at Cal State-Fullerton. Just don’t go overboard. “I have had people recite my own background to me, and at that point it can begin to feel like being stalked.”

DO wear a business suit
DON’T wear a golf shirt
            Yes, the dress code in the sports industries usually is business casual. But you are not the one with the job, yet. If everyone at the office wears a collared team-logo shirt, then you can do so as well -- after you have been hired. Until then, stick with the business suit and make a professional impression.

DO talk about your collegiate LEARNING experience
DON’T talk about your collegiate PLAYING experience
            Having competed as a professional in your sport may serve as a groundbreaker and give you a measure of credibility. “Sure I know Joe Smith – we worked together when I played pro ball for the Big City Pirates.” But don’t bore the interviewer with tales of your big third-down catch in the bowl game. That was college – this is business.

DO discuss your major plans for your OWN future
DON’T discuss your major plans for the TEAM’S future
            You are not the team’s general manager or player personnel director -- don’t act like it. Now is not the time to give the interviewer your plans for restructuring the team. “I like to see someone with the right attitude, meaning that they know they are starting at the bottom,” says Vicky Neumeyer, vice president of the New Orleans Saints. “Just because you just graduated, don’t expect the corner office.”

DO cite your OWN performance stats
DON’T cite your favorite PLAYER’S performance stats
            Absolutely, positively NO ONE in the sports business likes to interview a candidate who is a sports fanatic and can rattle off game statistics which are irrelevant to the job. If you are a fan of a particular team (“I live and die with the Miami Dolphins!”), keep it toned way down.

DO interview for the job at hand
DON’T interview for the “next” job
            If you are interviewing for a job as assistant to the media relations coordinator, then discuss your ideas for providing great service to the media – not your ideas for how the team’s head coach should rearrange his offense. “I like for applicants to have goals and aspirations,” says the Saints’ Neumeyer, “but I don’t want them to have an eye on another position while they are working in one position.”

DO remember that athletes are just employees
DON’T stand agasp when you meet an athlete
            If you are introduced to one of the athletes on the team – a possibility with smaller clubs or if you are given a tour of the facility – just shake the player’s hand and be polite. Remember that the athlete is at his or her place of employment. No one wants to hire someone who will be completely star-struck at the first sight of a ballplayer.