Ward2012 wrote:
I echo Cheeterah. You'll definitely help yourself in getting to your goal with an MBA, but you'll probably need to do more recruiting on your own and not through the normal channels. I'm in the same boat myself, but different industry.
And as Aerien suggested, if you have any industry contacts who either have the job that you want or at least work in your target companies, I would consult with them and explain your situation and ask what you can do to get the job you want.
As an anecdote, I've heard that Nike doesn't regularly recruit at any schools, except for Stanford, but that's because Phil Knight went there. I've also heard that Nike tends to promote from within, making it hard to get your foot in the door. However, someone told me that Nike has started to recruit a little for certain departments at the encouragement of alums of business schools who work there.
Finally, my other piece of advice is to not only look at industry connections to sports marketing at the school level, but also at the professor level. For example, at Tuck, Professor Kevin Keller (a superstar in marketing) has extensive personal connections with Phil Knight from their time together at Stanford. So you might want to check out professors' CVs and see what kind of consulting work they've done outside of their teaching and research activities.
I've been meaning to participate in this discussion, but b-school keeps getting in the way. Now that I'm on Thanksgiving break, I have some time to share my thoughts.
The sports marketing career within a non-sports organization is much easier to achieve than any particular career within a sports firm. On the one hand, Nike, Coke, Pepsi, American Express and Citi among others all recruit on campus at Duke. On the other hand, based on my experience, sports organizations do not recruit on any campus for the following reasons.
1. Their hiring process is not cyclical like those of most other traditional industries. Therefore, there is no guarantee that they will have any spots that they need to fill after spring.
2. Although they are slowly warming up to the idea of recruiting MBA's for management roles, they get way too much interest from people (including undergrads and professionals) who are willing to work for free. And so, they do not necessarily feel that they have to hire MBA's, who require high salaries, for non-executive roles. Most of the MBA graduates whom they hire for the top positions typically spend time in other industries before moving over to sports.
With that said, it is not impossible to penetrate the industry immediately after b-school. In order to do this though, you need to have the following things.
1. NETWORK - You are almost screwed if you do not make the right connections. Research the schools and find out if any professors, athletic department employees, alumni, clubs or current students have any solid connections in the industry. At Duke, I have tried to leverage all the connections that I have discovered, and this strategy has helped me get a huge number of informational interviews done.
You should also work with the sports business club so that you are aware of all the conferences that occur throughout the year. Duke alone has had three different sports conferences/symposiums, where executives from different leagues, franchises, sports agencies and sports marketing departments of top firms have attended. There are also the annual Ivy Sports Symposium, which is hosted by one of the Ivy League schools, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, and Sports Industry Networking and Career Conference among others, from which some MBA's get their internship offers.
2. Passion for sports business (not just sports)
The sports industry is a business before anything else. You cannot simply be a fan of sports to get a job. They are looking for people who can help them make more money, not people who would call in sick to watch afternoon games.
3. Patience and persistence
Recruiting for sports is tough. You will hear your classmates talk about all of their offers by February. At this time of the year, you will be lucky to have interviewed for one or two internship opportunities. For most of the year, you will have no idea if and when you will get an offer. And so, you have to be proactive and try creating opportunities for yourself. Most of those who have succeeded had to make a case and pitch their ideas to various sports firms just to convince these organizations that they need interns.
4. Willingness to work for a lower salary
High supply of potential employees and low demand for applicants so you get the point...
My advice is that you should pick a school that has connections in the industry; a club that can provide you with the support system as you go through this grueling process; and alumni or current students who have succeeded so you could ask them to mentor you. I cannot speak for the other schools, but my experience at Duke has been great as they have all three components. In case this helps, I have also come across a lot of HBS, Sloan, Kellogg, CBS, Ross, Anderson and McDonough alumni or current students who are already in or interested in the industry.
Good luck!
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12 Nov 2012, 04:17
