Common Job Search Mistakes You Need to Avoid - Work In Sports podcast

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…

It’s almost the end of January, one of my favorite months of the podcast season… why, you ask? Well, January is when our download numbers and traffic to our site, WorkInSports.com are always highest. We get a lot of new highly motivated listeners, and subscribers to our job board, so it’s on me to impress the hell out of them with our content. 

Well, this month so far we’ve delivered -- Matt Resnick, sports talent acquisition executive, Nigel Eccles, co-founder of fanduel, John Ferguson, VP of people and culture at Monumental Sports and Entertainment...and coming up later this week, Kali Franklin VP of Human Resources for NYCFC. 

See a theme? We are highly focused on executives connected to hiring and understanding the trends for 2021. 

My goal was to make a month of talent acquisition executives… but when Nigel Eccles people call you and say, hey we want Nigel to be on your show -- the best laid plans go out the window. He gets on the show.

BUT, Matt, John and Kali are sharing all the trends in hiring that matter to you. This is the information you need, so if you haven’t listened yet, go back and listen. Set yourself up for success.

But first -- the stat line -- and a great question on common job search mistakes.

Ok, three data points regarding the overall health of the sports industry through the lens of employment, provided by WorkInSports.com the sports industry’s leading job board for the last 20 years. 

Data point #1: 18,622 jobs currently active on WorkInSports.com - that is an increase of 5% over last week and a jump of near 18% since the beginning of the month. The trend line is pointing up -- more jobs early in 2021, this is really good news.

Data point #2: 2,529 fresh new jobs added over the last week… that’s a down alittle from last week but still pretty amazing.

Data point #3 -- that’s an average of 361 new jobs added every day of last week. Think about that a second, our site pulls from over 8,000 sports employers -- there is no way you could replicat that work. That’s why we are a service worth considering, your time is worth it, and you get exposed to opportunities you may not have known about.

Ok, let’s get into three cool jobs for this week --

One piece of advice I give a lot when I speak in college classrooms is when you are getting started and trying to find your fit, search utilizing keywords like “coordinator”. Everyone searches for job terms like social media, marketing, operations -- but if you are getting started in yoru career, still trying to figure out who you are aand where you fit, the best way to do that is search for terms like “coordinator” which aligns with entry level roles. 

Do that and you’ll find things like… marketing coordinator, social media coordinator operations coordinator -- and then you can rad these entry level jobs and see what strikes you as interesting.

So let’s do that as the theme this week!

Digital Media Coordinator for Comcast Spectacor in Philly -- this job is working with the Philadelphia Flyers - which is awesome. Multi-talented content creator with experience in copywriting, photography, videography, and/or graphic design.

Has a finger on the pulse of emerging digital trends, Philadelphia's social audiences, and is dedicated to increasing the connection to our current fans while attracting new fans through engaging content.

BTW quick aside -- we have this new feature for our premium members which I love. When you select a job and look at the description, on the right nav, we also show more details that can help you in your search. 

For example on this job:

• Jobs near Philadelphia : 1250
• Jobs in Sports Media: 3213
• Jobs that Match Your Resume: 135
• See all jobs: 18622

Click any of these and you’ll be directed to the search results. 

Love this feature -- simple but oh so effective

Job #2

PR Coordinator - Brooks Running in Seattle, WA - apparel and lifestyle products are doing really well in the marketplace right now, and Brooks is a really great company. I had a friend that worked there when I lived in Seattle, and they loved it. 

Anyway, if you’d consider PR you should consider this gig. 

I’m such a weirdo, I get fired up sometimes from job descriptions. Here’s a good example: 

Our company culture defines us, bonds us together and creates the conditions for success. It is lived daily as a behavioral expression of our collective set of brand values: Connect with People, Innovate for our Customer, Compete as a Team, Build Trust, Have Fun & Bring Passion, and Be Active. If you're on our team, it means you're part of creating something extraordinary. You're part of Brooks

I love that!

Job #3 -- Ticket Operations Coordinator FC Cincinnati -- The Ticket Operations Coordinator will assist with all ticket operations related functions.  Assist with all aspects of ticket operations including building and updating team events, price codes, promo codes, and other SeatGeek SRO ticket system needs.

You like ticket sales and revenue generating roles...plus operations? This gig is for you.

Ok, we’re going to get into the details in a second -- but there are really important parts of all these job descriptions you guys and gals need to be honing in on..we’ll discuss after wrapping up...the stat line.

Today’s question comes in from Daniel in Pennsylvania -- Daniell writes in:

“Hey Brian, big fan of the show, thanks so much for putting out all this invaluable content, I loved your interview with Matt resnick, he shared really great info, but what I loved most was that it had this vibe like the two of you were having a beer together instead of being too stuffy. Thank you for making all oof your content approachable!

I have a question for you that I hope you’ll read on the air. I’m a college junior, trying to get myself prepared for the job market, but I have great anxiety that I’m going to make insurmountable mistakes. As you look back over your career both as a hiring manager and someone looking for jobs...what are some of the big mistakes people make when first getting started?”

Daniel, great question -- I started to take notes and formed a 9 point list in like 5 minutes, so there are major mistakes that keep showing up -- and you and everyone listening need to avoid. 

The mistakes are common, but you aren’t. You are listening to this show which means you have a yearning to improve - right there that makes you different, soo let’s get into this and explore how to avoid the big ones. 

I don’t think these will apply to all of you, but I guarantee there are at least one or two things you are doing on this list right now. 

Listen in to the podcast episode for more information on Common Job Search Mistakes, or watch the VODCAST of this episode: