Josh Rawitch: Arizona Diamondbacks Sr. VP of Content and Communication

Josh Rawitch, Arizona Diamondbacks Senior VP of Content and Communication joins the Work in Sports podcast!

Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…

When I have a guest on the show I spend an inordinate amount of time studying them. I’ll be honest, fear drives this obsession…I am so worried I’ll ask a bad question, or miss something important, or not dig deep enough into a subject that I pour over articles, research, social media feeds and more.

We all have this, an internal voice that says… do more, dig deeper. I believe this is a voice you have to listen to.

I guarantee you feel this as you apply for jobs.

You’ll have decision making moments… should I recraft my resume? come up with a new angle for my cover letter? Research who the hiring manager is and connect with them on LinkedIn… or…it’s a really nice day outside, and my friends are playing beach volleyball on the quad…or there is this really cool music festival going on.

Then the voice comes in… you know you should go the extra mile right?

That’s what happens to me through this process. I can write questions all day long… but if I just sit down and write them from the inner workings of my brain…they’re good, but I know they could be better with more research…so I go back to the lab.

It may surprise you to know that I go back and listen to each episode multiple times and critique my interview technique. I try to figure out patterns for what evokes a good answer, how my phrasing could have improved, whether I dig deep enough in the follow-up, or stepped on their words.

I listen to other interview style podcasts and see how others perform their tasks… Bill Simmons, Adrian Wojnorowski, Adam Schefter, Peter King – sometimes I like their techniques and pick up a little something, other times I wonder how they made it to the top.

But it is all learning, it’s all self-scouting with a goal of improvement.

Are you doing this? Are you competing at this level?

Please tell me you study your performance after a job interview. I don’t mean clutch your pearls and freak out over the thing you said wrong. I mean really think about what they asked? why did they ask it? what were they driving towards? did you hit the mark with your answer? Will you be better prepared the next time?

Maybe if you don’t get a call back on your application – instead you get the dreaded   "after careful consideration...we will not be moving forward with your application..." – maybe after receiving that response you should go back and look at the job description again, figure out if your resume hit the mark on what they needed. Determine if your cover letter told them a story of how you can help drive their organization forward.

If you weren’t a match – ask yourself WHY!

All of this takes work and is humbling. Trust me when I go back and listen to myself on the show, I cringe A LOT. I beat myself up over my questions, I wonder why my voice got so high, I pinch myself for interrupting right when someone was about to go deeper.

BUT – I also listen to myself back when I started, and listen to myself now…and see improvement. Not perfection, improvement.

This is what you need – to have an attitude of improvement, and that only comes from self-analysis. No one else will do this for you. No one else will take a deeper look into your WHY – the employer or interviewer isn’t going to give you a grade after they are done, and no matter how badly you want them to, they aren’t going to give you a reason why they chose someone else. That’s on you to figure out.

Put yourself in the shoes of the employer. Change your perspective and evaluate …YOU.

Part of what launched this thought process for me this week was my desire to bring back an old episode…and after listening to it again, the guest was incredible…and I had some major flaws. But that’s OK, that part of growth, and I’m willing to expose that wound because the content from the guest was so top notch.

Josh Rawitch is the Senior VP of Content and Communication for the Arizona Diamondbacks, a high profile, really stressful job, and I am so appreciative of the time he gave me, back when this podcast was nothing much. Not many of you have heard this interview, because like I said, it was in the early days before we had built up a large audience… but it is great. Well, Josh is great.

So let’s get to it… here is Josh Rawitch, Arizona Diamondbacks Senior Vice President of Content and Communication…

Episode Sponsors:

Seattle University!

Hi, It Brian, Host of the Work in Sports podcast – before we get to today's podcast episode with Josh Rawitch, Arizona Diamondbacks Senior VP of Content and Communication – I want to thank our sponsors at Seattle University!

This is off script – but the first time I went to Seattle was for my interview with Fox Sports Northwest and I was immediately blown away. It is literally the most beautiful city in the country, and I had no clue…all I thought was “rain”.

Also, you don’t think of the northwest as a great sports region…but this is also wrong wrong wrong.   The fans are very passionate, care about their teams and sell out everything. Great city.,.. and getting back on track a great program at Seattle University!

Their Master in Sports Business Leadership focuses on three things you really need:

Business skills as they relate to sports

Work Experience

And Connections.

These are the pillars of getting hired, and I love that they put an emphasis on leadership – such an important part of your career growth. That is the soft skill that gets you beyond entry level and into management and further. You need those leadership skills!   

Check out Seattle University’s Master in Sports Business leadership program you will not regret it. Email the team at [email protected] or call 206-398-4610 for more information.

Georgetown!

Before we finish up with the episode, I want to thank our sponsors at Georgetown University.

Georgetown offers a part-time Master's in Sports Industry Management that prepares you to excel in the global sports industry.

Ideal for working professionals, the program offers flexible options to take classes online, on campus, or through a combination of both—so you don't have to interrupt your career to earn your degree. You'll leave the program with the communication, business, and leadership strategies that position you for success.

To learn more about the program, you’re invited to attend an upcoming webinar on Wednesday, April 3, at noon Eastern Time. Visit scs.georgetown.edu/sportswebinar to RSVP.