Your Ultimate Guide To Changing From A Regular Job To a Sports Job

Athletic prowess isn't necessary for a thriving career in the sports industry.

In fact, sports offer a wide range of positions for non-athletes, be it in sales, marketing, media, or healthcare.

If you'd like to break into the sports industry but have no idea where to start, this post is for you.

Here's all you need to know about successfully transitioning into the sports industry from whatever cubicle world you currently reside in.

1. Learn which skills are a must for your dream job

Your first step is to find out what skills the sports industry needs and how your skill set fits in it.

Since you're transitioning from a different career, you might be worried that you don't have these required skills. The truth is that many of your existing skills are transferable, and can be easily applied to sports.

For instance, if you're a passionate sales rep who loves to connect with people, you'll be able to easily transition into sports sales – especially if what you really want to sell are sports products.

How to learn which skills recruiters want in your niche?

Here's what you should do to see what are the skills in demand:

• Come up with specific keywords that are related to your dream job skills


• Conduct a keyword search on general job bards and platforms that focus exclusively on the sports industry, such as WorkinSports.com


• Open job descriptions that fit the profile. Don't worry about the location yet – you won't be applying to these jobs


• Carefully analyze the requirements and skills section. Write down the most important skills to create a master-list of essential qualifications


• After checking out 5 to 7 job postings, you should be able to tell which skills recruiters look for when hiring for this specific position

Now it's time to compare your skill set with what you've learned. This is how you'll be able to tell what are your strengths and weaknesses in hunting for jobs in the sports industry.

You might find out that you already have the skills employers look for. It's also likely that you'll need to educate yourself a little in some areas.

2. How to choose which skills are worth your investment?

You don't necessarily want to waste time and money getting a new degree in an area related to the sports profession you dream about. Since you already possess some  marketable skills, you just need to refine skills that will get you closer to landing the position you're targeting.

Start with concrete and tangible skills – this is where you can easily make up the gap.

For instance, if you find that most recruiters look for candidates who know how to operate a specific Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) with which you're not familiar, you can easily educate yourself and get this skill in no time. Perhaps you've worked with other CRM systems before?

All you need to do now is learn the new industry standard and show recruiters that you've got all it takes to land your dream job.

3. Create a list of short and long-term goals

Now that you know what kind of knowledge and skills you need to land a position in the sports industry, it's time to create a list of goals to help you stay focused and acquire these qualifications over a period of time.

Since transitioning means that you'll still be working, you'll have limited time on your hands. But if sports is your passion, you shouldn't struggle to carve out a couple of hours every week to learn new skills.

Set yourself short and long-term deadlines, and stick to your plan. Before you know it, you'll have developed an entire skillset that combined with your professional experience will make you into an attractive candidate.

4. Become part of the sports community

To succeed in the sports industry, you don't need to know the results of every single football game, but have full understanding of what makes it so special.

Read magazines and blogs dedicated to your areas of interest. Connect with sports professionals on LinkedIn and check out their contributions to stay up to date with the current industry trends.

Knowing what kinds of business operations happen behind sports events will help you to impress recruiters with your insider knowledge of the sports industry.

5. Look for volunteering and internship options

Nothing works like interning or volunteering when you want to break into a new industry. Working alongside industry insiders, you'll get hands-on experience and learn the tricks of the trade.

If you can't get an internship, you can always volunteer. Sure, it won't be easy to combine volunteering with your job, but if you do it right, you seriously stand a chance at making it in the sports industry.

How to make the most out of a volunteering experience?

• Network with people around you


• Do your best when completing all kinds of tasks


• Show others that you're passionate about sports


• Learn more from industry insiders by asking them questions

Chances are that you'll become a recognizable face and when it comes to hiring, you'll be the top candidate.

Use these 5 tips and you'll seriously boost your chances at breaking into the sports industry and scoring fantastic job opportunities. Good luck!

Sophia Mest is a Content Manager at BizDb, where she aspires to put her writing passion into practice and spread her words across the world. She spends her free time travelling and exploring the wonders of nature. Follow her on Twitter @MestSophia