How Veterans Can Break Into Sports: Networking 101
Building an effective strategy to have the most meaningful conversations
It’s been awhile since I have written, but with a few networking successes for mentees over the last few weeks, I wanted to outline key thoughts around networking for veterans in the sports industry.
If you are new around here, here’s why I started writing - I’m trying my best to produce quality content with a whole lot of inconsistency (trying is the key word!).
Why the sports industry for veterans
We all know the common skills or qualities that the wider business world sees in veterans - leadership, teamwork, discipline, and determination. Most veterans will think ‘team-first’ and seek camaraderie as well. That being said, veterans are unique: most of us had different services, jobs, and experiences. Some positions are easier than others to translate, but it’s still a requirement to put the role in context for whoever you might be speaking with.
From a business standpoint, the sports industry has unique qualities, but usually there’s differences from organization to organization. Similar to the military, each organization operates in its way, depending on ownership, leadership, and overall nature of the business. This could be true on either the performance or business side of the operation.
The three most critical steps to break into the sports industry at the appropriate level are -
building an effective networking strategy
translating your experience into the context of the type of role in sports you are looking for
creating a portfolio of experiences, projects, and topics that are tangible and can be discussed
I’ll start today with the first bullet, and hopefully will be more consistent in hitting the last two soon!
Approaching Networking Conversations
After nearly five and a half years post-military, I have received my fair share of emails and LinkedIn messages asking for a conversation and some of my time. I try my best to facilitate any and all connections possible, but it might take me some time to get to them at this stage. It’s important to show up to these conversations prepared - if you are not preparing for a fellow vet, how will you show up in front of someone at a team, league, etc.? We have a powerful network of veterans ready to support, so please be sure to check out Vets in Sports to meet more!
Who to Target
My mindset when breaking into sports was to talk to anyone who would take my call, with the goal of learning the industry. I looked for fellow veterans, women, people with shared interests, and alumni from both universities I attended. While this was a laborious, time-consuming process, it gave me a ton of context of the different roles in sports, and how to apply my experience to the space.
Looking at this graphic below, I like to think about relationships in three ways - I value what I’ve learned from people across the industry, from CEOs to entry level employees. No matter what, you are building a community of advocates to support the ups and downs wherever your career takes you.
How to Prepare and Take the Call
For every transitioning veteran, it’s critical to meet the person you’re speaking with where they are. Some easy ways to do this include:
Review LinkedIn profile, their past experiences / education, and the roles they have had in the past
Do research on the property they work at and learn any new projects they are doing
Develop deep and meaningful questions based on their roles, rather than “what’s it like to work in sports”
Be curious and prepared for networking messages and conversations
During the call, here are some goals to keep in mind:
Avoid any military jargon, including the most basic topics like ‘MOS’ - do your homework and find a way to translate this
Start building a mental map to align your military career to the role that this person plays and how the organization they are in operates
What skills they include as of high importance
Asking if there is anything else you should speak with at the organization or that they know
(optional) Do not lead with asking for a job or opportunity - get a feel for what’s possible there, if it is even a good fit, and follow up with those sorts of questions
Through this process, you can build a virtual rolodex of people that you come into contact with, and share updates with them as your military or career transition progresses.
Always say thank you
No matter what the outcome of your conversations might be, whether you feel like you had a productive call or not, alway say thank you in a quick email within 48 hours. That person has given time, energy, and openness in speaking to you. If you did discuss introductions with other people in the call, this is a perfect time to reengage and surface that ask. This could like:
Hi XX ,
Thank you so much for your time yesterday. I appreciated hearing more about your experience in sports and the role in XX organization. I’ll be sure to keep in touch with you as a I navigate my career transition into sports, and appreciate you offering to connect me with so and so and so and so. Please let me know if you need any additional information from me to facilitate. Hope you have a great rest of the week!
Best,
XX
Conclusion
Veterans are unique assets in sports. By doing some of this work, you will be prepared to navigate networking into this industry. Do not get discouraged - many people face travel, busy schedules, and might not check their LinkedIn. Keep track of every conversation and how you were introduced to each contact. Be patient and start early in the process to facilitate an effective networking plan.
Thanks for reading!
Did you like this newsletter? Please share it below to someone who might also want to read it.