Do you love sports but hate actually exercising? If you’re responding with an enthusiastic nod, today’s blog might be perfect for you!
Contrary to popular belief, becoming an athlete isn’t the only way to secure a job in the sports industry. There are tonnes of other exciting roles available for sports fanatics, even if you’re not quite coordinated enough to join the wahs.
Why Working in the Sports Industry is so Cool
When you’re working in the sports industry, you’re working to encourage healthier lifestyles, global collaboration, and everyone to strive to do their personal best. All in all, it’s a pretty admirable endeavour!
If you still need some convincing, other sports-industry benefits include:
- Driving Tourism
- Boosting Local Economies
- Connecting with Viewers
- Making People’s Days
However, because Aotearoa is such a sports-obsessed nation, job openings in the sports industry can be super competitive, and this puts off many aspiring athletes (and other mega sports fans who aren’t aware of the range of jobs in the industry.
To show you the best ways to lock down a career in sports, we’re covering some lesser-known career pathways in the sports industry, describing the most responsible way to pursue an extremely competitive job, and dropping our top tips on how to stand out from the crowd!
Jobs in the Sports Industry
Like we were saying before, becoming an athlete isn’t your only option when attempting to crack open the sports industry. There are a tonne of other pathways out there if you just take the time to look.
To start you off on your search, we’ve put together a list of our favourites. However, it’s important to remember that these aren’t your only options; if none of the following suit you, keep looking! We’re sure you’ll find your perfect fit.
Athletic Scout
Do you think you have an eye for up-and-coming talent in the sports world? Do you spend your weekends attending various sporting games and supporting lesser-known teams? Do you like uplifting and empowering others with athletic gifts? If you’re nodding your head yes, it could be time to consider pursuing a career as an athletic scout.
Athletic scouts sniff out talent; they evaluate the players in lesser-known teams and sign them. Essentially, they’re the ones who build the foundations of our favourite sports teams; It’s pretty exciting stuff!
Athletic Trainer
If you’re equally interested in personal training and big-time sports, a role as an athletic trainer would be a perfect fit! Athletic trainers design training programs for athletes that help them reach strength and conditioning goals. The programs that they develop also aim to prevent injuries on the field, so they’re basically safeguarding the best of the best!
Sports Anchor
Those of us who aren’t built for playing on the field but still want to be in the spotlight can explore the role of a sports anchor! A sports anchor’s role revolves around researching, writing, producing and reporting on sports events and news. They often rub shoulders with the best of the best in the sporting world, and they either cover a range of sports or specialise in one. If you choose this path, your whole job will be to share your passion for sports with the world!
Sports Writer
If you want to do the same thing a sports anchor does without having your face plastered all over a bunch of television screens, working as a sports writer might be more your speed. Sports writers provide in-depth analysis of sporting events, cover breaking stories and interview top players. They also hold the power to shape how the public sees famous athletes and top-tier teams, so they’re responsible for holding the pros accountable for their actions and making sure they don’t act up!
Sports Photographer
The role of a sports photographer is fairly self-explanatory, but we’ll offer a quick run-down nonetheless. When your day job involves snapping away for sports-related media outlets, you’ll be invited to all the big sporting events, be able to get right up close to the action and capture images of all your favourite players and coaches. If you ask us, it can’t get much better than that!
Social Media Manager for a Sports Team
Like regular social media managers, sports social media managers work on content creation, increasing engagement, promoting their brand, and developing social media strategies; the only difference is that they’re rooted in the sports industry! Thus, they work for sports teams, athletes and sporting organisations. People working in this role are usually able to get a little more creative with how they communicate sports news and market teams.
Tips for Entering an Oversaturated Job Market
Unfortunately, when you’re chasing after a particularly popular role, you should be taking some ‘just in case’ kind of precautions. Essentially, you’ll want a backup plan.
While this sounds like a pessimistic suggestion, it’s an important one. Who knows, you might never need it (or you might choose to pivot to your backup plan after a few years in the sports industry). The point is that it’s good to keep your options open and not to put all your eggs in one basket.
Pick a Broad Job Category
If you look at the alternative job options we’ve listed above, many of them are in the media industry. Thus, a media degree or certification can set you up for your dream job and a lot of equally fantastic media jobs that aren’t in the sports industry.
Build Transferrable Skills
While it’s tempting to invest all your time into developing specialised sports-related skills, transferrable skills are equally important (and could be a huge help if the sporting industry is a little too tricky to crack). Transferrable skills are great to lean back on when you’re in trouble, and they’re not to be neglected.
Invest Some Serious Time into Your Resume and Cover Letter
When it’s time to start sending off applications, it’s common for us to feel a little overexcited and apply without checking over what we’re sending in. However, it’s crucial to ensure your resume looks top-notch before firing it off (and you’ll need a super well-written cover letter too).
Kickstart the Career of Your Dreams
With all of our tips and tricks under your belt, you’re now ready to go forth and find that dream job in the sporting industry.
For extra tips and tricks, check out our sports and recreation industry page (it might just help you plan out your next steps)!
