We are working on editing the book of advice from sports industry professionals and hope to have it published next month (fingers crossed). The title will be:
A Career in Sports: Advice from Sports Business Leaders
Reading the complete book while editing, I'm excited about it. It has some really good advice from professionals in sports and the stories they tell are amazing!
Once this project is done, I will be back to posting regularly on the blog.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Editing and reading and reading and editing
I'm in the middle of re-reading, editing, and in some areas, writing for both the textbook and book of advice from industry professionals that I am writing. Both of them will be out this fall. As soon as I can get my lips back above water I will begin posting blogs again.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200
In event management, there are certain things that are non-negotiable. Two of those things, in my opinion and the opinion of many of my peers, are waivers and medical coverage. If an event manager doesn't get waivers signed or allows someone to participate without signing a waiver--do not pass go, do not collect $200, immediate termination. We live in a litigious society. Not mandating that participants sign waivers is probably one of the single stupidest things that an event manager could do. The other immediately terminable offense is not having any or not having enough medical coverage.
I was at an event a couple of weeks ago. It was run by sports administration students in conjunction with the athletic department. On that day, it was 90 degrees for the first time in nearly eight months. As part of their event they had a 5K run and a hot dog eating contest. There was zero medical coverage on site, just a police officer on a bicycle. When one of the students who had worked in event management brought up her concern that there was no medical coverage, all but two of her fellow students acted as if she was being overly cautious. When I asked one of the students about it, he told me that the athletic department had told them they didn't need medical coverage on site. The students decided that because some of the other students were CPR certified, that was enough. That opens up a whole other bag of issues of now putting those students in a position of being first responders, not to mention the fact that medical wasn't their primary responsibility that day. They could have been anywhere performing other duties.
That same weekend, the weather was similar in New York City. New York Road Runners always has medical coverage on site. Even with that, they opted to cancel the More Marathon and to turn the More Half Marathon into a fun run (un-timed, un-scored). Even with runners coming in from various cities across the country, they realized that for safety purposes, it was not a good idea to have the race in those conditions, regardless of the backlash. Safety came first.
In a situation like this, the students should have gone to their program coordinator to let him know. (First and foremost, though, they should have realized that this was an issue, which they didn't.) Their program's name was on this event and they were responsible to make sure it was managed appropriately. The most important thing in managing any event is to make sure that the participants and spectators are safe. Fortunately, nothing happened, but that's a hell of a risk to take when dealing with people's health and safety.
I was at an event a couple of weeks ago. It was run by sports administration students in conjunction with the athletic department. On that day, it was 90 degrees for the first time in nearly eight months. As part of their event they had a 5K run and a hot dog eating contest. There was zero medical coverage on site, just a police officer on a bicycle. When one of the students who had worked in event management brought up her concern that there was no medical coverage, all but two of her fellow students acted as if she was being overly cautious. When I asked one of the students about it, he told me that the athletic department had told them they didn't need medical coverage on site. The students decided that because some of the other students were CPR certified, that was enough. That opens up a whole other bag of issues of now putting those students in a position of being first responders, not to mention the fact that medical wasn't their primary responsibility that day. They could have been anywhere performing other duties.
That same weekend, the weather was similar in New York City. New York Road Runners always has medical coverage on site. Even with that, they opted to cancel the More Marathon and to turn the More Half Marathon into a fun run (un-timed, un-scored). Even with runners coming in from various cities across the country, they realized that for safety purposes, it was not a good idea to have the race in those conditions, regardless of the backlash. Safety came first.
In a situation like this, the students should have gone to their program coordinator to let him know. (First and foremost, though, they should have realized that this was an issue, which they didn't.) Their program's name was on this event and they were responsible to make sure it was managed appropriately. The most important thing in managing any event is to make sure that the participants and spectators are safe. Fortunately, nothing happened, but that's a hell of a risk to take when dealing with people's health and safety.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Survival of the First Year - Recap
Well, I've survived my first year of teaching. I'm in tact, I didn't huff and puff and blow the buildings down, and the students don't seem to be irreparably damaged. (Except maybe for the one I made cry in my first month...but she was weak. ;) Plus, I don't think it counts if someone told me she cried and I didn't actually see it. Just kidding.) I think that most of the students are going to rise to the challenges put before them. I truly do enjoy teaching them. They have a lot of potential. Some of them just need a harder shove than the others to make sure they at least attempt to reach their potential.
One of my friends and colleagues--Dr. Heather Lawrence--and I just finished initial edits of our sports event management textbook that will be out this fall (August, I believe) from Kendall Hunt Publishing. It will also be for sale on Amazon.com (ISBN 978-0-7575-6461-1). The book is called Event Management Blueprint: Planning and Managing Successful Sports Events. We're both very excited about that. When Heather did the math, she calculated that the contributing editors have more than 300 years of experience working in the sports industry and over 60 years of experience teaching in it.
My second book will also be out this fall (also probably in August). Not title as of yet. We've conducted 31 of the 32 interviews. Now we start sorting and writing. I'll have more info on that in a couple of months.
I have a lot to write about for this blog and should have more time to do it during the summer. Stay tuned. I haven't disappeared.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Who to Follow-Up With
I started to respond to a very good comment on the 2/21/09 posting about following-up after applying for a job, but my comment became so long that I've decided to post it separately. Part of the comment from RNelson noted that some job posting require that your resume be sent to HR or posted in the system and state "no calls."
Yes, many require posting through the organization's online system and some may state "no calls." I wouldn't call the HR department anyway, or at least not ONLY them. The HR manager isn't the person who will make the decision on who gets hired or not. As part of your research (which is actually my upcoming post) you should try to find out who the hiring manager is. You send your resume and cover letter directly to that person (in addition to whatever the posting requirements state). That's who you want to call. If that person blows you off, so be it, but you don't want the opposite. Here again is where your network comes into play. You need to use your network to find out who the hiring manager is or at lease someone in that company. If you can arrange time to talk to anyone in the company about the department or generally about the company, that's always beneficial. I personally don't care if the job is posted through a site like teamworkonline.com, I send my information directly to the organization and follow-up directly with the organization. Also, don't take it for granted that a third party job posting site has exclusive rights to post that job. Often, organizations will also list the job on their site. Sometimes it may point to the third party site, but not always. On the organization's site it may list a person's name or you can find the department manager's name on the About Us or Staff Directory page.
The HR manager isn't going to be the person who will decide who gets the job--it's the hiring manager. The HR manager may decide who gets contacted for interviews, but hopefully not. (I'm not a fan of HR at all when it comes to hiring. There's a great Fast Company cover story that I love from a few years ago called "Why We Hate HR.") Since I'm not a fan of most HR folks, I don't want them trying to select who I want to interview. I want them to post the job information online, collect the resumes for me to review (from the people who don't send theirs directly to me), and then contact the prospective candidates to schedule the interview times. No more than that. I had one HR manager who was screening candidates because of geography. A couple of candidates got through the gate keepers via phone and followed-up with me to ask if I'd received their information. I hadn't. When I asked the HR manager about these candidates, he informed me that he hadn't passed on their resumes because they weren't already living in the city where we were located. I had not put any geographic restrictions on my requirements. If someone is a good candidate and wants to move to take the job, why wouldn't I want them? The fact that this company didn't pay moving costs (the cheap-o's) would come up in the interview or could even be stated when scheduling the interview. The candidates could decide from there whether they wanted to move forward with the interview. The point of this long paragraph is to show that if you go only to HR and talk only with HR, you're more likely to get lost in the shuffle. This is a link to another Fast Company article from around 1997 that I still love. It's called "Interview with a Head Hunter" and I think it's actually been updated. It gives a lot of really good advice and a lot of the things I've been doing for the last twelve years came from this article.
Yes, many require posting through the organization's online system and some may state "no calls." I wouldn't call the HR department anyway, or at least not ONLY them. The HR manager isn't the person who will make the decision on who gets hired or not. As part of your research (which is actually my upcoming post) you should try to find out who the hiring manager is. You send your resume and cover letter directly to that person (in addition to whatever the posting requirements state). That's who you want to call. If that person blows you off, so be it, but you don't want the opposite. Here again is where your network comes into play. You need to use your network to find out who the hiring manager is or at lease someone in that company. If you can arrange time to talk to anyone in the company about the department or generally about the company, that's always beneficial. I personally don't care if the job is posted through a site like teamworkonline.com, I send my information directly to the organization and follow-up directly with the organization. Also, don't take it for granted that a third party job posting site has exclusive rights to post that job. Often, organizations will also list the job on their site. Sometimes it may point to the third party site, but not always. On the organization's site it may list a person's name or you can find the department manager's name on the About Us or Staff Directory page.
The HR manager isn't going to be the person who will decide who gets the job--it's the hiring manager. The HR manager may decide who gets contacted for interviews, but hopefully not. (I'm not a fan of HR at all when it comes to hiring. There's a great Fast Company cover story that I love from a few years ago called "Why We Hate HR.") Since I'm not a fan of most HR folks, I don't want them trying to select who I want to interview. I want them to post the job information online, collect the resumes for me to review (from the people who don't send theirs directly to me), and then contact the prospective candidates to schedule the interview times. No more than that. I had one HR manager who was screening candidates because of geography. A couple of candidates got through the gate keepers via phone and followed-up with me to ask if I'd received their information. I hadn't. When I asked the HR manager about these candidates, he informed me that he hadn't passed on their resumes because they weren't already living in the city where we were located. I had not put any geographic restrictions on my requirements. If someone is a good candidate and wants to move to take the job, why wouldn't I want them? The fact that this company didn't pay moving costs (the cheap-o's) would come up in the interview or could even be stated when scheduling the interview. The candidates could decide from there whether they wanted to move forward with the interview. The point of this long paragraph is to show that if you go only to HR and talk only with HR, you're more likely to get lost in the shuffle. This is a link to another Fast Company article from around 1997 that I still love. It's called "Interview with a Head Hunter" and I think it's actually been updated. It gives a lot of really good advice and a lot of the things I've been doing for the last twelve years came from this article.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Resume via FedEx
I think it was back in about 2000 that I read an article in Inc. magazine about a company that sent out its sales information to potential clients via FedEx or Priority Mail. The owner asked the question, "Have you ever received a FedEx or Priority Mail envelope and not opened it?" I think the answer for most people is "No, I haven't," but I think most of us have received a normal envelope and tossed it aside for a few days.
After reading this article, I took this philosophy and transferred it to the way I send out my resume and cover letter. Depending on what the posting requirements are for the job I will still follow their directions and post on their website or send via email. But, I also always find out who the hiring manager is and/or head of the department and send my resume and cover letter to that person(s) via FedEx, specifically addressed to him/her. In my cover letter I note that I have also posted the resume on their website (or whatever their directions are) so they don't think I'm skirting the company's directions. When I've followed up the week after sending my information (see previous posting on follow-up), I've gotten responses from those follow-ups that let me know they saw my resume. Often they've been interviews. On a couple of occasions they weren't, but I got direct responses from the person to whom I sent my resume letting me know that he/she had reviewed my resume but that they were going to be interviewing other candidates.
I realize that this can get expensive, especially in this economy. There are a couple of things to note here: 1) This goes back to a statement in an early posting, one that some chicken-assed anonymous commenter didn't understand, and it is that I don't "carpet bomb" my resume to organizations. I specifically target jobs I want to pursue. The cost isn't enormous. 2) If you're just starting out, and because of this economy, I realize that entry level sports professionals may have to apply for quite a few jobs. This is an investment in your future. Are you willing to sacrifice a few beers or movies to try to land your dream job? The $20 spent on sending a FedEx can be steep. I'm not oblivious to that. There are a couple of other options to consider. FedEx offers two day delivery for a little less money that is still in the FedEx envelope. I'm not 100% sure about this, but US Postal Service Priority Mail may be cheaper. That's another option. (I'm not a fan of UPS at all after being screwed by them so many times on shipments. I have no idea what their rates are, but if you're comfortable using them, check out their rates.) More likely for young students, you can determine your budget for how many you can send and then send only your top choices your information via FedEx.
Will this always work? I can't guarantee anything, but I believe it's more likely that the person you want to see your resume will see it. That combined with your follow-up phone call may just get you an interview, which is all you want from sending in your resume. They're not going to look at your resume and immediately say "Let's hire this person without an interview." All you're looking for from this is the opportunity to get on the phone or in front of that person for an interview. Once that happens then you get the opportunity to sell yourself, which is a whole other process.
After reading this article, I took this philosophy and transferred it to the way I send out my resume and cover letter. Depending on what the posting requirements are for the job I will still follow their directions and post on their website or send via email. But, I also always find out who the hiring manager is and/or head of the department and send my resume and cover letter to that person(s) via FedEx, specifically addressed to him/her. In my cover letter I note that I have also posted the resume on their website (or whatever their directions are) so they don't think I'm skirting the company's directions. When I've followed up the week after sending my information (see previous posting on follow-up), I've gotten responses from those follow-ups that let me know they saw my resume. Often they've been interviews. On a couple of occasions they weren't, but I got direct responses from the person to whom I sent my resume letting me know that he/she had reviewed my resume but that they were going to be interviewing other candidates.
I realize that this can get expensive, especially in this economy. There are a couple of things to note here: 1) This goes back to a statement in an early posting, one that some chicken-assed anonymous commenter didn't understand, and it is that I don't "carpet bomb" my resume to organizations. I specifically target jobs I want to pursue. The cost isn't enormous. 2) If you're just starting out, and because of this economy, I realize that entry level sports professionals may have to apply for quite a few jobs. This is an investment in your future. Are you willing to sacrifice a few beers or movies to try to land your dream job? The $20 spent on sending a FedEx can be steep. I'm not oblivious to that. There are a couple of other options to consider. FedEx offers two day delivery for a little less money that is still in the FedEx envelope. I'm not 100% sure about this, but US Postal Service Priority Mail may be cheaper. That's another option. (I'm not a fan of UPS at all after being screwed by them so many times on shipments. I have no idea what their rates are, but if you're comfortable using them, check out their rates.) More likely for young students, you can determine your budget for how many you can send and then send only your top choices your information via FedEx.
Will this always work? I can't guarantee anything, but I believe it's more likely that the person you want to see your resume will see it. That combined with your follow-up phone call may just get you an interview, which is all you want from sending in your resume. They're not going to look at your resume and immediately say "Let's hire this person without an interview." All you're looking for from this is the opportunity to get on the phone or in front of that person for an interview. Once that happens then you get the opportunity to sell yourself, which is a whole other process.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Follow-up on Internships and Jobs after You Apply
When you start sending out your resume and references to apply for internships or jobs, follow-up on the information you send. One of the things that people too often put in their cover letter is a statement such as "I look forward to hearing from you" or "I hope to hear from you soon." Hope is an important thing to have, but not when you're looking for a job, especially in this economic market. You need to be proactive and take control of your job search. Instead of one of those statements, write something more along the lines of "I will call you to follow-up next week." After you do that, though, you have to actually follow-up. Don't be shy about putting this statement. It's awkward at first when you start making those follow-up phone calls. It can seem like you're bugging someone, but the hiring manager is looking for good people who are proactive. When you call, you can simply state that you're calling to make sure they got your resume, let them know that you're very interested in the position, and ask if they've set dates for their interview schedule. It's important to become comfortable with this and do it. Here's a true story of an example of why it's important.
I was meeting with one of the managers at a local minor league baseball team this week and we were talking about his subject. He had an interesting story to relate. He was coaching basketball at a mid-major university a couple of years ago and one of the assistant coaches left. They received 65 resume packets from coaches wanting to fill the empty position. Some of them, he said, were really intricately created packets with video, details of their accomplishments, etc. Of those 65, only 3 of them followed-up with the head coach after they sent their resume. The only people the coach interviewed were the three who followed-up with him because they expressed a true interest and desire in the job.
I was meeting with one of the managers at a local minor league baseball team this week and we were talking about his subject. He had an interesting story to relate. He was coaching basketball at a mid-major university a couple of years ago and one of the assistant coaches left. They received 65 resume packets from coaches wanting to fill the empty position. Some of them, he said, were really intricately created packets with video, details of their accomplishments, etc. Of those 65, only 3 of them followed-up with the head coach after they sent their resume. The only people the coach interviewed were the three who followed-up with him because they expressed a true interest and desire in the job.
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