Leaving Your Mark: Mack Brown and Mike Shanahan Teach Lessons About a Proper Exit

Mack Brown recently resigned from his Head Coach post at the University of Texas.  Mike Shanahan is still employed as Head Coach of the Washington Redskins…for now.  The way each has gone about their respective departures (or soon-to-be departures) has been much different.

Leaving your Mark: Be Thankful in Your Sports Career Pursuits

One of my esteemed blog colleagues, Kevin Rossi, wrote a piece in 2012 titled “Under Further Review: Saying Thank You”.  While I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, I can’t help but revisit the topic of being grateful in your career (and during college) with Thanksgiving less than a week away.  While you should absolutely thank your family and friends, do not forget about that person that you interviewed with or met with at a networking event or career fair.  Don’t forget to thank your clients/customers or prospective clients/customers.  Be sure to express your appreciation to the professor or advisor that as provided advice and mentorship.  These minor gestures of appreciation go a long way in building and maintaining professional, and sometimes personal, relationships.  In the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” sports industry that we are all in, this aspect is especially crucial.

Leaving Your Mark: For Reid, Sports Professionals, a Change of Scenery is a Good Thing

Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs remain undefeated halfway through the NFL season after going 2-14 in 2012. To say that this is a shocking development would be putting it mildly…especially if you are a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. While we certainly didn’t run Reid out of town, most of us, including Reid, knew it was time to move on. And boy has the change of scenery worked out well! (Arguably for both Reid and the Eagles.)

Leaving your Mark: Work with others to achieve your goals

By: Mark Gress

As part of the Sport Management 601 graduate class that I teach at Drexel, I recently invited a guest speaker named Matt Crevin to “visit” class via Skype. Matt has spent the last 20+ years working in the Public Relations Department for the San Francisco 49ers. For most of that time, he has served as the Public Address Announcer. In addition, he has also held positions at FedEx and Microsoft. His most recent ventures include authoring a book titled, “Get in the Game”, as well as running a sports consulting company called Voice of the Box.

Leaving Your Mark: Post Co-op tips

All too often, faculty, staff, academic advisors, co-op coordinators, and I emphasize what you should do as you start your six-month "ultimate internship." We talk about asking questions, introducing yourself to your bosses and co-workers, being punctual, dressing professionally, etc. However, we may not spend enough time evaluating what you have learned from your recently completed co-op (an applying this to the classroom), reflecting on the experience, and transitioning back to the classroom. Here are some reminders:

Leaving Your Mark: NFL Roster Cuts and Your Sports Career

The final NFL roster cuts are right around the corner as teams must get down to their 53 man rosters by Saturday, August 31 at 9pm EST.  Players learn of their fate throughout the day today and tomorrow after all of the off-season work that they put into it including OTAs, camps, and pre-season games.  Some will get the axe (pun intended) and continue to pursue their dream while others will give up and move on with their lives.  As it pertains to you, the reader, and your career in the sports industry, let’s look at this from the perspective of those players who want to keep the dream alive.

Leaving Your Mark: Search Firms Filling Head Coaching Vacancies

In a few different posts on this blog over the years, I have referenced recruiters and search firms in the sports and entertainment industry.  As some of you know, I worked at Turnkey Sports and Entertainment as a Senior Execuitive Recruiter for three years.  I completed searches from the Director-level up to C-level in the four major sports, MLS, motorsports, and collegiate marketing properties.  All of these positions were on the "business" side with no direct tie-in to the field or court.  

 

Leaving Your Mark: The British Open and Your Career

The British Open (a.k.a. The Open Championship) is one of my favorite major golf tournaments.  There it is.  I said it.  Sure, I love The Master’s and The U.S. Open as much as the next red-blooded American, but The British Open is unique.  Not only because of the types of courses the tournament is played on (links) but because of the conditions (rain, wind) and the trophy that is awarded to the winner (Claret Jug).  My only complaint is the time difference and how/when it is broadcasted- do you know how hard it is to watch The British Open and work at the same time?  But I digress…

Leaving Your Mark: Careers in Golf

In honor of the U.S. Open coming to Merion, I wanted to present both the types of golf organizations and the roles that exist as you consider non-big 4 team sports career opportunities.  The following list of “golf” organizations is a fairly loose interpretation in a sense that I also include equipment and apparel companies, retail organizations, and a TV network.  Additionally, the “roles” might not apply to every organization and might be unique to one or two of those listed.  Neither list is entirely complete or inclusive.

Leaving Your Mark: Finding a Mentor in the Sports Industry

Over the years, I have periodically suggested that college students should seek out mentors or industry professionals for advice, guidance, and more or less an objective point of view from a third party (read: not your mom, dad, brother, sister, etc.).  This can be done in the form of informational interviews or simply developing a relationship through meetings, emails, phone calls and the like.  While I hope that I have been able to do this for some students and alumni of Drexel’s Sport Management program over the years, I am modest enough to know my limitations and when to bring in other “experts” to provide support.

Leaving Your Mark: Your Career in NFL Draft Terminology

For the last few days, weeks, and months, the so-called experts (Mel Kiper, Todd McShay), coaches, general managers, and scouts were evaluating talent for the NFL Draft.   You would hear words and phrases like “solid measurables/intangibles”, “has good tape/film”, “value”, “huge upside”, “sleeper/stock is rising”, “bust”, and “Mr. Irrelevant”.

The Masters: What Augusta Can Teach Job Seekers

As an avid fan of the game of golf and an average player myself, I love Masters weekend.  The Masters is the first major of the PGA golf season where the best players in the world come together to play for the green jacket.  Winning this tournament puts you into a class of players that includes the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Arnold Palmer, among many greats.  Part of the allure of the Masters is the course it is played on - Augusta National.  The course is as beautiful as it is challenging.  Unlike the other three major tournaments with different locations each year, Augusta National is the only course to hold the Masters.  

Leaving Your Mark: Career Development Bracket

With Selection Sunday capping off the upcoming weekend and the NCAA tournament right around the corner, here is a career development bracket to get you thinking.  What's most important to you?  Do you need to do more?

Leaving Your Mark: Current Events and the Job Market

In an effort to keep up with current events and in an attempt to tie them into the theme of my column (careers, jobs, resumes, etc.), let’s look at the Lance Armstrong saga and the numerous Major League Baseball players who were denied entry into the Hall of Fame.  This won’t be a stretch and frankly can be used in an “apples to apples” comparison.

Leaving Your Mark: "References available upon request"

I must admit that when I see “References available upon request” on someone’s resume, I cringe.  Of course they are available upon request.  What kind of job seeker/applicant will not supply references when asked to do so by a potential employer?  The answer is one that doesn’t want a job.  It is assumed and expected so let’s get this out of the way right now- take “References available upon request” off of your resume.  And don’t ever put it back on there.

But the notion of references in general is an important one.  I’ve claimed and will continue to claim that nearly all of the jobs that I have had in my life, including my current one, were obtained because of the references that were provided on my behalf.  My resume is fairly strong and my interviewing skills are slightly above average but ultimately what others had to say about me pushed my candidacy for jobs over the top.  As a Senior Recruiter at Turnkey Sports and Entertainment, we placed a great deal of emphasis on references, both those supplied by the candidate and those not supplied by the candidate.  If it was neck and neck race on all other factors, we went with the candidate who had stronger references.  Anyone can have a perfect resume and nail an interview, but references are a complicated, yet very critical factor.

I mentioned above that at Turnkey we contacted references that were “available upon request” from the candidate and those that we knew through our own personal and professional connections.  Let’s start with the former.  Your reference list should include a mix of bosses, co-workers, staff that you manage, and clients or customers.  You want to provide a potential employer with people who have interacted with you on different levels and might be aware of unique skills that you bring to the table.  Oftentimes, people only supply co-workers and to me, that is a yellow or red flag.  Additionally, the details that you should include are the person’s name, title, phone number, email, physical address, and their relationship to you. 

As for the latter…references not supplied by the candidate, this is a little bit more tricky.  However, the rule of thumb is this- keep in mind that in your professional life, anyone you interact with could be a reference for you…and you don’t even know about it.  With the job market the way it is and has been for the last few years, there are more candidates than ever for any one opening.  Recruiters and HR/Talent Acquisition people have to discern between the top candidates and the best evaluators will go beyond the references you supplied.  The rationale being that the people you provided will give rave reviews 9 times out of 10.  I’m not insinuating that you have to be on your “A game” all day every day; I’m simply recommending that you not burn any bridges, you maintain healthy relationships, and you leave a good impression whenever possible.

Leaving Your Mark: “Professionalism: It's not the job you do, it’s how you do the job”

Recently, I’ve done three presentations and workshops on the topics of professionalism, communication, and business etiquette to undergraduate and graduate students.  These topics are tricky since they mostly revolve around soft skills and things that most students think are “common sense”.  I would argue the opposite is true…those topics are not that common!

As a Co-op, intern, volunteer, or work-study student, you have to consider that your current job is essentially an extended, several week/month/year job interview.  The company is observing you, they are taking mental notes, and they are constantly evaluating you to see if you would be a fit with their organization and if you are worth a full-time offer.  Therefore, it is crucial to dress professionally, communicate clearly and formally via email and phone, be punctual, and go the extra mile. 

In the sports industry, perhaps more than any other industry, if you cannot execute these things well, the team, league, or agency will simply move on to the next candidate.  If you can’t do it, someone else will.  And not just anyone else- a long line of hundreds of other candidates are chomping at the bit to get their foot in the door.

This ties directly to first impressions and references.  There is no such thing as a second impression.  The first impression can make or break any opportunity.  When I was at Turnkey Sports and Entertainment, we had an intern candidate show up without a suit on and he clearly hadn’t shaved in about a week.  He knocked the interview out of the park but unfortunately, we couldn’t get past the fact that he didn’t address his appearance and it came off as not caring- how could we put him in front of a client or customer?  As for references, I always laugh at the notion of checking references that I was given by a candidate.  Those references are meant to be perfect and it is hard to dig up any dirt; in fact, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve received negative feedback from a candidate-supplied reference.  Therefore, be aware that future employers may contact people not on your reference list to get a true read on you as a candidate.  Things like LinkedIn have made this process much easier- I can see who you are connected to and I can also see who worked at the same organization as you during a specific period of time.  So be on your game at all times and don’t assume someone won’t be a future reference!

To conclude- do the little things right, put your professional hat on when you go to work, and communicate “as if”- as if you were the Vice President or President of the firm.  Don’t think of yourself as the college kid or the intern; act "as if" you are a full-time, salaried employee.

"Leaving Your Mark" is a bi-weekly column authored by Mark Gress Jr. Mark is the Employer Relations Coordinator at Drexel University's Steinbright Career Development Center. His previous work experience includes time with Turnkey Sports and Entertainment, the Philadelphia Eagles, and Drexel University Athletics.