Hi friends,
Nearly every job post these days has some type of experience requirement. Even entry-level roles call for “2+ years of work experience in the sports industry or related field”. It can be especially frustrating when you’re first starting out. How am I supposed to get said experience when every single position supposedly requires past experience? It’s a catch-22.
First, it’s important to note that these requirements are often listed in part to discourage completely unqualified candidates from applying. No, that doesn’t mean recent college grads who studied sport management and worked multiple internships or held down a job while in school. I’m talking about the “oh I’m a Yankees fan, working for the team would be fun” crowd that studied an unrelated subject and has never shown an interest in working in sports.
Besides that, we often have way more relevant experience than we think. Too often, women, especially young women, sell themselves short when it comes to our ability to do a role. While you may not have worked in pro sports by the time you’re 22 (very few have!) or acquired five years of industry experience in college (a virtually impossible task!), I can almost guarantee that you have translatable skills developed in other courses, internships, or part-time roles. The key is simply reframing that experience to highlight those skills when applying to jobs.
Some of my "unrelated" job experiences throughout college
So what exactly is reframing? Some people hear the term and assume it means lying or stretching the truth on your resume. That's not it at all. Instead, it's taking an experience you had i another "unrelated" role and emphasizing the ways that it can apply to your position of interest. For example, you spend the summer working for a real estate company making cold calls to prospective buyers. You may be tempted to think that's not relevant to the marketing position you're applying to within your school's athletic department. In reality, that job taught you persuasive communication techniques, relationship management, and how to market to a particular target audience. You also learned patience, resilience, and how to handle rejection (an important skill in any role!).This simple mindset shift reframes your supposedly unrelated experience and allows you to use it to your benefit. See below for some other examples.
"Unrelated" experience | Translatable skills |
Making cold calls for a real estate company | Relationship management, effective communication, marketing strategy |
Waitressing at the local diner | Customer service, time management, attention to detail
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Captaining your college lacrosse team | Leadership, communication, teamwork, the ability to relate to multiple teammates (or coworkers)
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Reframing is particularly useful if you've just graduated from college or are looking to transition into the sports industry from another field. In fact, we know a lot of recruiters who look for people with experience outside of the sports industry. As such, it can be incredibly valuable to conduct a reframing exercise the next time you apply for a job. Start by asking yourself some of the following questions:
What skills does this position call for? Where might have I developed these in the past?
How can I best articulate my experience to future employers?
What other qualities have I developed in previous roles that would provide value here?
So the next time you go to apply for a job and balk at the experience requirement, don't get down or sell yourself short! Often times it's our "unrelated" experience that differentiates us the most, we just need to learn how to communicate it. And as always, remember, you're awesome and you belong here.
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