How I got my first sports job: A cold call, a cold beer, the 9/11 tragedy and a friend for life
Four things I learned about teambuilding from the adventure of finding a first job in sports
How I got my first sports job and the four things the adventure taught me about team building.
It's who you know. And if you don't know anyone - don't let that stop you
In summer of 2001, I had just graduated college and took a job at News America Marketing. It was a great job with good people and a terrific boss.
But I wanted to work in sports
It was 2001. Online job hunting wasn't the easiest. LinkedIn didn't exist.
So many say life is about "who you know." But I didn't know anyone in sports. Not one person.
The business school offered an undergrad class in sports business during my Senior year. The class was at 8am on a Friday, but I signed up anyways. Problem was: nobody else did. Only two of us registered and the class never happened.
One summer night in late August 2001, I decided to try and look up the professor. Maybe he could help.
I found him, David Carter, and saw what he had done in sports. I took a chance and sent him a cold email.
I don't remember the contents of the note, it was something like 'I really admire what you do,' but I do remember the final line: "I see you live in Redondo Beach. If you're up for it, I'd really like to buy you a drink or a meal. Worst case scenario: I'm a jerk and you get a free beer."
It worked. He responded.
People who are willing to go outside the lines and take a chance to join your team are foundational to your business. So many of our top team members have similar stories. Knowing David now, that final line, where I was myself, was likely what got the response.
Come prepared. It is always appreciated
We would meet on September 11th, 2001. Yes, that day.
I was supposed to fly to New York on the 12th for work so we would meet at a bar in Redondo for a beer prior to my trip.
As the events of that morning unfolded, I watched in horror- like we all did. There was nothing to do but watch the TV all day. David called around 3 and suggested we keep the meeting as maybe it would give us a short respite from the tragedy unfolding.
I showed up in a suit. To a bar. He was in flip flops.
I had prepared for weeks. I had put together everything I could find on him and what I wanted to do for a living and showed up with my notes in a manila folder.
We discussed none of it. Instead we watched the news and the president for hours.
By the time we left, we hadn't discussed anything about my career- as we shouldn’t have- but he asked me for the folder and suggested we meet a week later at the same spot. Oh, and "be sure you come ready with what you think you want to do."
We met the next week. He had gone through the folders and asked a lot of questions concluding with "so, what do you want to do."
Tony: "I want to work in the front office of a baseball team"
David: "Are you sure?"
Tony: "Yes"
David: "Ok. I'll see what I can do"
Two weeks passed and I got a call from Human Resources at the Los Angeles Dodgers asking if I would be available to come in for an interview. Of course I would!
Back in those days, the Dodgers would hire six to eight inside sales reps on part time hourly wages to sell season tickets for the upcoming season. If successful, one or two of the reps would get hired full time and a few others may get a referral to another sports team at the end of the four months. No guarantees for anyone.
Suited and booted, with homework research ready (remember, it was 2001 and wi-fi was not prominent yet), I headed into Dodger Stadium for my meeting with VP of Ticket Sales, Lisa Johnson.
Lisa, a dear friend to this day, walked in the room and, before even sitting down, opens with:"So Sergio tells me I need to hire you as a favor to his friend in the South Bay. Should I?" And off we went.
It's who you know I guess. And I finally knew someone.
That someone was willing to call in a favor for me because I showed I could be counted on to do the work and come prepared. These are table stakes for any great hiring team which are too often ignored.
If your team is willing to go outside the box while also doing the work, you have someone you can build with.
Be willing to "die"
The job was a big gamble. I had a full-time job at News America Marketing, where I was doing well, with benefits and future. It was not an easy job to get. NAM had a terrific reputation for training and developing talent and I had a great boss who I liked and admired.
The Dodgers were offering to pay me $10 an hour plus commission for a four month job. If it didn't work out, I was off to the unemployment line during a major economic recession.
I called David and asked for his advice. He told me to stay at News America. Good job. Good pay. Bad economy. Sports can wait.
I ignored him and took the job anyways.
I couldn't afford it but it felt like it was an opportunity I wasn't going to get again. Back then, sports was very hard to break into. If it failed and I “died” back to the beginning, so be it.
Since I had to make rent on $10 an hour, I started buying all my food at Costco and breaking down the cost of every bag of chips, soda, or lean cuisine - I'd buy the Lean Cuisines at two for four dollars whenever they went on sale. Boy did I get tired of Lean Cuisine. It's all I could afford for months. Once per week, I'd splurge on the $6 press box lunch at Dodger Stadium. Those were the good days - and the soda was free.
I gave my notice, suited up, and headed for the first day of work in the sports industry at Dodger Stadium.
Some of the best days of my life.
If you find a prospective team member who is willing to go outside the box, does the preparation work, and is willing to risk it all to chase a dream…..don’t let them out the door.
Ignore the online wealth gurus. Do what you love.
I love my job. I've loved pretty much all my jobs for 20+ years. Whether the Dodgers, AEG, StubHub, TicketManager, or the boards I've gotten to serve on.
There are a lot of reasons I love my job, but one stands out: I actually love what I do.
Everyone has different interests, but I have loved sports my whole life. I played sports as a kid. I talked about it with my friends. I didn't play "let's buy self-storage units" or "let's squeeze every penny we can out of a business through arbitrage." I absolutely respect that's for some people. It just it isn't for me.
The internet is full of gurus who'll tell you money and prestige can buy purpose. It can't. I've spent a lot of time with those who claim it does. Most all of them, when they feel insulted or show their real stripes, will point out they have more money or power than others - which uncovers their motivations. That doesn’t sound like the life for me.
Ignore them. I love my job and my industry. I get to talk about what I like every day. I hope the same for you.
Find people who love what you do and hire them.