Share
The SportsGrad Podcast: The Ultimate Guide to Make it in the Sports Industry
#269: 2023 Highlights and Reflections
•
Hello and welcome to the last SportsGrad episode of 2023!
We can’t believe how fast this year has flown by, and we have a lot to unpack - from the nitty-gritty of how SportsGrad levelled up, to juggling goals, and simply tackling life.
In today’s episode, we recap on all of our favourite moments from the year, answer questions from the Community, and chat about learnings and goals for the year to come. Additionally, Reuben and Ryan dive into how they navigated their personal lives, such as Reuben dealing with his sexual assault case coming to fruition, and living/working overseas for 6 months.
This year has been an absolute blast, with some of our largest meetups, best Community wins, Grand Prix live shows, coffee catch ups, and so much more!
However for now, that’s all from us - we’ll be back in your ears soon.
Thanks to everyone who tuned in for another great year.
Have a safe and happy New Year!
💛 Reuben & Ryan
In today's episode we cover:
(00:00) Introduction
(14:34) Community Update
(17:39) Quick Fire Questions with a twist
(25:48) Questions from the SportsGrad community
(26:15) How we handled things that didn’t go as planned
(33:45) Member wins across the 2023
(40:01) Our Fav podcasts from the year
(45:19) What we’ve learnt in 2023
(55:09) What advice we would give ourselves at the start of 2023
(01:01:07) ASK SPORTSGRAD
#151 - How to network your way into sport (without getting lucky)
#194 - 5 things I wish I knew before I started my career
Want to stay up today with all the new podcasts, events, and blogs to help you get a job in sport?
👉 Subscribe to the SportsGrad Newsletter
Need help landing a job in sport?
Want to hire the best grads in sport? Let us help you recruit.
If you want to learn more about us, connect with us on LinkedIn!
This episode is brought to you by Deakin University, the Official Education Partner of The SportsGrad Podcast. Find out why their Master of Business in Sport Management is not one of, but the best one in Australia ranked at #1 at www.deakin.edu.au
Thanks for listening! You’re all legends.
More episodes
View all episodes
#321: How to land a job in sport from just one networking event (even if you’re changing careers)
16:47|Click here to meet people in sport at a SportsGrad MeetupWant a job in sport? Click here.Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast, hosted by Reuben Williams, ex-Cricket Australia employee, career coach, public speaker, content creator and Founder of SportsGrad. On this podcast you’ll hear how to find your perfect role, grow your network, win job applications, scale your personal brand, create opportunities for yourself, and land your dream job in sport. Plus the many failures and lessons Reuben has learned from landing a dream job before graduating, helping others to land 700+ jobs in sport, and interviewing over 300+ professionals from the NFL, NBA, AFL, ICC, Cricket Australia, Premier League, Olympics, and many more teams, leagues, agencies and startups.To learn more about Reuben, listen to this episode: #309: How I landed a dream job at Cricket Australia before graduating | Reuben WilliamsFollow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love!
#320: How to make a career change into Motorsport from real-estate at 30 years old | Motorsport Australia Development Manager, Charlie Barlow
01:16:45|Pivoting careers at 30 can be seen by a lot of people as daunting, but for Charlie Barlow, she made a change into motorsport work.Charlie is the Development Manager at Motorsport Australia, leading programs like Girls on Track, First Gear, and Esports to get more people doing more motorsport, more often. But her journey into the industry didn’t begin until she made a bold decision at 30 years old to go all in on a career she truly loved.After years in real estate, construction, and admin roles, Charlie went back to uni, studied journalism, worked unpaid gigs, and eventually became a journalist at Supercars, before stepping into her current role shaping the future of motorsport participation in Australia.She’s also built a following on Social Media as a leader for Women in Motorsport, and recently was part of Channel 7’s national coverage of the Shannons SpeedSeries.In this episode, we discuss how Charlie made a career change at 30, how she was able to break into motorsport, and how she managed to accomplish her career goals even when it seemed impossible.Lastly, Charlie is our guest speaker at the Brisbane SportsGrad Meetup coming up on Thursday June 24, so if you want to connect with her, grab a ticket from our website.We cover:(02:38) – Interview begins(04:33) – Quickfire Questions(15:14) – What Charlie did about her career once she turned 30(30:45) – How Charlie started to build experience in sport(42:58) – Charlie's role with Motorsport Australia(30:45) – How Charlie started to build experience in sport(57:47) – The impact of Charlie's personal brand on her career(1:08:13) – What opportunity exists for those wanting to grow their personal brand on social media?(1:14:05) – Advice to her younger selfIf you like this ep, give these a go next:#289: How to move from London to Australia and work in Sports Marketing | George Ludlow’s journey to Gemba#265: From Westpac to the Adelaide Crows FC in 29 days with Community Engagement Manager, Parth Suri#208: How to make a career change into the sports industry with Kerry GassnerWant a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love!#319: The impact of 60+ therapy sessions (Sporting Max interview)
55:15|Want a job in sport? Click here.Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast, hosted by Reuben Williams, ex-Cricket Australia employee, career coach, public speaker, content creator and Founder of SportsGrad. On this podcast you’ll hear how to find your perfect role, grow your network, win job applications, scale your personal brand, create opportunities for yourself, and land your dream job in sport. Plus the many failures and lessons Reuben has learned from landing a dream job before graduating, helping others to land 700+ jobs in sport, and interviewing over 300+ professionals from the NFL, NBA, AFL, ICC, Cricket Australia, Premier League, Olympics, and many more teams, leagues, agencies and startups.To learn more about Reuben, listen to this episode: #309: How I landed a dream job at Cricket Australia before graduating | Reuben WilliamsFollow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love!#318: Level 12 intensity
23:41|Want a job in sport? Click here.Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast, hosted by Reuben Williams, ex-Cricket Australia employee, career coach, public speaker, content creator and Founder of SportsGrad. On this podcast you’ll hear how to find your perfect role, grow your network, win job applications, scale your personal brand, create opportunities for yourself, and land your dream job in sport. Plus the many failures and lessons Reuben has learned from landing a dream job before graduating, helping others to land 700+ jobs in sport, and interviewing over 300+ professionals from the NFL, NBA, AFL, ICC, Cricket Australia, Premier League, Olympics, and many more teams, leagues, agencies and startups.To learn more about Reuben, listen to this episode: #309: How I landed a dream job at Cricket Australia before graduating | Reuben WilliamsFollow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokFollow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love!#317: Critical advice for people job hunting for 3+ months (and avoid 3 more months of job hunting)
19:46|Want a job in sport? Click here.Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast, hosted by Reuben Williams, ex-Cricket Australia employee, career coach, public speaker, content creator and Founder of SportsGrad. On this podcast you’ll hear how to find your perfect role, grow your network, win job applications, scale your personal brand, create opportunities for yourself, and land your dream job in sport. Plus the many failures and lessons Reuben has learned from landing a dream job before graduating, helping others to land 700+ jobs in sport, and interviewing over 300+ professionals from the NFL, NBA, AFL, ICC, Cricket Australia, Premier League, Olympics, and many more teams, leagues, agencies and startups.To learn more about Reuben, listen to this episode: #309: How I landed a dream job at Cricket Australia before graduating | Reuben WilliamsFollow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokFollow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love!- 22:00|Want a job in sport? Click here.Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast, hosted by Reuben Williams, ex-Cricket Australia employee, career coach, public speaker, content creator and Founder of SportsGrad. On this podcast you’ll hear how to find your perfect role, grow your network, win job applications, scale your personal brand, create opportunities for yourself, and land your dream job in sport. Plus the many failures and lessons Reuben has learned from landing a dream job before graduating, helping others to land 700+ jobs in sport, and interviewing over 300+ professionals from the NFL, NBA, AFL, ICC, Cricket Australia, Premier League, Olympics, and many more teams, leagues, agencies and startups.To learn more about Reuben, listen to this episode: #309: How I landed a dream job at Cricket Australia before graduating | Reuben WilliamsFollow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love!
#315: How to get a job in sport - the advice I gave at Deakin University
59:39|Want a job in sport? Click here.Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast, hosted by Reuben Williams, ex-Cricket Australia employee, career coach, public speaker, content creator and Founder of SportsGrad. On this podcast you’ll hear how to find your perfect role, grow your network, win job applications, scale your personal brand, create opportunities for yourself, and land your dream job in sport. Plus the many failures and lessons Reuben has learned from landing a dream job before graduating, helping others to land 700+ jobs in sport, and interviewing over 300+ professionals from the NFL, NBA, AFL, ICC, Cricket Australia, Premier League, Olympics, and many more teams, leagues, agencies and startups.Episode timestamps:(01:01) - Introduction(02:53) - Reuben's journey into the sports industry(06:34) - What is SportsGrad?(09:48) - How competitive it is to get a job in sport industry(13:03) - Strategies to enter the sports job market(17:15) - The role of LinkedIn in building a personal brand(21:25) - LinkedIn content strategy to follow while in University(24:54) - How to find career direction in sport(28:59) - Most In demand skills in sports industry(31:46) - How to build connections without feeling forced(38:06) - How do you start networking with industry professionals while at Uni(44:43) - What to say while networking(48:14) - Networking strategies for internships(50:28) - Importance of having a mentor for a career in sport(53:27) - How to get better at communication(54:39) - Certifications to gain leverage in the job market(56:37) - Advice on practical steps to help in career journey in sportTo learn more about Reuben, listen to this episode: #309: How I landed a dream job at Cricket Australia before graduating | Reuben WilliamsFollow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love!
#314: How Kiri Madhani pivoted into Commercial Partnerships at DAZN
01:26:28|How do you pivot your career to the commercial side of sport so you can grow the game you love?Kiri Madhani breaks down how she transitioned from game development roles to become a Senior Commercial Partnerships Manager at DAZN growing women’s football in Europe.If you feel like your career is a bit stuck, this is your roadmap.About the guest:Kiri Madhani Senior Commercial Partnerships Manager at DAZN, and is part of the team recently short-listed for Football Business of the Year Award at the 2025 Women’s Football Awards.Plenty to look out for in this conversation including Who is DAZN and what makes them a massive player in the sports media world. How Kiri consciously pivoted her career from game develop roles across university sport and charities into the Commercial world working with $Million deals and major rights holders. Plus tools on how to handle difficult conversations and work with others effectively. Kiri is one of my oldest friends in the sports industry, so naturally we go off topic a little from time to time, but I hope you enjoy.We cover:(00:00) - Interview begins(03:05) - Introduction(08:35) - Quick fire questions(20:01) - Kiri's role at DAZN explained(29:58) - Kiri's involvement in branding & pitching process(32:14) - Selling brand deals(37:25) - Understanding DAZN's offering(41:00) - Working with FIBA Media growing Women's Basketball(45:10) - How Kiri landed the role at DAZN(50:09) - How the FISU Forum in France influenced Kiri's career(58:07) - How a side role at London Rowing Club helped Kiri in landing a job in commercial sport(01:04:03) - Tips for a successful interview(01:10:10) - How to have tough conversations with colleagues(01:20:11) - Advice to her younger selfIf you like this ep, give these a go next:#289: How to move from London to Australia and work in Sports Marketing | George Ludlow’s journey to Gemba#290: Inside the 2025 FISU World University Games with Mirinda Kidman#309: How I landed a dream job at Cricket Australia | Reuben Williams, Founder of SportsGradWant a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love!#313: What’s really standing in the way of you and a dream career in sport
24:36|Want a job in sport? Click here.Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast, hosted by Reuben Williams, ex-Cricket Australia employee, career coach, public speaker, content creator and Founder of SportsGrad. On this podcast you’ll hear how to find your perfect role, grow your network, win job applications, scale your personal brand, create opportunities for yourself, and land your dream job in sport. Plus the many failures and lessons Reuben has learned from landing a dream job before graduating, helping others to land 700+ jobs in sport, and interviewing over 300+ professionals from the NFL, NBA, AFL, ICC, Cricket Australia, Premier League, Olympics, and many more teams, leagues, agencies and startups.To learn more about Reuben, listen to this episode: #309: How I landed a dream job at Cricket Australia before graduating | Reuben WilliamsFollow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love!