The SportsGrad Podcast: The Ultimate Guide to Make it in the Sports Industry

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/programSo you want to work in sport.You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem.Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why.It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem.I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find.Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works.80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer.That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches.How I can help you:1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action.2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way.3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally.If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place.Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/programReuben

Meet Nancy Alu.Nancy is the Pathways & Performance Administrator at Queensland Rugby League, looking after everything off the field for Queensland's representative programs, from travel and accommodation to apparel for camp, including Junior Origin.Before sport, Nancy spent five years in hospitality walking events with food trays, then worked in concierge and member events roles. Along the way she spent eight years volunteering with her church youth group, running logistics for summer camps and conferences. She also paid her own way to volunteer at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide, and found a mentor in Dubai who pointed her towards SportsGrad.Lots to look out for in this episode, including how to get a job in sports operations when your experience is outside sport: how Nancy broke the rejection loop by learning to read job descriptions properly, the rep clubs and team manager roles she'd target to get a foot in the door, and the three questions she asks when a networking conversation runs dry. Plus, how she keeps growing in the role by always having questions ready for her manager.We Cover:(04:17) – Quick fire questions (12:42) – How sport became her place to belong (15:51) – The rejection loop: applying for roles in sport (18:40) – The mentor who pointed her towards sport (23:45) – Networking and SportsGrad meetups (28:0) – How church camp volunteering helped her get hired (31:36) – What a Pathways & Performance Administrator does at QRL (38:47) – Pinch-me moments: Maroons camp and Cameron Munster (44:46) – How to land a sports ops job in 30 daysRelated Episodes:🎧 #367: From Engineer to the FIFA World Cup - How Hector Arenas built a career in sports operations 🎧 #368: From Gym Receptionist to CEO, with Sarah Loh (Softball Australia)🎧 The Method: Turn any job description into a winning Cover LetterWant a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: | Instagram | Linkedin Follow Reuben on socials: | Instagram | Linkedin Thanks for listening, much love!

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/programSo you want to work in sport.You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem.Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why.It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem.I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find.Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works.80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer.That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches.How I can help you:1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action.2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way.3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally.If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place.Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/programReuben

Meet Steve Whately, Head of Sales at the AFL. He leads a team working on new brand partnerships across the AFL, AFLW, Marvel Stadium, and the league’s digital and community channels.Before joining the AFL, Steve worked at KPMG, became Head of Strategy at Sport Business Partners, and held roles at the Australian Sports Commission and Nielsen Sports. Across those jobs, he built experience in strategy, sales, digital and data.His interest in working in sport began at KPMG, while auditing Golf Australia and Hawthorn Football Club. Steve wanted to find out what other jobs existed in the industry, so he asked friends whether their parents knew anyone he could speak to. One conversation led to an introduction at Tennis Australia, then a job at Sport Business Partners. In its 5-person team, he worked on projects for organisations across several sports.By the time the AFL role opened up, Steve had years of relevant experience to show. During the hiring process, he was asked to present a growth strategy for Marvel Stadium. He opened with a slide showing around 25 brands he had sold to.Lots to look out for in this episode, including why Steve says his degree wasn’t a factor in getting the AFL job, which sports agencies and consultancies are worth researching, and how to make your existing experience relevant to a sports employer.We Cover:(3:14) – Interview begins(5:08) – Quick fire questions(15:52) – What it takes to do Steve's job at the AFL(30:50) – First break into sport at KPMG, auditing Golf Australia and Hawthorn FC(35:12) – The five-person consultancy that changed everything(55:41) – The presentation that got him hired(57:08) – Mentors and the value of asking for help(1:00) – Advice to his younger selfIf you like this ep, give these a go next:#354: How to transfer your Finance experience to the sport industry, Golf Australia | Phil Speake #265: From Westpac to the Adelaide Crows FC in 29 days, Adelaide Crows FC | Parth Suri #334: Adam Collins (The Final Word) on political career, transition to sport & origins of TFWWant a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: | Instagram | Linkedin Follow Reuben on socials: | Instagram | Linkedin Thanks for listening, much love!

Meet Jess Webster, AFL play-by-play commentator for Triple M and Fox Footy.Two nights before we recorded this podcast, she was on stage accepting the Clinton Grybas Emerging Talent Award at the AFL Media Awards.Jess grew up in Brisbane with three older brothers, running the scoreboard at her local footy ground for a pie and a can of Coke and umpiring boundary as a high-school casual. She studied journalism at Monash and the University of Queensland, did six weeks of TV internships that led nowhere, then moved to Darwin with no job, where someone resigned at the NT News two weeks later and she got her way in. Five years in the Territory gave her print, local commentary and the rise of live streaming. Back in Brisbane, she met mentor Quentin Hull, who taught her play-by-play from scratch and helped her call her first AFL radio game in 2017.Then she moved to Melbourne on nothing more than "if you're in Melbourne, we'd consider you." COVID hit, she lost her AFL job, and she went two years without a single play-by-play game, working government comms and thinking her career was over. She fought all the way back, called Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera's history-making comeback as Triple M's first female play-by-play caller, and this year became the second woman to call AFL on television.Lots to look out for in this episode, including how to create your own opportunities in an industry where the jobs are never advertised, sustaining belief and bouncing back when the work you want disappears, and how the right mentor and the right mindset shift can change a career!We cover:(04:25) - Interview begins(06:23) - Quick Fire Questions(12:46) - How Jess got her foot in the door in sports media and journalism(17:24) - Jess' career after she moved out of the Northern Territory(28:46) - The feeling and preparation before calling her first game live(35:29) - What preparation tactics has Jess picked up from peers(37:10) - Jess' career move to Melbourne(43:45) - How Jess built a mindset that has helped her career journey(50:24) - Key takeaways from the "Finding Mastery" podcast(54:05) - How Jess landed her roles at Fox Footy and Triple M calling AFL games weekly(56:54) - The week after Jess' incredible call of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera's moment against Melbourne FC(58:11) - Biggest Pinch me momentIf you liked this ep, give these a go next:#263: Journey to become a Sports Journalist with Sarah Burt #356: Career journey of FIFA World Cup Commentator David Basheer #363: From outsider to on-air - how to become a sports broadcaster with David Culbert OLY Want a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokFollow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokThanks for listening, much love!

Meet Tori Coleman, Aaron Llavore and Amalia Sofia Navarro, three of the people building the San Francisco 49ers, live from our Melbourne meetup.In front of a packed room during the 49ers' first-ever NFL game week in Melbourne, this panel pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to work in US sport, and how three very different paths led to the same organisation.Tori is the Senior Coordinator of Youth Football Development and Community Programming. She started in education technology, moved through PR and comms in the athlete and agency space, did PR for the NBA's Sacramento Kings, and worked in college sport before landing at the Niners, proof that a non-linear start is a strength, not a setback.Aaron is the Creative Director, a decade into the 49ers, leading a "small but mighty" team of six that touches everything creative in the organisation. He got his first sports job as an assistant creative at the Golden State Warriors, from a post on Craigslist, then built his craft from the ground up.Amalia works in strategy and impact across the 49ers Foundation's international programming. A comms major from a family of educators, she got her foot in the door through community relations at the Oakland A's and the 49ers museum, working at the intersection of sport, philanthropy and education.Lots to look out for in this episode, including how to turn an "unconventional" or non-sport background into your edge when breaking in, and how roles inside a major sporting body keep evolving, so getting in is the start, not the finish line.If you liked this ep, give these a go next:#237: How Josh Growden launched The Kicking Consultant#277: Journey from Event Coordinator in Melbourne to NFL Stadium Director with Eray Saban#243: Living the dream at the NFL, IOC & Brisbane 2032 Olympics with Tom Hickey Want a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokFollow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokThanks for listening, much love!

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/programSo you want to work in sport.You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem.Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why.It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem.I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find.Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works.80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer.That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches.How I can help you:1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action.2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way.3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally.If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place.Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/programReuben

Meet Pat McGregor. Pat has spent the last five-plus years building a career across sports marketing, content and brand, most recently leading the marketing function through the formation of NSW Athletics.Pat's first roles were in retail at Kingsgrove Sports Centre and Adidas, before an internship in the membership team at the St George Illawarra Dragons was cut short by COVID. Working a warehouse job through lockdown and buried under rejections, he came genuinely close to giving up on sport altogether. Instead, he resigned, leaned on the SportsGrad community, and three weeks later landed a marketing coordinator role at Little Athletics NSW.From there, it snowballed to working alongside Olympians like Jess Fox and Sam Fricker at the NSW Institute of Sport, delivering a national-record membership campaign, and leading the rebrand through a merger.Lots to look out for in this episode, including how to reframe non-sport experience so it actually lands against a job description, and how to keep progressing (and creating your own next move) once you're inside.We cover:(03:16) - Interview Begins(05:00) - Quick Fire Questions(11:00) - How Pat decided he wanted to work in the sport industry(14:48) - How SportsGrad helped Pat early in his career(16:27) - Why Pat almost gave up on a career in sport(18:27) - Pat's role at New South Wales Institute of Sport(22:34) - How Pat became a 'one-person marketing department' at Little Athletics NSW(28:25) - How the Athletics NSW and Little Athletics NSW brands merged(30:42) - What challenges and opportunities arose in marketing the brands merging(33:14) - How SportsGrad has been helping Pat recently in his job hunt(39:28) - How to land a role in sport marketing in the next 30 days(41:25) - Biggest pinch-me moment working in sport(44:12) - What would life look like if it wasn't for a career in sport(44:42) - What has been the most challenging thing you’ve faced, and how did it become successful (46:17) - Pat's question for next guestIf you liked this ep, give these a go next:#236: Sports Marketing Consultant career journey (so far!) with Danny Bowerin#280: How to get a sports marketing job in the English Premier League with Alex King#324: How to turn a Law and Comms degree into a marketing role at the AFL with Veronica SteerWant a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokFollow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokThanks for listening, much love!