What are the first steps into the sports industry?

Or to put it another way: How do you turn your interest in sport into a career? Whether you are a newcomer or a career changer – to start your career in the sports business, you should meet certain requirements. Here’s how to prepare yourself for starting your career in the sport business.

Entry into the sports industry for (prospective) students and graduates

Studying basically gives you the necessary academic qualifications for a future career in sport. But what do you need to study?

These courses are suitable for a career in sport

If you want to work for a sports team or work with athletes, you should definitely study sports science. For all other professions, generic courses are just as ideal for gaining the necessary expertise, as a sports brand is just as entrepreneurial as other companies. For example, journalism for sports journalists, business studies for sports marketing and sales, event management for sports event managers, product design for sports product designers. You get the idea.

Show your interest in sport on your CV

For entry-level positions, specific professional training is not usually necessary. However, for companies, of course, an interest in sports is important, so you should definitely include the sport you do in your CV. Sport shows that you fit into the team, that you have an insight into the sports industry and is often associated with certain soft skills.

Find out how to include sport in your CV and what it says about you to a recruiter in the last blog.

Complement your studies with practical experience in sport

You can also gain an understanding of the industry through part-time jobs, student trainee positions or Sport Internships.

Another option is to help out by volunteering, for example at (youth) sporting events or competitions in your area. This way you not only gain experience, but also make contacts that can help you get started.

Reorientation in your existing job: Reasons for a change to the sports industry

A new orientation in a job is often associated with some obstacles – because those who dare to make a new start in a different profession often find themselves back at the beginning of their own career. But it doesn’t always have to be a complete turnaround: Sometimes a change of industry is enough to make your job more interesting again. 

Because what many people lack in their jobs – apart from a good salary and unsuitable working hours – is often quite classic boredom in the job. This can be due to a lack of challenge, a lack of development opportunities, but also because the meaning of the job is missing or the identification with an employer or the industry itself does not exist (“Why am I actually doing this?”). 

If sport is an important part of your (personal) life, the possibility to combine it with your job can make your daily work much more attractive. Maybe you use the products of your future employer yourself, share the same interests with your colleagues and can bring in your own view on the products as part of the target group. 

In other words, you can stand behind the industry, behind your employer and find a new passion for what you do.

The requirements for a move into the sports industry

For a change of industry to the sports industry, you need above all your previous experience and expertise in the job to re-enter the same profession or develop in a similar field, as well as an interest in sports and an understanding of the industry.

The latter is easy to read: Follow developments in sport through digital magazines like SGI Europe, through podcasts like Office Hours (or on relevant social media channels.

Ready for the change? Browse our current Sport Jobs and find your career with higher job satisfaction.

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