Twitter Tip: Follow Industry Professionals

A series of tweets by Jim Saccomano, Vice President of Public Relations for the Denver Broncos, yesterday and today reinforced my belief that Twitter can be a valuable tool if you know how to use it. I’ve told you how Twitter chats can help you network, but sometimes the best thing you can do on Twitter is sit back and watch.

A tremendous number of people who work in sports are on Twitter, perhaps because social media has really been embraced by the sports community. If you want to be an athletic director one day, there are dozens of them on Twitter for you to follow. Want to work in PR for a professional sports team? They’re even more likely to be on Twitter. Find them and follow them. Better yet, create a list for just those people so their tweets don’t get lost in your general timeline. (And if you’re not on Twitter yet – get on there!)

You never know when one of them will throw out some free words of wisdom. Mr. Saccomano’s feed has been a good one the past couple of days if you’re looking for advice as you apply for internships:

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He hits on several points I’ve made before on this site and in my guest lectures at universities around the country. In case you missed them:

• There are a lot of other people vying for every job in sports. You need to stand out, and not for a negative reason. Following my tips for Twitter chats or attending conferences can help – imagine how much easier it is to stand out if they recognize your name when they get your resume!
• Do your research! My next post is going to be interview tips, but at the very least you should look up the person you’re scheduled to meet with and try to understand what they do and know a little about them.
• Take the opportunity while you’re in college to work in the athletic department! I recently spoke to a class of approximately 100 sports administration students. I asked how many had interned in the athletic department – two hands. The other 98 are missing out on a great opportunity right on campus!
• There are three keys to jump-starting a career in sports: You have to be willing to start at the bottom. You have to be willing to work harder than everyone else. And you have to be willing to work for free for awhile. (My story pre-ESPN is here.)