Please answer the following questions before meeting with an internship coordinator to start the search process:
What discipline and/or sport am I interested in?It is important to have a direction when looking at internships. Do you want to work in college athletics, professional sports, a sport marketing agency…? Do you want to work for a specific sport? Or do you just want an opportunity in a specific discipline (marketing, facility management, sales, media relations, ticketing, player personnel, sponsorship, etc.)? Think about what area interests you most and areas which you feel you are good at. This will make finding an opportunity to fit your needs much easier.
Where am I willing to go geographically?It can be difficult for an undergraduate student to take an internship away from school or home, especially because many are unpaid. Know ahead of time if you are willing and able to go anywhere in the country. If you cannot afford to move anywhere for an internship, consider other friends and family members across the country you may stay with while completing your internship. Please also note that the experience gained from a different area of the country can be very valuable and may open up more doors for the future.
What is my financial status and how will this impact my internship choices?
This is important in order to determine if you are able to take advantage of an unpaid internship. It is much harder to find a paid internship than an unpaid internship. You will limit your options by and other expenses for an unpaid internship. Many of such opportunities are worth it!
When will I be able to do my internship and how long can I commit?Keep in mind that different sports need interns at different times of the year. For example, if you are interested in baseball, you must be willing (and able) to take off spring quarter (at a minimum) and start working during spring training. Baseball clubs sometimes ask students to work through the season, which would also require you to miss fall quarter (though many other clubs would not require such commitment). It is in the best interest of any student wishing to have a career in baseball to make sure you finish one quarter early senior year. Few if any baseball clubs will accept an intern in June. Also, baseball has the most opportunities due to the Minor Leagues (approximately 225 teams).
Football usually starts in July for training camp and lasts until the end of the year. Some playoff teams may need you until the end of the playoffs. This could cause you to miss winter quarter. Basketball and hockey typically start after fall quarter and will force you to miss winter and spring quarters since both sports last into June.
Keep all of this in mind as you plan classes. Take extra classes if needed to make sure that you finish at a time of the year that is consistent with the sport or segment you are interested in.
Where can I get help with my resume and cover letter? If you have never put together a resume or cover letter go to
Career Services to get one started. (Tel: 740-593-2909. Email: career.services@ohio.edu. Location: Baker Center.) Once you have a resume completed, the internship coordinator can look it over for revision and suggestions.
Also, put together a list of 3-5 references. You want to make sure you make the process of contacting references as user-friendly as possible. Therefore, include as much contact information as possible (i.e. address, phone, fax, e-mail, etc.). Some employers like to fax reference forms; others like to call or utilize e-mail. Whatever their preference, you want to make sure they do not have to take the time to call you to get information that should have been on your reference list. Try to keep your resume to one page, but it is okay to include a second page solely for your list of references.
The format for listing references is as follows:
Name
Title
Organization
Address
Phone
Fax
E-mail
Be sure to put the same heading [format] at the top of your reference page as the heading on your resume. The stapled pages of resumes and references sometimes get separated. This can cause an organization to lose track of which reference sheet belongs with the respective resume. Things like paper color, font, etc. can help, but so many people use Times New Roman on white paper that it could be a problem. Remember, you not only want your resume and associate references to be user-friendly, but you also want to distinguish your resume from the pile of others in the same stack.
I have sent an application for an internship. How and when do I follow up with the organization?Whether you e-mail your resume and cover letter, or send it by hard copy, you need to make sure you follow up. When you are sending the information will determine how quickly and how often to follow up. For example, if you are sending a resume to an NFL team in November for the following training camp, you should follow up after two weeks to make sure the information was received. Then, most football executives will not even think about training camp until the end of the playoffs, so don’t expect to hear anything until February at a minimum. Contacting them unsolicited any sooner than February may only hurt your cause. On the other hand, if someone tells you that they should have a decision made by Friday, there is nothing wrong with checking back with them the following Monday. Use common sense; there is a fine line between being persistent and being a pest!!