Hello friends! 👋

Welcome to the SportsGrad Newsletter. Each week we take a deep dive into how people are growing their careers in sport.

Here you’ll find insights, tactics and tools to help you win jobs, get promoted, work around the world, make an impact, and still get paid fairly in sport.

Plus the latest on what’s happening in the SportsGrad Community - a private group of legends lifting each other toward the careers of their dreams.

Ever wondered how an Olympian might approach finding a new job in sport in London? How might their athlete mindset help them get ahead working in the sports industry?

Meet Genevieve Horton OLY, a 2x Olympic rower, and now Ticketing Executive at SailGP.

Despite being part of the rare few who have competed at the Olympics (twice!), Gen recently joined the fleet of Australians who have moved to London to work in sport.

Within a few months, she made it happen at SailGP!

Below we dive into the mindset, habits, and motivations that make her elite. If you ever wished you had more motivation, you’ll love what Gen has to say.

Meet People in the sports industry 👋

How this 2x Olympian is tackling a career in sport in London

What made you want to continue to work in sport after your athletic career?

After having sport as the main feature of my life for over 10 years, going into my first full-time role was a stark change, in terms of now fitting sport in around my life rather than the other way around. Whilst I kept scratching my competitive itch through joining a Surf Lifesaving Club and taking up surf boat rowing, I still felt like there was energy within me that wasn’t being harnessed anymore. I loved my role at the tech startup, but I realised that I wanted to be able to bring a real passion to my work every day, which brought me back to sport!

In the realm of routines, mindset, long-term planning, habits… What have you carried with you from being an Olympian to working in sport management?

I think athletes bring a range of unique traits into professional life that we take to be the bare minimum in how we operate. In a sport like rowing, there is minimal margin for error (mere split seconds between success and falling short of your goals!), it’s translated into the adage that a job worth doing is a job worth doing well. If I’m going to be putting my name by any piece of work, I absolutely want to be proud of it.

Do you have an approach to goal-setting that you find most beneficial?

I like to consider the byproducts of reaching for a goal, especially if I am setting myself a stretch goal that I may not necessarily hit. If that’s been the case, considering what I may have got out of the process of trying to reach that mark can bring some great awareness of self. I consider if there was any growth along the way, if there were any challenges I overcame, or what I learned along that way that I can take forward. If I can answer any of these questions, then falling short of that goal can still give you something to take away from it and make the time and effort put in worthwhile. 

Is there anything in your professional skillset you’re working on right now? If so, what are you doing to improve?

It sounds simple, but time management! I love to get stuck in on projects and pay great attention to all the details, but at the same time when you’ve got a very long to-do list, I need to consider how much time a task really needs and then stick to that. I’m trying the timeboxing technique, which is giving myself set breaks in specific time blocks, rather than waiting until I feel like I really need one. 

Why did you choose to move to London? And what advice would you give to others doing the same?

I came here for the local exposure as a lot of rightsholders are based here, as well as the proximity to everything that is happening on our doorstep in Europe. I don’t often do things in halves, so I thought if I wanted to pivot into the sports industry, I might as well dive head first and hold on for the wild ride that it’s been! My advice for anyone looking to make the move abroad is to stick your head out and not be passive about finding that next role. Whilst it’s very competitive, a bit of extra effort goes a long way, even for something as simple as reaching out cold to a contact for a coffee catch-up or physically handing in your CV for a role you’re applying for.

Lastly, do you have any favourite quotes you live by?

Oooh, this is always hard to choose! It’s a pretty bread-and-butter quote, but the line “you are what you do” dictates a lot of the decisions I make day to day. Understanding that the patterns of the hundreds if not thousands of tiny decisions we make every day all add up, I try to build consistency in making positive little decisions that are going to benefit me in the long run. We may not see the benefits straight away of going for that run or doing that extra reading/research during the day, but over time these can compound into something really powerful!

What’s happening in the Community?

Community Wins ⭐️

Here’s what SportsGrad Members got up to last week...

Tate Anderson landed his first-ever role in sport, volunteering with the Australian Rowing Championships

Simon Miller was interviewed by Trizone on his triathlon and multisport career.

Vi Truong accepted a digital and social role with the Australian Grand Prix Corporation for this year’s F1 Aus Grand Prix

Maddie Reith starting a new full time role at Sporting Wheelies as an Inclusive School Sports Assistant

Clayton Henderson landed a new job as Partnerships Manager at IMG

Zen Rinaldo got a new gig as a Community Programs Officer at the Adelaide Crows FC

SportsGrad Members have landed over 600+ jobs in sport.

If you've had a win, share it with us in the #wins channel on Discord!

Upcoming Member Events 💛

Members, to join an event, RSVP via Discord.

Pro Member Events:

⚖️ Sports Law Masterclass with Michael Bricknell - Feb 29th 12pm AEDT

🤝 Pro Speed Networking - March 14th 7pm AEDT

Do you work in sport? Apply to become a SportsGrad Pro Member

Rookie Member Events:

🤝 Speed Networking - Mar 11th 7pm AEDT

💼 Job Fair ft. Victorian Institute of Sport - Mar 20th 12pm AEDT

🤝 Speed Networking - March 25th 7pm AEDT

Do you want to work in sport? Join the list to become a SportsGrad Rookie Member

That’s all for now! If you need me you can catch me in the US 🇺🇸

Catch you soon,

Acacia 💛

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