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.

Come and meet the sport industry 🍻

Meetups start tonight in Melbourne, and you don’t want to miss out!

This is your chance to easily connect with like-minded peers and professionals industry and have a great night - in a relaxed and comfortable environment.

Grab your ticket by clicking on your chosen city below 👇

Meet Chris Burgess, Coach Member & Program Services Administrator at Tennis Australia.

He joined SportsGrad in 2021 with the goal of increasing his network and getting a job in sport. After a few placement opportunities and other roles, he landed a full-time position with Tennis Australia.

If you want to find out more about how he found confidence in his new role, how he networks with others, and the processes and skills he’s learned working at Tennis Australia, check out our interview with Chris below 👇

Lessons learned from a young Pro working at Tennis Australia 🎾

Tell us about your career journey so far.

I fell in love with sport when I was very young. I grew up on the North Coast of NSW, near Byron Bay and had a wonderful childhood. Lots of time was spent outside, at the beach and playing sport. I have vivid of memories of travelling down to Melbourne to visit Mum’s side of the family and watching sporting matches whilst we were visiting. Even at that young age, it became a goal of mine to one day live in Melbourne and work in the sporting precinct. I am now lucky enough to be living that dream.

I studied a double degree of Business and Sport Management. I undertook university placements at Premier Data and the Adelaide Crows. I have volunteered at sporting clubs such as Western United and Brisbane Roar. Previously I worked for Melbourne City Council within their Sport and Recreation branch. I then worked for the AFL as a stakeholder services officer. I started my current role at Tennis Australia in August 2022.

How long did it take before you were confident in your role at Tennis Australia?

It took me a few months to feel somewhat confident and settled in my role. The first few months at any new job are always a big learning curve! New colleagues, new office, new systems, new culture and a new routine amongst everything else. This will always take a while to get used to. Everyone’s journey is different and this process can take longer for some than others.

I recently worked at AO24 and reflected on how much I had grown since the AO of the previous year. In that time I have built so many fantastic relationships, learnt so much and made so many wonderful memories. Reflecting on how much I have achieved in my time at Tennis Australia so far helped me feel a sense of confidence and pride in myself. I am 18 months into my role at TA and am still very much in this process. I don’t think this will ever change as there is always more you can learn.

To feel more confident at work, I think it’s important to get to know your colleagues on a personal level. Ask them if they want to get a coffee. Say yes if you’re invited out to work drinks. This helps build relationships quickly and helps you ‘feel a part of it’.

At times I will be sitting in a meeting with colleagues and I will be the youngest person in the room. It is easy to feel inferior in those situations and that you don’t have anything to add. It is important to remember that everyone was once in your shoes and they are simply more experienced than you. You were hired for a reason and you deserve to be there. I think it is also important to mention that you won’t be at your best 100% of the time and that’s okay too.

What new skills have you had to learn for your job - both soft and hard ones?

The skills that I need to utilise most on a daily basis are communication, time management, teamwork, adaptability, attention to detail, being proactive and prioritisation of tasks. These skills are necessary at every workplace but can be difficult to put into practice.

When our team organises events for our members during the Summer of Tennis – we use skills such as event management, stakeholder management, budget management, organisation, being flexible and problem solving.

A recent example of this is when we had scheduled for our members to play Padel on an outside court on the AO Hilltop after a networking event that we organised. There ended up being torrential rain that day and we had to quickly come up with a contingency plan. Luckily we were able to organise to get them inside to the National Tennis Centre to watch some player practice!

As Reuben has recently said, “people don’t care about what you can do, they care about what you can do for them.”

What new platforms/processes did you have to learn to do your job? How did you learn quickly?

The platforms I use most are Microsoft Teams, Outlook and Excel. I was already very familiar with these which helped. The customer relationship management platform that we use is Microsoft Dynamics 365. We make phone calls on Amazon Connect. We create registration forms and store data on Airtable. Marketing assets are created on Canva. Bounce is our online learning platform and our membership data is stored on MyTennis.

To learn quickly I asked my coordinator lots and lots of questions. I am sure I annoyed him a lot when I first started but if you don’t ask, you don’t know! I also read any training notes that we had. Most of the learning was done through practice.

In the process of becoming confident at your first full-time job, did you lean on your network for any advice or help?

I didn’t lean on my network as much as I could have. I have a tendency to try and take on everything solo - as if to prove a point to myself. However, I remember sharing my initial feelings of imposter syndrome with my family members on the phone. I didn’t really do this for advice but more to let it off my chest. I encourage everyone to lean on their network as much as they can. People are willing to help. SportsGrad also have some great resources on overcoming imposter syndrome.

When you’re meeting someone new, do you have a question you like to ask?

When meeting new people I like to get to know them on a personal level. I enjoy asking questions such as:

- What are your hobbies/passions?

- What do you like to do on the weekend?

- What music and podcasts do you listen to?

- What book are you currently reading?

- What countries have you travelled to?

I believe asking questions like these helps the conversation flow naturally. It also helps quickly establish a connection with the other person.

What advice would you give to someone entering their first week of full-time work?

It is important to remember that you deserve to be there and you were hired for a reason. Everyone else was once the ‘new person’ just like you. Don’t be afraid to share your opinion. Ask lots of questions. Change is uncomfortable and you are going to deal with major imposter syndrome. The start is the most difficult part. It is only going to get easier from here!

Any last thoughts you want to add?

People in sport are kind and willing to help. Work hard, take your opportunities and be a good person. The rest will take care of itself.

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn

Come and say hello to Chris at the Melbourne meetup!

Community Wins ⭐️

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

Chris Collins accepted a role with Catapult Sports as a Product Support Coordinator

Jordan Dana is joining the Box Hill Hawks FC as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach

Junye Zhang received an offer to work with Rugby Victoria as a Rugby Development Officer

SportsGrad Members have landed over 560+ 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:

✏️ Leadership Masterclass with Gav Mahoney - Feb 28th 12pm AEDT

🤝 Pro Speed Networking - March 14th 7pm AEDT

⚖️ Sports Law Masterclass with Michael Bricknell - March 28th 12pm AEDT2

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

Rookie Member Events:

🤝 Rookie Speed Networking - Feb 26th 7pm AEDT

🤝 Rookie Speed Networking - March 11th 7pm AEDT

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

Job Opportunities 💼

Looking for a new gig? Here’s a few positions who organisations want to hire SportsGrad Members for:

📸 Social Media & Marketing Coordinator - Full-time | Sydney

🏆 Media & Events Intern - Internship | Melbourne/Virtual

🏉 Footy Records Team Member - Casual | VIC, NSW, QLD, SA and WA

✏️ Freelance Graphic Designer - Casual | Virtual

💰 Marketing Coordinator - Full-time | Brisbane

📈 Umpiring Match Analysis Team Member - Casual | Melbourne

More details on Discord - look for the 🔥FEATURED JOB🔥 tagged posts, and tell them SportsGrad sent you!

Need help hiring sports industry talent? Get in touch with Ryan.

Community Intake Update 💼

All’s fair in love and sport… New Rookie Membership intake. Opens February 20 💛

Subscribe to the waitlist to be notified with more details!

That’s a wrap!

I hope you’ve all had a great week.

See you at the meetups,

Acacia 💛

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