How to be the Event Manager at Football Australia with Sam Hickson

Learn what it’s like to work in Event Management, his journey to landing dream jobs at the Western Sydney Wanderers and Football Australia and the skills required to make an impact!

Hello friends! 👋

Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast: The ultimate guide to make it in the sports industry!

Each week we share how people made it in sports and tease out their career decisions, work habits, skills, and everything they do that makes them great.

All so you can learn how to get in, get promoted, and get thriving in the sports industry.

Meet Sam Hickson, Event Manager at Football Australia

Meet Sam Hickson, the Football Australia Event Manager with a 10 year plan to work on Brisbane 2032.

Sam has already lived the dream in sport, working on the Socceroos 2022 World Cup Campaign in Qatar, and is about to live it again at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

You may remember Sam from episode #185 where we caught up with him on the ground in Doha immediately after Australia heroically qualified for the WC against Peru.

Well Sam’s back to share all his wisdom about his role, how he got the job, and his plans for the future.

In this episode we cover:

(0:00) - Introduction

(1:40) - Community update

(4:37) - Welcome Sam

(5:16) - Life at Football Australia post the 2022 Men's World Cup

(12:20) - Career journey from uni to FA

(15:04) - A day in the life of an Event Manager

(20:14) - Sam's role at the 2022 Men's World Cup

(25:19) - His 10 year plan to work at Brisbane 2032

(27:59) - Sam's framework for goal setting

(32:03) - 3 key skills of an Event Manager

(35:31) - His favourite parts of the role

(41:56) - What the role looks like between match days

(47:44) - Sam's best pieces of advice he's received

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Community Wins ⭐️

The SportsGrad Community is an exclusive Membership for students, grads, and young professionals who want a job in sport.

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

Rishab Mahajan accepted a role as Team Leader (transport) at FIFA Women’s World Cup

Qasim Mujtaba Naqvi landed a role as Media and Broadcast Volunteer at the FIFA Women’s World Cup

Ryan Walker gained his AFLPA player agent accreditation

Dilekha Goonewardene received an offer from the FIFA Women’s World Cup as a Spectator Access Volunteer

Aakash Vuppala accepted a role as Venue Transport Team Leader at FIFA Women’s World Cup

Andrea Alfonsa Putra landed a role as Media Operations & Broadcast Volunteer at the FIFA Women’s World Cup

SportsGrad Members have landed over 400+ jobs in sport.

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

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Grow your network with like-minded peers and professionals in sport.

Want to land an awesome job in sport?

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Join over 550+ Members enjoying...​

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P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways we can help you:

  1. Grow your network in the sports industry with like-minded peers and professionals at our Meetup Events

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