How to Find and Land a Sports Internship

Updated January 14, 2019

Are you young, motivated, and either currently enrolled or recently graduated from a program related to athletics? Or perhaps you have a degree in marketing, sales, or sports management and simply love sports on the side? A sports internship may be the next step in your career.

An internship with a sports team will give you a glimpse of how the world of sports really works. You’ll have countless anecdotes and situations to share come interview time for a full-time job in sports, a needed advantage in a competitive job market.

Improve your sports job odds with internship experience

Per the NACE Journal, studies have shown that college students graduating with internship experience are more likely than students without those experiences to find employment after graduating.

Not sure if a sports internship is the right move to landing your dream job? Adding to the research, Look Sharp’s 2016 State of Millennial Hiring Report shows that graduates who complete three or more internships are more likely to land a full-time job, with 81% of graduates reporting that the internships helped their careers.

Rather than coasting through an unpaid internship, immerse yourself in projects and make the most of your time. You’ll fill the pages of your cover letter and resume with superb real-world experiences that sports organizations look for.

Make connections in the sports industry

An athletic internship (even if you’re not athletic) allows you to gain experience in your field, which is itself an opportunity to find the right sports career based on what really interests you. It also allows you to build up what will become your own network, an essential aspect of any career. You might do a little bit of everything throughout your internship with a sports team, and this means you’ll have opportunities to meet dozens of professionals with dozens of specialties, so take advantage of those networking opportunities.

Of course, these internships are just as competitive as a full-time sports job, often because there are not many sports organizations that offer internships. Sometimes the best way to get an internship in sports is to contact professors or school counselors that can point you in the right direction.

Be prepared before applying for sports internships

An increasingly popular way to find the best sports internships is the virtual job board. However, finding a listing is not even half of the battle. You must be prepared:

• Maintain a high GPA, as most internships will require a 3.0 or higher. Also, be prepared to find opportunities available for those who have completed a degree to be more plentiful than for those still in school.
• Have a good resume and cover letter. There are many resources for this, and many job searches will have a review option.
• Know what you’re applying for. You should know what your duties and responsibilities will be beyond being motivated, personable, and a team player. Most internships in sports will require that you interact with the public, as well as your peers and employers, and maybe even the players in some cases. You should do some research into the company itself and the team(s) they are associated with so you have some background knowledge and common ground.
• Make sure you have specific questions about the job itself based on the information you gather when you look at the sports job listing and the company itself. This will show that you are both interested and attentive.
• According to Lauren Berger on Forbes.com, a great way to finish an interview is to tell them that you don’t need time to make a decision and that you know you want the job you are applying for. This leaves a lasting impression that you know what you want and that you are excited to work for that company.

Search our sports job board today

If this seems a little overwhelming, remember that you have resources. Join Jobs in Sports, the largest sports job board available, and gain direct access to the best internships in sports available in the NBA, NFL, and MLB. Who knows. You may find the job of your dreams before you know it.