5 Things to Do to Stay Ready (for your next job) During the NBA Season
Working in the NBA
You spent all summer building relationships and contacts around the League. You got some interviews but you didn’t land a job or internship. What’s next?
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The question always seems to be… what’s next?
In past years, NBA interns were typically hired between July-October. But more recently, teams have been hiring interns from July-April which means the door isn’t fully closed yet.
Which makes the ‘knowing what to do in the meantime’ even more challenging.
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Here’s 5 Things You can Do
1. Stay Active in Basketball
One thing I always tell prospective interns is to be working in basketball somewhere. It doesn’t matter if it’s for your High School team, YMCA, College, anything… just be active. There’s a big difference between someone who says, ‘my dream is to work in the NBA!’ but isn’t actively participating in basketball and the person who says, ‘my dream is to work in the NBA but I love basketball so much, I’ll do anything!’
2. Keep in Touch with Your Contacts
If you met people over the summer or even had some interviews, stay connected. When we interviewed perspective interns with the Blazers, we might have phone calls or Zooms with 20 of them, fully qualified. Unfortunately, we typically only had 1 position open. And of those 20, there were likely 10+ that we wanted to hire. Don’t take not getting a job or internship as someone ‘not liking you.’ It very well could be that they simply didn’t have enough positions open or that someone up the chain had someone else they wanted to hire that trumped all the qualified candidates.
3. Continue Putting in Work
There are a lot of great basketball content curators on-line. And more than ever, I am seeing them get jobs and interviews. They post their work on Twitter, LinkedIn, and elsewhere… and teams are noticing. Teams are on the lookout for talent… and sometimes you need to show off your talent. If you can put together quality work, post it. Come at it with a creative flavor, something unique to how you see the game.
4. Stay in Touch with Your Peers
If you’re someone who is looking to work in the NBA, you’ve likely met others along the way who are doing the same thing. One thing I like to say is that they are not your competition. I think it’s better to see them as those who can help you and those that you can help. If one of you gets an opportunity… let’s say as a Video Intern, there’s a good chance you’ll be the Head Video Coordinator or Assistant Video Coordinator within a couple of seasons. And you’re going to be looking for the next talent… which just might be one of your peers.
5. Be Ready
Just last season, I was in touch with teams hiring interns in December, January, and all the way until April. Those that stayed ready, stayed active, and kept in contact with their contacts… were at the top of the list as positions opened up during the season. It’s important to be up-front with those you are currently working with. If you are in the mix for an in-season NBA internship, here’s how I would approach it. I wouldn’t tell my current employer unless it’s a serious consideration by the team and yourself. The team should contact your employer but they don’t always do that. In that case, if you are in the final few, I would talk to your employer and let them know the situation. It’s possible they’ll want you to put a 2 week notice in or it’s possible, they’ll tell you that you’re free to go if you land the opportunity. I just recommend being upfront and honest, for better or worse. You don’t want to burn bridges or relationships. And honestly, NBA teams are really really bad at stringing you along throughout the season which keeps you in the unknown for far too long. That is why I wouldn’t tell your current employer until it’s serious and once it is, be upfront and honest.
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We just wrapped up our 4-week Training Camp Course and are diving into our Full Season course starting November 2, Wednesday at 5:00p PT / 8:00p ET. We will be meeting once a month (first Wednesday) from November – May. All classes are recorded so it’s okay if you can’t be present for each one. If that’s something that would interest you, we’d love to have you! Feel free to let us know if you have any questions @ info@getinthegame101.com