One thing you will hear from pretty much every person you talk to about getting a job is… network, network, network!
And although, I agree, networking is somewhat of a must in the industry or for your professional career in general, networking is not the end all be all. What really matters is being likable. You could network with 1,000 people and come away with nothing. You could connect with one person who likes you and get a job offer.
A story I often tell is that when I was helping hire Interns for the Portland Trail Blazers, one of the things our Assistant General Manager would tell us would be… “Find someone who will play pickup ball with us, find someone who wants to be in the Fantasy Football League, find someone you will like being around.”
When you work in basketball, it is much more of a lifestyle than a job. You share meals together. You travel together. You workout together. You do almost everything together.
So if you are hiring someone to live and work with you 24/7… do you want someone with the most experience, the best resume, the highest gpa or someone you like?
It’s gonna be someone you like about 100% of the time. Yes, experience matters, skill set is highly important, your resume matters, all of those things allow you to get yourself in the conversation, get yourself an interview… and then, they’re gonna hire someone they like.
This is one of the reasons I recommend you to get face to face with anyone when possible. If one applicant has done phone calls and a zoom and another showed up in person (and they liked them), again, the one they met in person will get the job almost 100% of the time.
When I first started applying for NBA internships, my first interview opportunity came from the Boston Celtics. They told me they didn’t have the budget to fly me there so they would do a Skype call with me. My response, “No worries, I’ll be there this weekend.” I flew to Boston that weekend and interviewed in person.
And what happened? I didn’t get the job. I was devastated.
But what else happened? They liked me. And they recommend me to the Trail Blazers.
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There isn’t necessarily a how to on being likable, unless you count How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. But the more time you spend meeting people, pushing outside your comfort zone, building and maintain relationships, I can guarantee you that you will find your people.
Our mini-guide to working in basketball can be found here by clicking here