On November 4^th I had the opportunity to attend a Sports Marketing conference in Indianapolis for my Sport Management class. Around 20 students from MU went to the Sheraton to listen to multiple top-level speakers share their personal stories and speak about networking. Listed below are some speakers we got to listen to:

• Melissa Hobley- Vice President of Marketing, ShooWin
• Chris Zeppenfeld- Senior Director of Business Intelligence, Charlotte Hornets
• Vic Gregovits- Senior Vice President, Home Team Marketing
• Brian Gainor- Vice President of Innovation, Property Consulting Group

When we arrived, we ate breakfast. Once everyone finished eating, the presentations began. We sat and listened for a couple of hours to a few speakers telling us about how they got to where they were, and we also listened to any advice they had to give us as mentioned before. Next, we went downstairs and listened to panelists about innovation. This was an hour-long presentation about different innovators and how their business started. After that, we finnnallllly got to eat. During our luncheon, we had the honor of listening to Len Komoroski, CEO of the Cleveland Cavaliers, share his story (the food was amazing too). After this, we went back to our original room to listen to one more speaker.

Overall, it was a great experience. For this being my first conference and networking opportunity, it helped me get a feel of what the real world is like. After listening to professors, panelists, and guest speakers here on campus talk about networking, it was nice to finally get my feet wet on what it was really like. I know that here in my 4 years at MU and in my future careers, I am going to need my connections and utilize them at some point in time. Take my advice: network as much as you can and listen!! One of my new favorite phrases is “Learn in your 20’s and earn in your 30’s.” For me, although I am only 19 years old, my real-world networking started today thanks to MU. I’m happy my professors gave me this opportunity. I’ll leave you with little tips I learned throughout the day, but really can apply to anyone!

• Don’t apply for every job you see
• Cater your resume and cover letter to the position, and add key words
• Find something you like at a coffee place for those quick little morning meetings over coffee
• Be ready to move; as a first year in the field, you’ll probably need to move
• Be ready to be bare-boned; the first year is tough, but the years after only get easier
• Utilize LinkedIn and Teamwork Online
• For guys: Get a good suit and tailor it
• Practice your elevator speech
• Be able to answer the question: “What are 3 things you’re good at?”
• Practice your 30 second sales pitch
• Know who the interviewer/speaker is
• As a first year: get in and get your network so you can get where you really want to be
• Do anything that is asked of you
• Visualize your long-term goal, not your short-term one