Career Authoring in Sport Management: A Four-Step Assignment for Career Development

In the field of sport management, students are often taught the importance of networking with professionals in the industry as they progress through their degrees, in order to enhance employment opportunities. Prior research has indicated that within the sport industry, professionals often hire individuals whom they have connected with on a personal level in the past. Although networking is an important aspect in the field of sport management, there are certainly other elements of career development that can enhance student preparation for their future careers in the industry. With this in mind, the authors developed a career authoring assignment to assist sport management majors in combining various aspects of career development, resulting in a multilayered, semester-long project. The four steps of the assignment include: (1) an autobiography; (2) an informational interview; (3) an educational unit addressing resumes, cover letters, the job interview process, and best practices with LinkedIn, culminating with the development of each document or profile; and (4) an individual meeting with the instructor. Students who completed the four-step assignment consistently identified its role in clarifying their future career desires, growing their network, and gaining confidence in speaking with high-level administrators.