Finding the Right Fit For Your Sports Career – Work in Sports Podcast e091 - a podcast by Brian Clapp - Work in Sports

Dr. Samuel Todd researches the human resources side of the sports industry and shares his vast experience crunching the data regarding sports careers. Lots to learn in this episode!Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.Data, Data, Data!For those of you born in the 1970’s or fans of old reruns you probably recognized that was an awful rendition of a classic moment in Brady Bunch history.I hated the Brady Bunch so I’m not sure why I did that, other than to focus in on the truth of today’s sports world.We are finally a data driven industry.For decades the business world has relied on data to inform their decision making, vast spreadsheets with forecasts and projections and ROI, AOV and EBITDA …but in the world of sports we so often rely on instincts, gut reactions and experience to forge our path.Sometimes this works magic.As the clock wound down on Super Bowl 49 between the Seahawks and Patriots – with the Seahawks driving for what would be a game-clinching touchdown, data said “Coach Belichick, call a timeout to preserve as much time as you can, allowing tom brady a chance to return serve.”But he didn’t.He says he saw panic, indecisiveness on the Seahawks sideline, so he forced them into action rather than giving them time to relax. His gut told him their frantic condition may result in a bad decision.It did. You probably remember the rest. Russell Wilson to Malcolm Butler… game over, it what I still think to this day was the best super bowl I’ve ever watched. We can debate that later if you dare.Then again, look at the data world. Teams like the Astros, Spurs, Red Sox and Falcons have used it masterfully to help put their teams in position to win more often than not.Actual results used to project future occurrences.Every team in sports employs analytics staff to help them find that hidden formula of success. Marketing teams pour through data to find out why a campaign worked or didn’t. Sales teams use dynamic ticket pricing to maximize revenue…again by manipulating and understanding data.The quest to collect and manipulate data is all around us.But you know where it isn’t used enough? In human resources. What if there was data to understand where you fit in the sports industry. Or how an employer could quickly and efficiently find the right match for their job opening. Or find out exactly why one person succeeds in a role and another fails.This, in a roundabout way is the plight of our guest this week. Dr. Samuel Todd studies the HR side of the sport industry; in particular, exploring the way in which the job searches of sport industry hopefuls are different than those for non-sport industry jobs. His findings thus far are fascinating, and will help you form your perspective and expectations and you dive deep into your sports industry career. You’ll notice I geek out a little in this interview because his concepts and analysis are exciting and I know will help you understand yourself a little better. It put many things in focus for me.So let’s get to it – here is Dr. Samuel Todd Associate Dean at the University of South Carolina!Questions for Dr. Samuel Todd About Your Fit in the Sports Industry1: We live in a much more data driven world than ever before, or at least it appears that way ever since Moneyball, analytics and Brad Pitt made it cool – as a researcher you focus on the way in which job searches of sports industry hopefuls differ from those in non-sports industry jobs.We’ll get into the weeds, but just as an overview in an over-arching sense, what has the data told you about this difference between sports jobs seekers and non—sports industry job seekers?2: About 10 times a week I get emails from people saying “I am passionate about working in sports” Have...

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