How Should You Navigate Job Searches as a Diverse Applicant?
Kim Ng has been a trailblazer for women in sports. In 2020, she was named the general manager of the Miami Marlins, the first woman to gain that title in MLB history.
Ng — who is also of Thai-Chinese descent — has extensive experience in baseball. But making this history with the Marlins makes a lot of sense when you think about it. The team took several strides in its diversity and inclusion efforts under former CEO Derek Jeter — one of the few baseball executives, at the time, who was of African American descent.
Jeter may no longer be with the Miami franchise, but many of the changes he brought forward remain today. He hired Caroline O’Connor to be the team’s Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff and she now serves as the Marlins’ Chief Operating Officer. Raquel “Rocky” Egusquiza was promoted as the team’s Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in 2021, in addition to her role as Executive Director of the Miami Marlins Foundation.
Andre Luck — a fellow executive of color — was also brought in by Jeter to serve as the Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service.
Being in one of the hotbed Spanish-speaking communities, and playing in a league made up of 28.5% Latino players, Jeter incorporated a program where the organization (including the front office) must learn Spanish. On the flip side, he also implemented an educational program that helps Latino players and coaches with speaking English.
These are the organizations that diverse candidates want to be a member of. And it can be difficult to seek jobs in the sports industry if you do not see organizations making an effort to be more diverse, inclusive, and equitable.
How should a diverse candidate go about seeking a job in sports? Should you prioritize teams’ DEI efforts in where you apply?
That’s what we’ll discuss for today’s edition of The Breakdown: how to navigate the job search process in the sports world as a job applicant.
1/Know what it means to be a diverse candidate
- Like many businesses, the sports and entertainment industry is striving to change a workforce that needs more diverse people. “Minorities” in the sports business include people of color, women, those from the LBGTQ+ community, etc.
- Consider this: despite the many Black athletes throughout history, no major US pro sports league — NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS, NBA, or WNBA — has had a Black commissioner. Those numbers jump to five for women, all of which come from the WNBA.
- But ladies, your time in sports is now. The emergence of women in sports has grown over the years, but especially over the past two years on the front office level.
- One of the biggest developments in 2022 is that the NFL added women to its Rooney Rule in hiring practices. The rule is in place to bring more minority candidates into the fold with coaching and front office job candidate pools.
- The openness of athletes within the LGBTQ+ community recently has opened the eyes of many front offices. There are organizations celebrating Pride events and there are even four openly gay front office executives who are running MLB franchises.
It’s clear as day that there have been certain communities in sports that have historically been ostracized. The movement to flip that narrative has made progress, but there is so much more that can be done. Before you infiltrate those front offices and start curating a more inclusive culture, you must know which organizations to seek out in job searches.
2/Evaluating organizations
- Make sure you apply to places that have a brand that aligns with your values. Remember: you are a human first and an employee second.
- Speaking of values, what are the values that you want your workplace to embody? All candidates are unique and so are sports businesses. Finding the best organization for you will be easier if you have criteria for what standards you need from your next stop.
- Seek organizations that are not shy about hiring people who may be as diverse as you. The likelihood that these places will continue DEI efforts is higher than those that are just beginning to expand.
This is almost like a role reversal; analyzing teams’ social media content and taking note of what diverse employees may comprise their front offices is like your own form of resume reviewing. So now that you know what to look for before applying for jobs, here are some best practices to consider when applying for jobs as a diverse candidate.
3/Best practices for diverse candidates
- Reach out to diverse staff members in the organizations you are pursuing. Who has better intel about a team’s inclusivity efforts than someone working for them?
- Apply to positions that align in some way with your skills and experiences. That way, organizations are more inclined to hire you due to your talent as an asset.
- Read those feeds. You can always consider your own opinion on organizations, but you must also factor in the public’s perception of them to get a fuller picture.
- Seek organizations that have Employee Resource Groups to ensure that once you are brought in your thoughts and requests are being addressed. If yours does not have one yet, work to get one set up!
- Stay involved. Whether you are providing resources to educate staff, or you set up DEI event efforts outside of the office and invite those in the organization, being active about your stance is most important.
There’s no perfect formula, but these practices can help you land with the right organization. Once you’re in the building, though, how can you make sure the DEI efforts are continuous?
4/What to do once in the building
- Keep track of your organization’s Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. It is great to see teams join in on community outreach, but look to see if the organization’s mission statement is in accord with its actions.
- Check in with your organization’s hiring team. If you feel that the hiring team needs to adhere to more diverse hiring practices, or needs more diverse members, voice that opinion.
- What are your organization’s diversity and inclusion practices? Make sure you share feedback on what those practices may be and how they can improve coming from the perspective of a diverse employee.
Consider this message from Diversity, Equity, & Inclusions Program Lead Chanelle Reynolds of the Washington Commanders. In her four years with the team, she has seen an overhaul in the organization’s efforts to provide a more inclusive workplace. She was a part of TeamWork Online’s Diversity and Inclusion panel back in February:
“It’s definitely time that we continue to hold these companies accountable to do what they say they’re going to do. A few years ago, it was a very big deal to have DE&I implemented across all sports teams. So we want to make sure that it’s not a trend and it’s a lifestyle. … You want to make sure that who you are is represented in the company’s values, and if it’s not, bring it up in the interview; call these companies out.
“They won’t be offended. I’m sure they’ll be grateful that you all noticed something that maybe they overlooked.”
Conclusion:
Maria Serrano Valdehueza, Vice President of Ticketing for the Golden State Warriors, also shared this message at TeamWork Online’s D&I Panel:
“Be your authentic self. … What does authentic self actually mean? It means having the courage to be true to your own voice. Imposter syndrome is real, especially in rooms and spaces where you’re the only one who looks like you. How do you lean into those? Every voice should matter.”
Although diverse job candidates have been left on the sidelines historically, the developments in recent years have instituted legitimate change.
In 2019, Keith Gill became the first Black commissioner of a Football Bowl Subdivision conference with the Sun Belt. That same year, Kevin Warren — also the NFL’s first Black Chief Operating Officer — was named commissioner of the Big Ten, making him the first Black person to be the head of a ‘Power 5’ NCAA conference.
Since Gayle Benson’s husband, Tom, passed away in 2018, she has been able to run two sports franchises: the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans. When Tom bought the Saints in 1985 for $70.2 million, who could have envisioned the team being valued today at $2.82 Billion.
Of the 30 MLB teams, 29 of which have held Pride-themed games and events. The MLB has also embraced former player Billy Beane, as the lone openly gay MLB veteran became the league’s first Ambassador for Inclusion in 2014. He went on to serve as the league’s Vice President of Social Responsibility & Inclusion and is now Vice President and Special Assistant to Commissioner Bud Selig.
There is a clear push for diversity and inclusion, but most of these achievements have come in recent years. As much progress has been made, there is so much more to come.
What’s the next step? We’ll be looking more specifically into other sectors of DEI topics in sports. Until then, check out our first diversity and inclusion Breakdown and keep searching for those roles with TeamWork Online!
