IZZY WEBER

3rd Year Sport Business Student

[izzyweber1]

Entry 8

Your overall reflections on the internship and your studies.

My studies over the last three years are hard to summarise. There have been many highs and even a few lows but majority of my time at Holmesglen has been very enjoyable and memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Reflecting on who I was and the work I was producing in my first years to now is extraordinary. I have grown so much and  I never would have thought I would be where I am today, I would have never thought that I could get to where I am today and I am so thankful for all the staff and classmates that have helped shape me into the person and employee I am three years later. From not being able to attend class in person for majority of my first two years due to covid, I was able to find new ways to keep motivated and still produce work to a high quality. (Smith & Suby-Long, 2019) states that reflecting and sharing own experiences can help to identify times of leadership, authenticity and resilience. I think from going into uni with no ATAR and no real idea of what I wanted to do, other than my love for sport has shown me how I can use my voice in this space as a women, that I can work hard towards my goals and that nothing can stop me from doing what I want to do. 

To summarise, my internship at Ballpark has helped me to prepare myself for my future career objectives and my own professional development. Through the challenges faced, skills gained, and lessons learnt I am now able to reflect on some of the amazing opportunities and work I created. It has allowed me to find my passion and what I want to do in the future, while also helped me gain confidence in the sport industry and add great experience to my resume. It is proven that during university, immersive internships in your chosen field of study are essential to successful outcomes after graduation (Colleges of distinction, 2017). This internship has put me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to develop and practice being in new environments to further help me become the professional I want to be. Throughout the 228 hours I got to work at one of Australia’s biggest media organisations, meet new people, face new challenges and gain a whole great deal of experience within the industry, which will hold me in good stead to find my future job and to reach my career goals. 

References:

Colleges of distinction. (2017). The importance of internships in college. https://collegesofdistinction.com/advice/the-importance-of-internships-in-college/.

Smith, D., & Suby-Long, S. (2019). Women leaders and narratives: the power of reflecting on purpose and career. Advancing women in leadership, 13(20), 1-11. 

[izzyweber1]

Entry 7

Reflection on your supervisor evaluations and how these align with your future career professional development requirements (these will be available at different times for individual students)

Evaluations and feedback are usually gathered to evaluate the quality of an experience and performance by a supervisor, these can pinpoint the strengthens, identify areas for improvement and understand the factors that contribute to supervisor’s satisfaction (Cladera, 2021). Feedback is a key element of the incremental process of ongoing learning and assessment. Providing frequent and ongoing feedback is a significant means of improving achievement in learning, and effective feedback assists the learner to reflect on their work and their strategies so they can make adjustments to make further progress (Victoria State Government, 2022). 

In my first evaluation, after 100 hours at Ballpark my supervisor stated that I have been a great asset to the team and that I am always happy to take on any task and that I can retain key information learned the week prior to continue to assist each week. An overview of my tasks and responsibilities was that I had undertaken building event proposals, inputting data to team event planners, building and balancing of event budgets, record keeping of client entitlements, building of sporting personality bios and researching for key events. My strengths included, ability to retain information, understanding a task from initial discussion and undertaking with little assistants required and that I was also friendly and polite. Areas for improvement included, taking the opportunity to network with those around me in particular larger teams with varied skill sets and asking questions as much as possible. Overall, scoring a four out of five I am very happy with the feedback and suggestions that were made. 

In my second evaluation, after 200 hours completed, I was met with a checklist of things and how I ranked. I received four exceptional markings in presentation, punctuality, quality of work and resourcefulness. I received eight markings in very good and three markings in satisfactory which included, assimilation into organisation, initiative and leadership. My supervisor stated that I had reached the goals of the internship as I was a great help to the team and was able to complete a range of tasks and projects. Skills developed were research, problem solving and data entry. With a total score of 18 out of 20 for my final evaluation. 

Reflecting on the evaluations and feedback received, I am mostly happy with how I progressed and was able to finish of my internship. I believe if I was given these evaluations throughout my internship, I would have been able to try and improve on the skills listed. Looking forward to being employable I will know that I need to shoe more leadership to network and talk to more people and to come out of my shell and be able to join the culture better and to be able to ask more questions to more people.  

References:

Cladera, M. (2021). An application of importance-performance analysis to students’ evaluation of teaching. Educational assessment, evaluation and accountability, 33(4), 701-715. 

Victoria State Government. (2022). Feedback and reporting.https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/practice/Pages/insight-feedback.aspx.

[izzyweber1]

Entry 6

Career aspirations including goal setting (you will arrange an interview with the Holmesglen Skills & Job Centre to review your CV, interview skills and preparedness for applying for work post studies.)

Before starting my internship, I didn’t know exactly the right job for me and what I wanted to do in my professional career, besides working in the sporting industry. I hoped that my internship would help me find what I like doing, what I’m good at the possibilities for jobs in the industry. I found my passion for event and media operations and continued to evolve in my marketing and public relations knowledge and understanding. 

An important aspect is understanding how having an effective resume and cover letter, as these are more than likely going to be remembered by an organisation and to really give a good first impression (Akpan & Notar, 2013). This was my first goal to actually have an effective resume and cover letter to get the internship that I desired. After I had gone through the process of applying and interviewing for the different internship roles, I thought my resume and cover letter were up to an appropriate level. 

About 150 hours into my internship I set up a meeting with the Holmesglen Skills & Job Centre to review my CV and help me to apply for jobs after the completion of my internship. I went into the meeting with my cover letter and resume for a job I was applying for at Box Hill Hawks Football Club. In the interview I got feedback and suggestions on my resume and cover letter, with only minor adjustments needed. This session gave me confidence and I felt ready to send in my application for the job where I was lucky enough to get shortlisted for an interview. 

My career aspirations are still up in the air, after working in Media Operations at the Australian Open, it is still a dream of mine to keep working at events and one day get to travel with my job. Setting goals is not something I do often but as Indeed (2022) states, setting goals can help you focus on your professional development, show employers you care about your work and make it easier to plan for your future. After achieving the goal of graduating university, I will look to apply for jobs and hopefully land a role at an AFL club. Looking back on my journey with writing resumes, applying for jobs and my interview skills, I never thought I would get to this place of feeling confident and prepared to apply and interview for any job I want.

References:

Akpan, J., & Notar, E. (2013). How to Write a Professional Knockout Resume to Differentiate Yourself. College Student Journal, 46(4), 880–891. 

Indeed. (2021). How to set long-term career goals (and why they’re important). https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/career-goal-setting.

[izzyweber1]

Entry 5

Achievements and milestones (both technically and professionally, during the internship and personally). 

Throughout my time with SEN and Ballpark I reached a number of milestones and achievements both technically, professionally and personally.

Firstly, applying for internships and receiving interviews for all 5 of the ones I applied for made me feel like my work was up to standard and that I was capable of doing well for any company that I chose. Picking from my top two out of Ballpark and Aus Cycling, I felt that Ballpark and SEN was closer to my future career aspirations and would be a better fit for me. 

Some small milestones I achieved:

Completing my first 9-5 day in the SEN office

Getting my own laptop and swipe card

Creating my first ever piece of work for Ballpark

Sending an official work email

Although these are small, they were all important in my first 40 hours. Once I hit 40 hours, I was able to do my first evaluation with Sharyn and talk about my experiences so far. I could reflect on the start of my journey and also look ahead at what I wanted to achieve throughout my internship. I found it was nice to talk about the things I had done with someone else and really get an understanding of the opportunity I had.

Some milestones I achieved with my work outputs:

Creating proposals and budgets for major partner trips 

Creating itineraries for events, experiences and activations 

Creating sporting events and sales documents 

Helping run activations such as at the Macca’s kick 2 kick on grand final day 

These are the key outputs that I produced over my 228 hours and some of the work that I am very proud of, with my favourite being the activation on AFL Grand Final Day.

Lastly, the technical milestones:

Completing my 100-hour evaluation 

Completing my 200-hour evaluation 

Completing my 228 hours at Ballpark 

Presenting my internship showcase

It is essential to review progress at various stages, and millstones created by the outcome requirements. They are the critical checkpoints that assure yourself, your employer and your educator that in this instance are as per the plan (Saviom, 2021). Achieving goals has helped me grow professionally and personally as I have been able to show commitment, personal responsibility and resilience (Amanchukwu et al., 2015). I am very grateful to have been able to have this experience in my internship and I believe it will help me in good stead for my future career aspirations. 

References:

Amanchukwu, R., Stanley, G., & Olulube, N. (2015). A Review of Leadership Theories, Principles and Styles and Their Relevance to Educational Management. Management, 5(1), 6-14, Google Scholar.

Saviom. (2021). What are project millstones, and why is it important?. https://www.saviom.com/blog/what-are-project-milestones-and-why-is-it-important/.

[izzyweber1]

Entry 4

Challenges you faced (the nature of the work, working hours, organisation, motivation, tabling of ideas). 

Before I started my internship, I felt was a little apprehensive but definitely felt ready. Listening to past students talk about their internship experiences was great but also scary as you start to think am I really up to this level yet? Besides the internal fears of maybe not being ready or not being good enough, I felt through my previous experiences of working and also working with in the sports industry that I was ready to take on the task and complete 228 hours at Ballpark. 

Some of the challenges I did face however during my internship included, wanting to fit into the culture, as Hoye et al. (2018) states is a key factor to success and holding a strong image to the public, I felt that as I got over my nerves and shyness I was able to assimilate easy into the culture at SEN. Staying motivated was also another challenge, as I found it hard to stay motivated throughout the entirety of my internship as it can be a hard grind sometimes and not being paid for your work can be very unmotivating but I chose to look at the bigger picture and understand that I need this experience to get to where I want to be. Travelling into the city, not getting paid and not always doing the so-called fun jobs can be tough but it is all worth it in the end and for the hours spent on public transport, personally not much of a morning person so that was also a challenge for me. Nerves, I think anyone who doesn’t have nerves about starting at a new place is lying. It can be a very daunting experience, I felt like I was as well prepared as I could be but still was nervous on my first day. Once I got to meet people and know my way around, I was much more relaxed and comfortable. Most of us feel okay about asking a few questions from our friends, but it's easy to start worrying that you're bothering the busy people around you, even if you've done the due diligence to answer your questions and do your work (Atlassian, 2019). 

Deadlines, going through uni and other work I didn’t think deadlines would be a challenge but only being able to access the work you’re doing for two days a week there becomes new challenges in finishing your work on time and when your boss needs it. High standards, it is one thing having deadlines and getting the work done but there isn’t much point If it isn’t at a high standard. Always keeping my work to my high standards while also trying to get it done on time was another challenge I faced. Showing initiative, considering nerves and staying motivated, showing initiative was also a challenge faced. Although I think I did my best to always ask if I could help or learning new things at the start while you’re trying to find your feet, asking questions and being proactive is a challenge.

References:

Atlassian. (2019). Common challenges of interns and grads and the solutions to them.https://www.atlassian.com/company/careers/resources/career-growth/common-challenges-of-interns-and-grads

Hoye, R., Smith, A., Nicholson, M. & Stewart, B. (2018). Sport management principles and applications. (5th ed.). Routledge.

[izzyweber1]

Entry 3

Becoming an effective team member and contributor: how did you utilise the support of your supervisor/co workers to help build your confidence and become more efficient as an intern (this may include feedback, training or other support/opportunities.)

Teamwork is important for organisations, especially in today’s world. Studies show that organizations that emphasize teamwork innovate faster, see mistakes more quickly, find better solutions to problems, and attain higher productivity (Docket, 2017). Being a good contributor to your team includes, doing what you do best- utilising your skills to your full potential, knowing your position, understating the team goals, being reliable and staying flexible (Green et al., 2013). 

To become an effective team member and contributor you also need to be able to utilise the help around you. Going through challenges as a new intern it is important to have a supportive supervisor and co-workers and highlights the need to be in such a supportive workplace. I found it very easy to find common interests with my co-workers as they had also been in my position before and are now working with in the sporting industry. No two people are ever the same and you come across different people with different things that make them tick. Being able to adjust and be adaptable is important and I think something that I did well during my internship. Once I felt like I belonged I was able to more confidently share my ideas and contribute more effectively and work more efficiently as I was able to make my work my own.  

In my first evaluation after completing 100 hours, my supervisor stated that I had been a great assistance to the team, that I was happy to take on any task and was able to retain key information. On a more personal note she stated that I was also friendly and polite. After seeing this evaluation, I felt like I was a valued member of the team and gained a bit of confidence with my work and sharing my own thoughts and ideas. She also wrote that I should take on the opportunity to network with those around me, particular those in larger teams with varied skills and experience and to also ask questions and take in as much as possible. This allowed me to realise that I need to come out of my shell a bit more and show the team what I have to offer and to also learn and experience new things of different team members that I don’t work so closely with and be able to gain a bigger reach of the workplace and the industry.

References:

Docket. (2017). The importance of teamwork in your organisation. https://www.dockethq.com/resources/importance-of-teamwork-in-your-organization/.

Green, B., Graybeal, P., & Madison, R. (2013). An exploratory study of the effect of professional internships on student’s perception of the importance of employment traits. Journal of education for business, 86(2), 100-110. 

[izzyweber1]

Entry 2

Finding your feet in the internship: induction, and completing initial tasks (i.e., the first 40 hours discussion) 

During the first 40 hours of my internship at SEN, I was going into the Southbank office every Tuesday and Wednesday. This gave me my first real taste of being a professional employee in the industry and again brought new challenges. One was being motivated to travel into the city twice a week and also nerves. It probably took me a week or two to get comfortable one coming into the office and two being in the office. It was also vital that I made a good impression on my first day and throughout the entirety of my internship so being well dressed, speaking well and being organised are a few things I pride myself on and that are easy to achieve (Langer et al., 2019). 

Firstly, going through the induction process which is very important as it allows for new employees settle into their role quicker, better understand their role and how it fits into the organisation (Employsure, 2022) helped me to establish a good relationship with my supervisor and get started on some work. Once I felt like I belonged, and I had work to do was when I think I really ‘found my feet’. My first day I got a tour, my key pass and a laptop. It really did feel like I was a new employee. I sat with my supervisor and she sent me a few different tasks to do throughout the day, starting with data and spreadsheet work and ending with creating flyers, posters and itineraries for upcoming sporting events.

 I found that my first 40 hours at SEN and Ballpark went very quickly. It took me about 4 weeks to get up to 40 hours and to then complete my first evaluation. Throughout the 40 hours I did a range of different tasks and my role included support to the events team in delivering brand activations, experiences and events, booking weekly hospitality and ticketing to national sporting events and developing sales presentations and proposals for events and consumer experiences.  Most of the tasks included, creating itineraries for events, experiences and activations and creating sporting events and sales documents. 

References:

Employsure. (2022). Induction Program For New Employees. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=why+are+inductions+important+for+new+staff+memebrs&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8.

Langer, M., Konig, C., & Papathanasiou, M. (2019). Highly automated job interviews: acceptance under the influence of stakes. International journal of selection and assessment, 27(3), 217-234. 

[izzyweber1]

Entry 1

Your preparedness prior to commencing your internship and how you assimilated into the organisations culture.

As my studies came to an end, I knew all that was left was for me to complete my internship. Before completing and applying for my chosen internship I was looking for an organisation that I thought would best fit me, what I wanted to do in my future career and a place that I felt I could assimilate best into the culture. It is well researched that internships tend to significantly enhance a student or graduates’ employability (Silva, 2016) so I knew that whatever internship I chose I wanted to do the best of my ability and work hard to become employable.

As an organisations culture is built from a group of internal values and behaviours in an organisation (Market Business News 2019) this was one of the questions I asked in my interview to see if they aligned with who I am and what I wanted at my proposed workplace. Therefore, my choice to join Ballpark I felt was the right one for me and my future. Although, my preparedness prior to commencing my internship at the Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) or Ballpark was mixed as I felt that through my personal experience with previous jobs, I knew what was expected in a professional work environment. Though I still did have nerves leading into my first day and coming into the South Bank office as it is intimidating to walk into a new place with new people, commencing a new internship role. I think I prepared myself well by having clear goals and outcomes that I wanted to achieve before starting my internship, this included saying yes to everything and finding out what I like and dislike doing. 

Assimilating into the culture at SEN and more importantly my team in Ballpark was seamless. The team at Ballpark and the whole collective of people at the SEN were all welcoming and engaged in learning about the intern and team member. I think always wanting to say yes and helping anyone in the office in any way I could helped me not only get to know more people but also allowed other people to get to know me and see my work. It may have started off doing the jobs no one else wanted to do but if I was going to give anyone one piece of advice when interning it would be to say yes to the jobs no one else wants to do, which always seems to impress the people around you. I believe the best way to fit in is by doing the work, being approachable and asking questions. It isn’t easy walking into a big organisation like SEN as an intern, as prepared as I was, there still a few nerves, anxiety and intimidation.  I was very lucky to have such a welcoming team around me and the nerves and anxiety quicky faded. I never felt as though I was just an intern, but I felt like I was really apart of the team from the start, and I was excited to get to work and show them what I could do and that I could be an asset to the organisation.

References:

Market Business News. (2019). What is organisational culture? Definition and examples.https://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/organizational-culture-definition-examples/.

Silva, P. (2016). Stairway to employment? Internships in higher education. Higher education, 72(6), 703-721.

[izzyweber1]

Entry 7

Reflection on the subject with respect to your starting point, new learnings and experiences, and how this will assist you from a career development perspective.

Transition to professional practice was one of the most rewarding classes I have done over my three years at Holmesglen as I could see my personal growth from the first class to my last. At the beginning I didn’t think I was capable nor ready to start an internship within the sporting industry. Creating a brand-new LinkedIn account and learning different interview techniques and how to correctly write and format cover letters and resumes I am very excited to put all this work to the test and apply and hopefully accept my dream internship. 

Understanding my own skills and qualities was a big first step into being able to answer the key criteria sections of applications and I have now been able to create a good base to answer these questions when applying for jobs in the future. I am proud of the way I was able to conduct myself through all the assessments but especially the interview assessment as I am proud of coming out of my comfort zone and performing well on the day. 

Being able to hear from past students and industry professionals also helped me gain good awareness of what it takes to not only get into the professional workplace but also excel. I felt scared listening to these at the start of semester as I felt that there was a lot of internal work to be done so that I could potentially reach this level. Although, throughout the class I have grown and gained so much personally that I finally feel ready to start my internship and when applying for jobs in the future I can use what I have learnt this year as great foundation. Without completing this subject, I would never have been able to feel confident in sharing my own ‘elevator pitch’ and talking about myself in a professional manner. I can’t wait to get my results from all of my assessments and use this feedback to give myself the best chance of landing my dream internship 

[izzyweber1]

Entry 6 

Critical reflection on your experience of and performance in your interview practices and assessment. How have you developed your technique? What do you need to focus on? Use your peer feedback to assist.

During the semester we have had the chance to practice and refine our own interview skills and ways that we can improve and also understanding what we do well. It is important to make a good first impression to an employee so being well dressed, speaking well and being organised are easy first steps to take when entering an interview (Langer et al., 2019). I have struggled in the past being able to talk about myself in a positive light but throughout this process I have been able to improve on this and have a clear answer when asked ‘tell me about yourself?’. 

A technique called STAR was also used within the interviews as it allows for you to be able to draw on a situation and set the scene, next to describe the task, followed by the action explaining what you did and finally ending with the result and sharing the outcome. I felt like I used this technique well and it also gave me a good start and finish point when answering questions.

The peer feedback I received was to try and keep eye contact and talk slower, I tend to talk quickly naturally but I find when I’m nervous this becomes even worse. I have become quite comfortable in this situation throughout the sessions and am confident and excited to be tested when being interviewed for real internships in the upcoming weeks. 

During the interview for the assessment I felt nervous but as the conversation started, I was able to draw on the feedback and tips I had received during class and left feeling I did quite well. I believe from the very session until my assessment interview I have devolved my interview skills immensely using the STAR technique and preparing well. I felt relaxed and sure of myself when answering questions, I think small things like this helps to ensure the interviewer that you know what you are talking about and believe in what you are saying. 

Langer, M., Konig, C., & Papathanasiou, M. (2019). Highly automated job interviews: acceptance under the influence of stakes. International journal of selection and assessment, 27(3), 217-234. 

[izzyweber1]

Entry 5 

The importance of organisational culture and being a high performing intern and team member.

Organisational culture has continued to evolve and become increasingly more important, it relates to the shared values, beliefs and views held by the employees within an organisation (Taylor et al., 2018). As more and more companies are seeing the benefits of sustaining a balanced culture it is becoming a key factor to success as it allows for companies to have clear values, attract and retain staff as well as hold a strong brand image to the public (Hoye, 2018). 

I believe through being exposed to a number of workplaces I have seen different cultures and how different businesses operate. I want to be the best possible intern I can be as the opportunity of receiving an internship in the industry is not something I take lightly. Using my qualities of being reliable, organised and professional will help me in good stead to be a ‘high performance’ intern and team member. During my process of finding an internship that fits me best I will be asking the employer questions about the culture of the organisation and how they like to operate. 

There are many examples of sport teams that have shown great organisational culture and one that comes to mind is the Australian Women’s Cricket Team. With success both on and off the field they are held to a very high regard in the public and as someone who follows the team closely, they do a very good job of possessing the qualities of organisational culture. 

Organisations usually have clear objectives and requirements to create the culture, most use mission and vision statements to follow and track their goals and to ensure success. Understanding what organisational culture allows to be in the ideal work environment for yourself to flourish. I think that I am able to adapt quickly to different situations and I believe that through my experience and the skills and qualities I have I can positively add to any culture and I will do my best to reach the goals and values set out by whatever organisation I get the chance to work at. 

Hoye, R., Smith, A., Nicholson, M. & Stewart, B. (2018). Sport management principles and applications. (5th ed.). Routledge.

Taylor, W., Suminski, R., Das, B., Paxton., & Craig, D. (2018). Organisational culture implications for workforce interventions to reduce sitting time among office-based workers: A systematic review. National library of medicine, 14(2), 1661-1669.

[izzyweber1]

Entry 4 

Critical analysis of your internship applications relative to best practice using peer feedback.

I was very excited to complete assessment two which was creating three internship applications from last years PDs. Looking through the different internship opportunities started to make me think about where I want to complete my own and what I want to get out of the opportunity of being able to work within the sports industry. I decided I wanted to apply for the marketing internship at Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic centre (GESAC), the commercial partnerships intern at the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) and the internship at Table Tennis Victoria (TTV). I chose these three as I believed my skill set was best suited to the criteria and the roles piqued my interest in marketing and commercial partnerships. 

Firstly, I had to create a resume suited to these roles and received some peer reviewed feedback about my formatting and what things I could possibly change or take out. Using this feedback, I was able to narrow my focus on my work experiences and skills while also writing a new and improves section on who I am and what my aspirations are. The cover letters on the other hand challenged me a bit more as I haven’t had to write one in such a professional manner before. 

The value of participating in an internship has been long recognised and that having a practical experience incorporated into the academic preparation of a student would enhance the overall value of the educational experience (Green et al., 2011). It is clear how important this internship is, and it Is probably the most exciting about this degree. Having been able to build up my skill set over the last three years has held me in good stead to be able to test myself and finally put my learning into action within the sports industry. 

I believe that my cover letter and resume are up to a very high standard and have created a great layout and format for the future. Something I can improve on is proofreading my work and getting someone to check over it before submission.  

Green, B., Graybeal, P., & Madison, R. (2011). An exploratory study of the effect of professional internships on student’s perception of the importance of employment traits. Journal of education for business, 86(2), 100-110. 

[izzyweber1]

Entry 3 

The importance of personal marketing, branding and your unique value proposition. What is your brand and what areas do you need to improve?

Personal marketing and branding can be defined as diverse methods to present yourself in an attractive way, through verbal communication or digitally (Burchell et al., 2013). It is also the ability of one’s self to show the best parts of their personality and skill set to a business or organisation. Being able to ‘sell’ yourself and provide your own unique proposition allows for you to establish your image as a professional by communicating your values, skills, experiences and vision to potential employees. 

One way of marketing yourself is by creating a LinkedIn page that gives people a great understanding of who you are, what you have done and the skills and goals you possess. Before this class I did not have a LinkedIn, account and was nervous to create one and put myself out there. I decided I was going to look at other people’s accounts and see how they were marketing themselves to potential employees, adding your skills, work experience and volunteer work makes for a great looking profile. Now my account has all of my work experience, my skills, my hobbies and a little blurb on who I am and what my career goals are, I even have 35 connections and try to interact with others on my feed. 

My brand is that I am a female looking to work in the sports industry with lots of passion and experience in sport. I think that narrowing my focus on my career aspirations and not being afraid to let people know my goals is something I can work on to improve my overall brand image. 

When understanding the importance of personal marketing and branding, it is vital to recognise that it is developed over time and through trial and error meaning there are different paths and journeys for everyone using a host of strategies and techniques along the way (Hinge, 2018). I look to make more improvements on my own personal brand using different strategies I have learnt throughout these classes and I’m excited to use my learnings to try and best sell myself when doing internship interviews later in the semester. 

Burchell, K., Rettie, R., & Patel K. (2013). Marketing social norms: Social marketing and the social norm approach. Journal of consumer behaviour, 12(1), 1-9. 

Hinge. (2018). Personal branding strategy: A roadmap for professionals, experts and executives. https://hingemarketing.com/blog/story/personal-branding-strategy-a-roadmap-for-professionals-experts-and-executives

[izzyweber1]

Entry 2 

Your preparedness for an internship: your skills (and skills gap), and the importance of a resume and cover letter with respect to the current status of your own documents.

I believe that I am prepared to do what it takes to firstly gain an internship and then be able to produce work for the company at a very high and professional level. During this course so far, I have had trouble expressing my own skills but throughout learning the importance of being able to highlight my own personal skills through verbal communication and through my cover letter and resume I have been able to sell my self better. We have also used strategies such as asking a loved one, friend or family member to highlight some attributes that we possess, I have been told I am reliable, confident and organised person. I think one thing that I need to work on in relation to my skill set is my ability to put myself out of my comfort zone and share more of my own ideas and I also believe that you can never ask enough questions which is also something I am keen to develop and work on.  

Another important aspect is understanding how having an effective resume and cover letter as these are more than likely going to be remembered by an organisation and to really give a good first impression (Akpan & Notar, 2012). Before starting this class, I thought I had a good resume but as I soon found out there is always way to improve and one major thing was creating a layout and design that best worked for me. I found the format of the cover letter interesting and worked hard to perfect my writing to be able to be concise but also get the important information across. I need to improve on writing my key selection criteria as I believed that I could have sold myself better and used better examples of work and experiences I have previously had. 

By the end of this class I hope to have nailed down my resume and cover letter so that I feel confident going into my internship interviews and any job interview in the future. Learning the basic layout and format is a skill I believe that every person should take the time to learn and improve on as it is such an important skill to have and having an effective resume and cover letter is a key to being successful when going for an internship or job. 

Akpan, J., & Notar, E. (2012). How to Write a Professional Knockout Resume to Differentiate Yourself. College Student Journal, 46(4), 880–891. 

[izzyweber1]

Entry 1

About me 

I am 21 years old and in my third and last year studying a bachelor of sport business at Holmesglen where I have integrated my love of sport to excel in my education. Sport has always been a huge part of my life and a key why that I identify myself. I have played a numerous amount of sports such as tennis, taekwondo, football and both indoor and outdoor cricket. Throughout the years I have been lucky enough to represent my state and country in Taekwondo and cricket where I have learnt to deal with pressure, working in teams and to have resilience. 

My work experiences have been both paid and volunteer work as I was able to work at Cricket Victoria throughout a number of years doing different roles from participation, coaching and administrative work. I have also worked in hospitality at KFC and Fifty bird’s café where I was able to work within a team under the pressures of time restrictions and having to have the upmost customer service at all times. My current job where I am part time doing vendor administration has helped me understand how to communicate to high level stakeholders and also the challenges of working five to three-day weeks juggling sport and uni. My dream job and where my passion lies would be to eventually get a job in sport marketing, sport sponsorship or Public Relations within the sports industry. Working within sports such as the AFL is very high on my radar as I have a vast passion for the sport.  

During my high school years, I never believed that I would attend university and be able to produce the standard of work that it takes to do well in a bachelor’s course. After gaining some confidence and having the drive to succeed I have been lucky enough to have almost finished the course while always maintaining and producing a high level of work. I think that I have improved on a variety of skills including my writing, content creation, public speaking and time management which I hope to use to my advantage when conducting my internship. 

My goal internship would be marketing or sponsorship in the football industry, VAFA has caught my attention as I see a lot of potential to grow and develop there as well as them having a great team of people in their organisation. 

[izzyweber1]

Entry 4

Olympic games legacy 

Case study: London 2012 Olympic Games 

Almost nine years on, London 2012 is continuing to touch loves and benefit communities living around the Olympic Park. It’s a legacy that goes far beyond the physical changes set in motion by the games, delivering on a vision embedded in community impact from the start. Some of the long-term benefits in areas spanning health, social inclusion, education, jobs, housing and community engagement. Some statistics include, 111,000 more jobs have been created across the host boroughs since 2012, of the 70,000 London 2012 Games makers over 35,000 continue to volunteer in their communities and 1 million plus people continue to visit the Olympic park every year (International Olympic Committee, 2012). 

The international Olympic Committee (IOC) requires cities that bid for the Olympic games to formulate a legacy strategy. Usually these bids include legacy outcomes including, destination image, tourism, cost, venues, housing and social legacies. Legacy has played an important role in the evolution of the Olympic Games as they have exploded in size, scope and cost over the past 30 years (Agha et al., 2012). More specifically one of the impacts used to justify investment in hosting an Olympic Games has been their assumed impact on tourism and participation ((Weed, 2014). The extent to which London 2012 strategically planned for a wide range of socio-economic legacies, like participation where the Olympics inspire the general population to engage in sport and physical activity (Ramchandani et al., 2019). 

As the Olympic Games have grown to become the world’s biggest sporting event, their impact on a host city and country has also increased. The IOC is convinced that the games need to create more than just good memories from 16 days of competition (Olympic World Library, 2018).  The aim is to convince local populations that the games will bring them net benefits, compared to investing this money into other sectors such as health and education. Looking towards the future of Olympic host cities, including Paris (2024), Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032), must try to limit any negative local social impacts (The Conversation, 2021).

Agha, N., Fairley, S., & Gibson, H. (2012). Considering legacy as a multi-dimensional construct: The legacy of the Olympic Games. Sport management review, 15(1), 125-139. 

International Olympic Committee. (2012). London 2012: a legacy that keeps giving.https://olympics.com/ioc/news/london-2012-a-legacy-that-keeps-giving.

Olympic World Library. (2018). Olympic Games Legacy & Sustainability. https://library.olympics.com/default/impact-heritage-jo.aspx?_lg=en-GB.

Ramchandani, G., Coleman, R., & Christy, E. (2019). The sport participation legacy of major events in the UK. Health promotion international, 34(1), 82-94. 

The Conversation. (2021). Tokyo’s Olympic legacy: Will hosting the games have benefitted local communities?. https://theconversation.com/tokyos-olympic-legacy-will-hosting-the-games-have-benefitted-local-communities-165433.

Weed, M. (2014). Is tourism a legitimate legacy from the Olympic and Paralympic Games? An analysis of London 2012 legacy strategy using programme theory. The journal of sport tourism, 19(2), 101-126. 

[izzyweber1]

Entry 3

Esports Events

Case Study: 2022 FIFAe World Cup

Esports are electronic sports. Organised competitive gaming events in different leagues with teams and players fighting It out for victory. The winning teams or players can potentially earn millions in prize money as well as sponsorship, endorsements and salaries. The first esports tournament was back in 2007 and now we have moved into organised, stadium-based tournaments. Worldwide viewership of esports competitions has helped gain popularity and has pushed esports into ‘mainstream’. It is estimated that 474 million people watched esports worldwide and the passion for esports and competitive gaming is growing rapidly (Pocket-lint, 2021). 

The FIFAe World cup is one of the largest online esports games in the world. Since 2018, all finals have been held at the O2 arena in London. In recent years, social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and twitch have devolved to allow games to stream directly from console to PCs at a high quality, allowing anyone around the world to watch the best esport gamers. For many people it is a hobby to watch others, rather than participate themselves which is one of the reasons why esports is so popular (Birmingham City, 2018).

Esports is growing around the globe, with more individuals continuing to engage as players and or spectators (Hallmann & Giel, 2018). Consumer demand for esports and the growth of organised video game competitions have generated a lot of attention from the sport, event and entertainment industries (Funk et al., 2018). The structure and organisation have qualified the activity as a sport, and it has recently enjoyed wide international acceptance. During the recent years, esports have become one of the most rapidly growing forms of new media, driven by the growing prevalence of games and online broadcasting technologies (Hamari & Sjoblom, 2017).

In many ways, an esports tournament is similar to a conventional sporting event. The things that attract fans to esports are the same things that attract fans to traditional sports like the excitement, seeing the best players in action and the feeling that of community and passion. We have seen large venue such as soccer stadiums fill with esports fans (a.list, 2015). Esports is paving the way for the future of how we will view sport and live stream games, I believe that there may be a decrease in people attending the events as the at home experience of watching gamers is more enticing. This is something venues can manage to develop a way to enhance the fan experience and maybe get closer to the action. 

a.list. (2015). Why gamers flock to eSports events. https://www.alistdaily.com/strategy/why-gamers-flock-to-esports-events/.

Birmingham City. (2018). The biggest esports tournaments in the world. https://www.bcu.ac.uk/business-school/news-and-events/blogs/the-biggest-esports-tournaments-in-the-world.

Funk, D., Pizzo, A., & Baker, B. (2018). eSport management: Embracing eSport education and research opportunities. Sport management review, 21(1), 7-13. 

Hallmann, K., & Giel, T. (2018). eSports – Competitive sports or recreational activity?. Sport management review, 21(1), 14-20. 

Hamari, J., & Sjoblom, M. (2017). What is esports and why do people watch it?. Internet research, 27(2), 211-232. 

Pocket-lint. (2021). What is esports and why is it a big deal?. https://www.pocket-lint.com/games/news/145890-what-is-esports-professional-gaming-explained.