NAME: Matt Schermerhorn

OCCUPATION: Sports Manager

Imagine spending your day walking around the stadium during a Major League Baseball game talking to fans. That’s my job—I get paid to watch baseball! Of course, it’s only a small part of what I do in sports management for a Major League Baseball team. As you may know, those of us in this exciting field do everything from managing teams to managing events, sports venues, and recreation. It’s a privilege to get to wear so many hats.

Everyone in my field shares a lifelong love of sports. But even if you consider yourself a particular sport’s greatest fan, your passion may not be enough to land a sports management position. It’s a tough market. I interned in sports management for my college baseball team while I was getting my degree in communication, along with studying the business, legal, and marketing aspects of sports management. My internship and my communication degree got me my position—everyone else in my work group had a previous contact on the team.

I’m on the special events and promotions team where my communication skills get put to use in the planning and research for our public presentations. I think public speaking is the greatest skill you can have—not just in terms of giving speeches in front of large groups but also giving a “pitch” to the senior executives who are deciding on sponsorship and offering short, “feel-good-about-our-team” messages to community groups or charitable organizations. Even social media marketing promotions require me to understand my audience and plan my message accordingly. Twitter is huge for us; it’s currently our most efficient way to reach the general public in terms of news distribution. We don’t just tweet randomly, however; tweets that come from the franchise have to be professionally crafted (though this certainly doesn’t imply that they’re dull or boring!).

Lots of planning and research go into all the events that support a major league team. We solicit and manage sponsors and help them design the best promotions for their product. Again, audience analysis is key; we can’t afford to look bad because someone chose an image or a word (in an attempt to be creative or funny) that offends or annoys a client or the fans. The in-game entertainment that we provide fans is carefully researched and organized, too. As I go around the stadium on game day, I constantly assess whether or not our entertainment is engaging the diverse crowd members. I get feedback from teens and seniors, families and singles, and people of various ethnic backgrounds; I adjust our next presentation or event accordingly, whether it is directed to the sponsors or the fans.

There are so many communication skills I rely on in this job from public speaking, to interviewing, to project leadership and group team building. I feel fortunate to have such a diverse, interesting, and fun job. I know I’m selling my company every day and I never stop learning.