How I got a job with the Connecticut Tigers

The process wasn’t a walk in the (ball)park


Working in sports isn’t easy. It’s competitive, there’s long hours and every day is different. Who would want to do this?

The real question is – who wouldn’t?

This summer, I landed an internship with the Connecticut Tigers in Norwich, CT. I got the job after after going to a Sports and Entertainment Career Fair at Fenway Park in February with a few buddies. For $25.00, we had access to the fair and a Red Sox game that night versus the Orioles.

Being a die-hard, Yankees fan, I almost didn’t attend. Just the thought of stepping on the Fenway concourse with a bunch of Red Sox fans made me cringe. Yet after the experience, I’m so glad I took the time to connect with various teams at this event.

At Fenway, I spoke to NESN, WEEI and the Boston Bruins, among others. I talked to the Connecticut Tigers just for the hell of it- – kind of like a “Hey, why not?” scenario. It was minor league baseball and it didn’t seem as glamorous as working for a professional team, I thought.

I gave it a shot because a MLB director once recommended to me at a sports reporting convention in Nashville, “Never say no in this business.”

Inside Fenway Park for the Career Fair

I went up to Jack, the CT Tigers representative, and told him my life story, beginning with my sports journalism background and how that’s the field I want to get into. After our conversation , Jack handed me a piece of paper and said the very words that every representative says to hopeful employees in the 21st century, “Apply online. Good luck.”

That “piece of paper”

I applied and didn’t hear anything for two months. It’s late-April. Finals are about to start and I’m about to head into the summer jobless. Out of the blue, I got a call from an unknown number out of Norwich, CT on May 2. It was Jack from the CT Tigers and he wanted to set up a phone interview with me.

Two days later, I had the phone interview.  It was not a walk in the (ball) park by any means. It lasted about 35 minutes and we talked about everything from the basic “Tell me about yourself” and “What do you expect to get out of this internship” to more abstract questions like, “If you had the chance to fight 100 little ducklings or one massive duckling, who would you fight?” Jack also expected me to be familiar with CT Tigers history, which was challenging. Let’s be real, who follows minor league baseball that closely?

Ever feel like someone is watching you? #fridaythe13th #cttigersbaseball #doddstadium

A photo posted by Connecticut Tigers (@thecttigers) on Nov 13, 2015 at 7:34am PST

 

The phone interview went average. Not great at all. Yet Jack liked the fact I was enthusiastic, and that my enthusiasm would translate into my work ethic. He also liked that I wouldn’t mind working long hours. In reality, working in sports is long hours and the pay, at least in the beginning, isn’t the greatest. But if you really  want to work in sports like I do, make that known. Especially in a job interview.

A week later, I got a call to come into the stadium for an in-person interview. Does it ever end? The next day, I changed into my suit and walked on the stadium’s concourse with Jack. He told me he wanted me to get “a feel” for the ballpark. At the end of our walk through, Jack said he would make a decision the next day.

Less than 24 hours later, I got another call from Jack. He wanted to get my thoughts on the stadium. I told him I enjoyed myself, and that I liked that every day would be different. In response, he said, “Good, because I’m going to go ahead and offer you the internship position for the summer.”

It was a home run.