The SportsGrad Podcast

SportsGrad

Ever thought "I'd love to work in sport!" but have no idea where to start?You're in the right place.Join Reuben Williams (ex-Cricket Australia) each week to learn about jobs in the sports industry and how the people in those jobs forged a career they love.If you're trying to find your place in the industry, need some inspiration on what to do to get started, or just want to keep your finger on the pulse... you're going to love this catalogue of interviews.For more help to take the next step in making a career in sport a reality, subscribe to the SportsGrad newsletter: www.sportsgrad.com.au/newsletterLinkedIn: SportsGradInstagram: @sportsgradConnect with Reuben: Reuben Williams Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

Mentioned books

Jul 6, 2025 • 28min

#324: How to turn a Law and Communications degree into a marketing role at the AFL with Veronica Steer (Sydney SportsGrad Meetup)

Transitioning from a law and communications degree into a marketing role is a huge leap, however for Veronica Steer, she made it happen.In this episode taken from the recent SportsGrad Meetup in Sydney, AFL Marketing Manager Veronica Steer takes us through her career transition and what it truly takes to market Australian Football in growth markets like Sydney and Queensland.If you’re wanting to learn more about what it takes to work in sports marketing, this episode is for you.ABOUT THE GUEST:Meet Veronica Steer, Marketing Manager at the AFL’s Fan Hub whose job is all about helping more people fall in love with Australia’s game. Whether it’s planning campaigns, creating content, or diving into community engagement, her mission is clear: grow the game, especially in places and communities where footy isn’t front of mind.We cover:00:23 - Interview begins01:20 - Quickfire questions04:03 - Did Veronica think sport was an option out of uni?05:56 - What did the AFL take a liking to in Veronica’s application?07:34 - What’s the overarching goal for Veronica’s department?10:43 - What are employment challenges that Veronica has seen?12:15 - What was an outstanding recent hire that Veronica made?13:13 - How is the culture at the AFL as a work environment?13:53 - What’s the process behind landing a game development role?14:53 - What’s exciting Veronica about the future of the AFL?16:14 -Veronica’s experience with Round 017:08 - Q&A Starts18:13 - Are there any plans for the AFL to go international again?19:05 - What’s one underrated skill that a marketing manager should have going into a role?20:02 - Does Veronica’s department look into community clubs?21:00 - How can Veronica tell when campaigns resonate with fans?21:35 - What’s the most underrated channel of communication that Veronica uses?22:20 - How does Veronica see AFL 9s developing?23:34 - A pinch me moment for Veronica?24:45 - Interview endsIf you like this ep, give these a go next:#289: How to move from London to Australia and work in Sports Marketing | George Ludlow’s journey to Gemba.#286: Inside the GWS Giants social media strategy with Jacob Gaynor#280: How to get a Sports Marketing job in the English Premier League with Alex KingWant a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 29, 2025 • 1h

#323: SportsGrad Melbourne Meetup Panel, Featuring Bianca Litchfield from Collingwood FC, Brant Hubber from the AFL, and Pruthvi Shivaram from Gemba

“I’m still learning to fully understand the sports industry”That was Pruthvi Shivaram at this past Thursday’s Meetup in Melbourne, where we hosted a panel featuring not only Pruthvi, but Brant Hubber and Bianca Litchfield.In this chat, we go through a range of topics, including each of the panelists career journey’s and some valuable career advice for people from all perspectives, among other things.If you’re in the UK and want to meet people in sport, come to our final SportsGrad Meetup in London on Wednesday July 3 here.ABOUT THE PANEL:Bianca Litchfield is the Community Foundation Partnerships Coordinator at Collingwood FC, specialising in developing partnerships to help facilitate Collingwood’s community programs.Brant Hubber is the Partnerships Account Coordinator at the AFL, working with stakeholders to help deliver partnerships with the AFL.Pruthvi Shivaram is a Strategy Consultant at Gemba, specialising in solving a range of commercial, strategic, or operational problems for clients relating to sport.We cover:09:13 – Panel begins11:07 – How did Pruthvi end up in a consulting role?16:09 - Bianca’s career journey20:32 - What was Brant’s approach to get into the AFL?27:24 - What does life at Gemba look like for Pruthvi?30:46 - How can people learn about strategy?35:10 - What does Bianca’s role look like?39:24 - What did Gather Round look like for Brant?45:17 - What kept Brant motivated in his early years at the AFL?47:46 - How would the panel describe a managerial or leadership position and how would they lead effectively?51:33 - How does Brant navigate being on maximum term contracts?54:18 - How did Bianca progress to the Community Foundation Partnerships Coordinator role from her previous roles at Collingwood?57:30 – Panel endsIf you like this ep, give these a go next:#314: How Kiri Madhani pivoted into commercial partnerships at DAZN#303: Gemba, Marketing Strategy Consultant | Sam Waring#265: From Westpac to the Adelaide Crows in 29 days with Community Engagement Manager, Parth SuriWant a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 22, 2025 • 1h 6min

#322: SportsGrad Adelaide Meetup Speaker Panel, Featuring Brad Humphrey from the SANFL, Peter Giannes from Volleyball SA, and Christian Rodriguez from Football Australia

“I’ll give you a job tomorrow cause I need people now”.That was SANFL Head of Game Development Brad Humphrey at our recent Adelaide SportsGrad Meetup, where we were treated to 3 panelists who spoke on the night about topics ranging from AI in sport, to what they look for when hiring new staff. This is a must-listen if you’re wanting to understand the sports industry from 3 unique perspectives.If you’re wanting to still get involved in SportsGrad Meetups, grab your free ticket hereABOUT THE PANEL:Brad Humphrey is Head of Game Development at the SANFL. Specialising in growing football within schools across SA.Peter Giannes is Head of Participation at Volleyball SA. Helping to grow volleyball throughout SA. Christian Rodriguez is Marketing Coordinator at Football Australia, overseeing club development. We cover:04:38 – Panel Starts07:56 – How did Brad swap careers?14:11 – Christian's journey18:29 – How old was Christian when he decided to throw everything at football?20:01 – What challenges/opportunities do being in a more under resourced orgainsation like Volleyball SA bring for Peter22:00 – How does AI play into Peter’s recruitment process?24:38 – What does an ideal candidate who knows how to use AI look like?27:54 – How is the panel learning how to use AI?32:03 – What was a recent interview answer that stood out?39:07 – How did Christian keep motivation whilst hustling to reach his goal?43:06 – What are the inclusion policies of the organisations?49:34 – Do you still need to go back to university to achieve higher tier roles?55:23 – What’s the strangest question the panel have asked/heard in an interview?58:37 – How important is it that applicants have experience in a specific sport when applying?1:03:43 – Panel endsIf you like this ep, give these a go next:#280: How to get a sports marketing job in the English Premier League with Alex King#265: From Westpac to the Adelaide Crows in 29 days with Community Engagement Manager, Parth Suri#239: Journey to Head of Community at Melbourne City FC with Sunil MenonWant a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 15, 2025 • 17min

#321: How to land a job in sport from just one networking event (even if you’re changing careers)

Click here to meet people in sport at a SportsGrad MeetupWant a job in sport? Click here.Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast, hosted by Reuben Williams, ex-Cricket Australia employee, career coach, public speaker, content creator and Founder of SportsGrad. On this podcast you’ll hear how to find your perfect role, grow your network, win job applications, scale your personal brand, create opportunities for yourself, and land your dream job in sport. Plus the many failures and lessons Reuben has learned from landing a dream job before graduating, helping others to land 700+ jobs in sport, and interviewing over 300+ professionals from the NFL, NBA, AFL, ICC, Cricket Australia, Premier League, Olympics, and many more teams, leagues, agencies and startups.To learn more about Reuben, listen to this episode: #309: How I landed a dream job at Cricket Australia before graduating | Reuben WilliamsFollow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 9, 2025 • 1h 17min

#320: How to make a career change into Motorsport from real-estate at 30 years old | Motorsport Australia Development Manager, Charlie Barlow

Pivoting careers at 30 can be seen by a lot of people as daunting, but for Charlie Barlow, she made a change into motorsport work.Charlie is the Development Manager at Motorsport Australia, leading programs like Girls on Track, First Gear, and Esports to get more people doing more motorsport, more often. But her journey into the industry didn’t begin until she made a bold decision at 30 years old to go all in on a career she truly loved.After years in real estate, construction, and admin roles, Charlie went back to uni, studied journalism, worked unpaid gigs, and eventually became a journalist at Supercars, before stepping into her current role shaping the future of motorsport participation in Australia.She’s also built a following on Social Media as a leader for Women in Motorsport, and recently was part of Channel 7’s national coverage of the Shannons SpeedSeries.In this episode, we discuss how Charlie made a career change at 30, how she was able to break into motorsport, and how she managed to accomplish her career goals even when it seemed impossible.Lastly, Charlie is our guest speaker at the Brisbane SportsGrad Meetup coming up on Thursday June 24, so if you want to connect with her, grab a ticket from our website.We cover:(02:38) – Interview begins(04:33) – Quickfire Questions(15:14) – What Charlie did about her career once she turned 30(30:45) – How Charlie started to build experience in sport(42:58) – Charlie's role with Motorsport Australia(30:45) – How Charlie started to build experience in sport(57:47) – The impact of Charlie's personal brand on her career(1:08:13) – What opportunity exists for those wanting to grow their personal brand on social media?(1:14:05) – Advice to her younger selfIf you like this ep, give these a go next:#289: How to move from London to Australia and work in Sports Marketing | George Ludlow’s journey to Gemba#265: From Westpac to the Adelaide Crows FC in 29 days with Community Engagement Manager, Parth Suri#208: How to make a career change into the sports industry with Kerry GassnerWant a job in sport? Click here.Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 18, 2025 • 55min

#319: The impact of 60+ therapy sessions (Sporting Max interview)

May 11, 2025 • 24min

#318: Level 12 intensity

May 4, 2025 • 20min

#317: Critical advice for people job hunting for 3+ months (and avoid 3 more months of job hunting)

Apr 27, 2025 • 22min

#316: The hidden cost of inaction - Why waiting is killing your dreams of a career in sport

Apr 21, 2025 • 60min

#315: How to get a job in sport - the advice I gave at Deakin University

Want a job in sport? Click here.Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast, hosted by Reuben Williams, ex-Cricket Australia employee, career coach, public speaker, content creator and Founder of SportsGrad. On this podcast you’ll hear how to find your perfect role, grow your network, win job applications, scale your personal brand, create opportunities for yourself, and land your dream job in sport. Plus the many failures and lessons Reuben has learned from landing a dream job before graduating, helping others to land 700+ jobs in sport, and interviewing over 300+ professionals from the NFL, NBA, AFL, ICC, Cricket Australia, Premier League, Olympics, and many more teams, leagues, agencies and startups.Episode timestamps:(01:01) - Introduction(02:53) - Reuben's journey into the sports industry(06:34) - What is SportsGrad?(09:48) - How competitive it is to get a job in sport industry(13:03) - Strategies to enter the sports job market(17:15) - The role of LinkedIn in building a personal brand(21:25) - LinkedIn content strategy to follow while in University(24:54) - How to find career direction in sport(28:59) - Most In demand skills in sports industry(31:46) - How to build connections without feeling forced(38:06) - How do you start networking with industry professionals while at Uni(44:43) - What to say while networking(48:14) - Networking strategies for internships(50:28) - Importance of having a mentor for a career in sport(53:27) - How to get better at communication(54:39) - Certifications to gain leverage in the job market(56:37) - Advice on practical steps to help in career journey in sportTo learn more about Reuben, listen to this episode: #309: How I landed a dream job at Cricket Australia before graduating | Reuben WilliamsFollow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokBig thanks to Deakin University for making this episode possible. Check out their Master of Sport Management, ranked #1 in Australia.Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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