by Garrison McDaniel

Ohio State’s Sports and Society Initiative is teaming up with TeamWorkU, a leading platform for sports industry careers, to give students a competitive edge in the job market.

TeamWork Online, known for connecting professionals to sports industry roles, offers its TeamWorkU program to help students break into the field through career fairs, mock interviews, weekly coaching, and more.

Through career development programs such as mock interviews, career fairs, weekly career coaching, and more, TeamWorkU will play a vital role in helping students prepare for life after graduation.

“A TeamWorkU student is five times more likely to get hired than a non-TeamWorkU student. That is not just because of us,” TeamWorkU coordinator Kealeigh Patriski said. “That is also because of your professors, who are adding that extra attention to your education.”

In addition to career development programs, TeamWorkU hosts events in the Columbus area for students seeking to network with teams they hope to work for.

One such event was a career fair held Jan. 25 before the Columbus Blue Jackets took on the Los Angeles Kings. The event hosted organizations and teams from all areas of the sports industry.

SSI sponsored 12 students to attend the event, covering the $59 admission.

“The main part of the event that we're involved with is the career fair,” Patriski said. “There are employers who are going to be there that have applications online, and this is an opportunity to say, ‘Hey, I applied for your internship with the marketing team,’ and to kind of put a face to the résumé.”

Patriski’s advice to students attending a career fair for the first time was straightforward: make an impression in the little time you have with each employer.

“In the first 30 seconds, you want to make an impression,” she said. “So we're actually hosting a prep session on Friday with Ohio State students who are attending the event, where I'll kind of go over the elevator pitch. But you want to give kind of a synopsis of your résumé in those 30 seconds. So your elevator pitch is number one. Number two is also physical impressions.”

Among the resources offered to students through this partnership is a student ambassador program that works closely with TeamWorkU to assist their classmates.

“Student ambassadors are OSU students who are going to work directly with me to help their fellow OSU students create great profiles and answer some questions,” Patriski said.

This program also benefits the student ambassadors, who work closely with TeamWorkU representatives committed to helping them reach their goals.

“I get to know them, so personally, I can help introduce them if they have an interview, say, with the Mets. I can help get an introduction there,” Patriski said. “Because I know who these student ambassadors are, and I know how great they are.”