Johan Cruyff Institute students and alumni highlight the successful networking opportunities of the iWorkinSport recruitment fair, held this year in virtual format due to the Covid-19 restrictions, and several of them have entered into a job selection process
Last month, around 50 Johan Cruyff Institute students and alumni participated in iWorkinSport, an international recruitment fair focused on the sports industry that held its annual edition in virtual format in 2020 as a result of the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 virus. Several of them passed the test with merit, and have been chosen for a subsequent selection process and have been shortlisted for a job in the sports industry.
The event, of which Johan Cruyff Institute is an academic partner, offers a platform for sports companies and organizations to arrange job interviews with potential candidates from master’s and postgraduate programs in sport management from universities and business schools around the world. Consulted after their participation in the event, some said they would have preferred to travel to Lausanne, where the previous three editions of the fair were held, but for the vast majority it was worth connecting with the recruiters of companies via a screen and activating their networking.
“I think that, for many fair organizers, the future is in the virtual format. The biggest advantage, obviously, is in terms of costs both for the organizer and for the companies that participate. As for the candidates, I think that you feel more comfortable and more confident participating from home. You avoid the stress of having to queue to speak to the company recruiters at face-to-face fairs. The networking that is created not only with companies, but also with other professionals who share their knowledge and experience is also interesting,” said Panteli Peri, a former Swiss student of the Online Master in Sport Management at Johan Cruyff Institute.
Chiara Mazzalovo, an Italian student of the Master in Sport Management at Johan Cruyff Institute Amsterdam, hopes to have an opportunity at the IMG agency. “I had an interview with them and they were very impressed with my résumé. I would love to work at that agency,” said Chiara, who was also interviewed by adidas, Inter and Juventus. Although she said she prefers “direct contact”, she added that “this way I saved the expense of traveling to Lausanne, which is also an advantage.”
Sebastián Riestra, an Argentine student who is currently studying the Postgraduate in Sport Marketing, made contact with three companies and two of them have chosen him to participate in a selection process. “Adidas informed me that I have been added to their talent pool and 4ComM told me they were interested in continuing the process soon, when sports activities resume,” said Sebastián.
Josefina Ponce de León, from Uruguay, has also gone through a second selection phase and hopes that both Soccerex and Outdooria will contact her again. This student of the blended-learning Postgraduate in Sport Marketing, highlights the “commitment, time and dedication on the part of the organization so that everything would turn out really well. I am very interested in connecting with people from other countries, getting to know other cultures, and an event of this type opens a super important network of contacts for the future. In my country, Uruguay, the sports industry is not as developed and the events and campaigns of these companies that I have learned about through the event were very interesting for me because I had never seen them.”
Carola Venneri, student of the Master in Sport Management at Johan Cruyff Institute Amsterdam, saw her expectations as a participant in the fair exceeded, although she would prefer face-to-face contact on future occasions. “Despite having to do the fair online, the platform was very well set up and the result was better than I expected. I think these kinds of events are very interesting if what you are looking for is to create a network of contacts, learn more about the market and be able to exchange opinions with professionals in the sector. This time, however, it was about taking the opportunity to apply for a job and in this case, I prefer the face-to-face format.”
On the contrary, Cristian Stet, a former student of the online course Football Business Fundamentals, would repeat the experience. “In my case, it was a great opportunity to get in touch with professionals in the sports industry and learn about their needs in the field of data analysis. I was very struck by the willingness of organizations such as Juventus or Soccerex, in particular, to speak openly about issues related to research.”
Being able to directly access so many different organizations was, according to Mattia Bellini, also a former student of the Football Business Fundamentals online course, one of the main advantages of the virtual fair. “I contacted six entities and with one of them, Outdooria, I have an interview scheduled in the coming days. I think these types of fairs are very interesting because in a single day you interact with companies and entities of the highest level.”
Johan Cruyff Institute reinforces, through its participation in iWorkinSport, its commitment to ensuring the incorporation of its students and former students into the sports industry, promoting the development of its Career Services department.
STUDY PROGRAMS JOHAN CRUYFF INSTITUTE AMSTERDAM
- Master in Sport Management (Amsterdam, English, Start: September 2020)
- Master in Coaching (Amsterdam & Arnhem, English, Start: February 2021 – Dutch edition: September 2020)
