Zach Lambert's E-Portfolio
Connections, Connections, Connections
The Importance of Connections
From the very moment I took my first step into an HRSM classroom, the topic of networking was already being discussed. I can confidently say that in every single class that I took at the College of HRSM, we were constantly reminded of the importance of having a large network and to make a consistent effort at connecting with others.​​ The school and our professors makes sure that all their students understand that a large portion of one's professional success will come from growing their network. It is the focal point of what we as students learned, and we were given countless opportunities to grow our network through the University.
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The first real chance I had at growing my network was in my SPTE Careers class taught by Professor Matthew Dunn. The main subject of this class was to give new HRSM students a deep dive look into the professional sport and entertainment management world. Throughout this class the topic of networking was brought up almost every time we met. And as the semester went on, I came to realize that the entire class was about the importance of networking. Our final project was to interview three people who have been working in the SPTE industry. We were tasked with reaching out to these people ourselves and then writing a 10+ page paper about our interview experience and what we learned. When we were first given this project, I was under the impression that it was just to get us out of our comfort zones as new students; however, I came to realize that the University was gifting us with our first real opportunity to make a name for ourselves as future professionals in the industry.​
My Networking Experience
With my first real networking experience coming early in my Freshman year, I quickly gained a general understanding of how important making long lasting connections was going to be. After finishing SPTE 195, I knew that from then on I was solely responsible for how large my network was going to be. I took some time to consider how I wanted to approach growing my network and decided that LinkedIn was going to be an excellent resource to use. From then on, I have allocated a good bit of my time reaching out to professionals I connect with on LinkedIn and simply asking them some questions about their experiences when they first started working in the industry. Often, these conversations naturally grew from a simple Q&A, into long lasting conversations and sometimes even into job recommendations.
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Most notably, my experience networking for my SPTE 495 internship class my senior year, which turned out to be the most important networking experience I have had to date. My main approach to networking for my 495 was quite similar to what I previously mentioned; however, my consistent effort to make connections over the past 4 years resulted in me having a network of people to fall back on when it came to an internship search. With the sizable network I built, I was able to get introduced to Carlie Webbert, who helps run the All Things Go music festival in Maryland. Carlie and I had a great conversation, and although she wasn't able to offer me an internship position, she was kind enough to refer me to Jacob Betz, who worked at SponsorUnited.​ Jacob and I were able to speak over the phone and we had a great conversation about our experiences learning about and working in the industry. Jacob thought I would be a great fit for the Sponsorship Scout internship position at SponsorUnited and recommended I apply. About a week later I recieved an interview request from SponsorUnited and a few weeks after that I was hired as an intern.​
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I am proud of the work I have put in to build my network to where it is today, and I thank the College of HRSM for giving me countless opportunities to network with others in the industry. Additionally, I am grateful for constantly being reminded by my professors that I was only going to be as successful as I wanted to be.
