Sunday, March 11, 2007
Saturday, NBA Job Fair
Saturday March 10, 2007
It’s marathon day and I didn’t sleep too well. I tossed and turned with excitement. “This is the opportunity you have dreamed of, make the best of it” is what I was thinking to myself all morning. After a quick breakfast, I went to the expo center and stayed in the back room and rendezvous-ed with other candidates. My first interview was with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Briefly speaking with Bryant, he was excited to offer me a full time position with the team. I was so excited I can’t event describe the feeling. I now have a job with the NBA! It was a dream come true to work for the team with my favorite player: Kevin Garnett. I spent the next 30 minutes talking about Minneapolis and the surrounding area. 1 interview; 1 job. I could bomb every interview and still be happy. However, I didn’t and more teams became interested. My next interview was with Indiana. After talking to Jake and Ben, I knew that Indiana would be a great fit for me as well. I spent hours with them over the past few days and I got a real feel for their culture and organization. The Nets were next. I met with Todd and the interview was going well. Then, he asked me to role play. He pretended to be a possible customer and I had to sell Nets tickets to him. It was unexpected but a lot of fun as well. It was great to make an impact on the hometown Nets. With a few more interviews under my belt, we broke for lunch. I ate with a gentleman that also was offered a Timberwolves’ job. We talked about the possibilities of moving up there and taking the job.
After lunch, it was back to work with a few more interviews in the afternoon. Cleveland was next. Instead of interviewing in the expo room, they took us upstairs for a more intimate session. I met with Mike, Mike, Bob, and Chad who is the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of the Cavaliers. I was very surprised to see a CMO take part in the recruiting process, but that just shows that they really mean business and want the best of the best. The organization is amazing and the ownership is pretty impressive too.
My last interview was with the Phoenix Suns. It was an honor to have an interview with them. They were one of the busiest teams at the fair and I think almost everyone wanted to go work for that organization. After speaking with four man team of Nick, Mike, Jeff, and Drew, I knew that Phoenix would be a great fit for my personality and skills. They gave me information on living in Phoenix and said that I would be hearing from them on Monday.
“All done” I thought to myself. However, I was not. I was invited to go to the 25th floor of the hotel by Indiana. Once I got out of the elevator, I walked down a long hall and on the door had a sign “Welcome to Indiana Basketball”. I didn’t know what was happening. The door was open and the view of Lake Michigan was in front of me with the entire team of Kevin, Ben, Jake, and Doug. They sat me down and officially offered me the job at Indiana. I was speechless. I left that room like I was on top of the world. I left the hotel with my chin held high.
This has been the most exciting thing I have ever done. The people I met, the things I did, the understanding of basketball operations, and the city of Chicago. This would not have been possible if not for Experience.com. I just wanted to say thanks to Buffy Filippell and Steve Kessen for all their support all weekend.
Dreams really can come true and with Experience.com and the NBA Job fair, I will be fulfilling my dream….I just don’t know where yet. :)
It’s marathon day and I didn’t sleep too well. I tossed and turned with excitement. “This is the opportunity you have dreamed of, make the best of it” is what I was thinking to myself all morning. After a quick breakfast, I went to the expo center and stayed in the back room and rendezvous-ed with other candidates. My first interview was with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Briefly speaking with Bryant, he was excited to offer me a full time position with the team. I was so excited I can’t event describe the feeling. I now have a job with the NBA! It was a dream come true to work for the team with my favorite player: Kevin Garnett. I spent the next 30 minutes talking about Minneapolis and the surrounding area. 1 interview; 1 job. I could bomb every interview and still be happy. However, I didn’t and more teams became interested. My next interview was with Indiana. After talking to Jake and Ben, I knew that Indiana would be a great fit for me as well. I spent hours with them over the past few days and I got a real feel for their culture and organization. The Nets were next. I met with Todd and the interview was going well. Then, he asked me to role play. He pretended to be a possible customer and I had to sell Nets tickets to him. It was unexpected but a lot of fun as well. It was great to make an impact on the hometown Nets. With a few more interviews under my belt, we broke for lunch. I ate with a gentleman that also was offered a Timberwolves’ job. We talked about the possibilities of moving up there and taking the job.
After lunch, it was back to work with a few more interviews in the afternoon. Cleveland was next. Instead of interviewing in the expo room, they took us upstairs for a more intimate session. I met with Mike, Mike, Bob, and Chad who is the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of the Cavaliers. I was very surprised to see a CMO take part in the recruiting process, but that just shows that they really mean business and want the best of the best. The organization is amazing and the ownership is pretty impressive too.
My last interview was with the Phoenix Suns. It was an honor to have an interview with them. They were one of the busiest teams at the fair and I think almost everyone wanted to go work for that organization. After speaking with four man team of Nick, Mike, Jeff, and Drew, I knew that Phoenix would be a great fit for my personality and skills. They gave me information on living in Phoenix and said that I would be hearing from them on Monday.
“All done” I thought to myself. However, I was not. I was invited to go to the 25th floor of the hotel by Indiana. Once I got out of the elevator, I walked down a long hall and on the door had a sign “Welcome to Indiana Basketball”. I didn’t know what was happening. The door was open and the view of Lake Michigan was in front of me with the entire team of Kevin, Ben, Jake, and Doug. They sat me down and officially offered me the job at Indiana. I was speechless. I left that room like I was on top of the world. I left the hotel with my chin held high.
This has been the most exciting thing I have ever done. The people I met, the things I did, the understanding of basketball operations, and the city of Chicago. This would not have been possible if not for Experience.com. I just wanted to say thanks to Buffy Filippell and Steve Kessen for all their support all weekend.
Dreams really can come true and with Experience.com and the NBA Job fair, I will be fulfilling my dream….I just don’t know where yet. :)
# posted by Anonymous @ 7:41 PM 
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