Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1481923
31 N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M Thanks in part to Majka's leadership, the Wild play in a packed Xcel Energy Center with a loyal and passionate fanbase every game. "The roar of the crowd is something that you're not going to get working in other industries, but you get it in sports. It's intangible compensation. You had a small hand in creating that roar and it pays you off." —Matt Majka Majka: I think it 's the whole thing. I feel like k ids these days are super focused on their grades and their resume, and how they present themselves through academic achievement. A nd of course, resume is a necessar y tool, but I a lways say that your resume is not going to get you a job. The way you w ill get a job is by connecting w ith people. You have to net work, even if it 's not com- for table for you. You have to force yourself to net work because that 's how you w ill sell yourself, when you get in front of somebody, and you sell yourself on your feet. It 's not sending out resumes lef t and right digita lly. A nd the emails, that 's not how you get a job. You get a job by going out there and connecting w ith people. Russo: Kids ask me a ll the time, whether they 're going for a job w ith a spor ts team or even a newspaper or The Athletic, how do I get ex perience when it feels like ever y job posting says you need three to five years of ex peri- ence. In other words, how do I get ex perience if ever y job you need ex perience? W hat would be your adv ice to someone who doesn't have that ex perience to get their foot in the door? Majka: I know the job openings we have at the Wild, and I know about other sports teams, I feel like in sports, there are plenty of entry-level jobs that don't require three to five years of experience. Now some of them are called internships, they are paid. You're not going to get rich beginning with an internship, but it is a way to get your foot in the door and to under- stand the ebb and f low of the indus- try—the demands of the industry. I think there's a perception that it 's a little more glitz and glam- our than it actua lly is. There are incredible demands; it 's a lifest yle, not a job. It 's a 24 -7 on-demand situation, a lmost no matter what level you are in the organization. You're a lways on. There are, in my opinion, plent y of entr y-level jobs in spor ts if you look hard enough. There's a ll sor ts of par t-time workers that spor ts teams need to put a game on. A nd that 's just another way to get your foot in the door. It 's not glamorous. It 's not doing what you're going to do for the nex t 20 years, but you get your face inside the arena or the stadium, and you ta ke advantage of that. Russo: It feels like k ids today just want to wa ke up and become president of the Wild, want to wa ke up and cover the Minnesota Wild or Vik ings as a spor tsw riter. I think we're both proof that it ta kes a lot of grind to work your way up in a respective job. You may have to go to middle of nowhere Kansas to go work for a sma ll newspaper. You may have to go to middle of nowhere Louisiana, work for a minor-leag ue team and learn and do a ll sor ts of jobs. A m I right? Majka: You got it. That 's a rea lly impor tant point. W hile I just said there are in my v iew numerous entr y-level oppor tunities of the Wild and par t-time, you might well not star t at the major leag ue level. There's a lot of oppor tunities at the minor leag ue level, and that is rea lly great ex perience. Again, for the ebb and f low of the industr y, to under- stand what work ing at a spor ts team rea lly is like.