Unlocking Football Internships: The 3 P’s You Need to Know
In today’s issue of Football Progression Path I’m going to talk to you about internships.
Internships are a crucial part of personal development in the world of football, offering hands-on experience and a platform to learn from industry experts.
Before we dive in, let’s address the elephant in the room.
Internships and placements are generally positive, however, in some cases clubs do look to exploit interns by consuming their time and skills without offering anything in return. Additionally, not everyone can afford to intern for free.
If you can take on an internship opportunity, ensure you gain something from the experience.
The benefits don't have to just be financial. It could be access to data or video, paid courses or education, or a well-structured development plan. Just remember, you should always get something valuable out of it.
Most people fail to secure internships because they search at the wrong time of year and fail to demonstrate the value they can provide.
You have to be looking in the right place, at the right time and showing your value. Just like you would when applying for full time jobs in the game.
To help with your internship journey utilise “the 3 P’s” to successfully land a placement in football:
- Pace
- Place
- Provide
Pace
You have to be up with the pace when it comes to applying for internships.
As with every other role going in football there are hundreds of applicants all fighting for the same roles. Often clubs are looking to recruit interns between February and April for the following season. So the time window for a lot of these roles is narrow.
February to April can be an awkward time of year as lots of students are coming towards the end of their degrees, or potentially haven’t started their masters yet.
If you’re planning to start a degree soon, be proactive and apply for opportunities now. Don’t wait until your studies begin, or you’ll find yourself at a disadvantage. This is the biggest mistake I see people making when it comes to internships.
Although there can be opportunities after the start of a season, these can be harder to come by.
Place
You also have to be in the right place when it comes to finding internships.
The majority of internships, especially at the higher profile clubs will get advertised on traditional job websites. So it’s worth being across websites like footballcareers, jobsinfootball, jobs4football and TeamworkOnline (if you’re looking for opportunities in the US). However there are a lot of internships which are shared on the social media accounts of people who work at the clubs.
In fact, the majority of internships will always be shared by people already working within that team. That’s why it’s so important to connect with analysts, scouts and football professionals on LinkedIn.
Provide
You have to showcase the value that you can add to a team.
Although internships aren’t full time roles, they are still very competitive. In order to give yourself the best chance of success you need to showcase your skills. You need to be demonstrating the skills needed for the internships through your online portfolio.
Clubs will of course prefer candidates with experience, and the best way to get that if you haven’t previously worked for a club is by building an online portfolio.
There you have it, “the three P’s” to successfully land an internship in football.
Thanks for taking the time to read this week’s newsletter.
I’ll catch you soon.
Liam
Whenever you’re ready there are 2 ways I can help you:
- The Online Portfolio Blueprint - My flagship course for helping new, current and aspiring football professionals. We give you the blueprint on how to grow your knowledge, network and opportunities in football by writing online through an online portfolio.
- Pro Scout Edge - Our scouting tool has been created by professionals and tested by experts in football. It’s the ultimate online scouting database you need for your scouting journey. It forms an all-in-one system for player and team scouting, with templates, dashboards and more.
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