My Experience at the Baseball Winter Meetings

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Baseball Winter Meetings and Job Fair at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando. The winter meetings bring together various league and team officials for one week so they can conduct off-season business, such as player trades and contract negotiations.

The job fair occurs during the winter meetings and is conducted by the Professional Baseball Employment Organization. It caters to people who are looking for seasonal and full-time jobs in Minor League Baseball. This year the meetings and Job Fair went from Sunday, Dec. 5 to Thursday, Dec. 9.

As a job seeker, I spent most of my time at the fair, but I did get to see and meet several people working in minor and Major League Baseball as well.

Close to 400 jobs were posted at this year's job fair in areas including but not limited to sales, marketing, broadcasting, media relations, and stadium operations. Despite the plethora of available jobs, the demand outweighs the supply by about a 2:1 margin.

I went in search of broadcasting and media relations jobs, and applied to 21 in all. I felt much more confident about applying to jobs this year than I did in 2009, because I had just finished a professional baseball broadcasting and media relations internship in October with a minor league team in Maryland. Last year I went into the job fair in Indianapolis without knowing what to expect.

I came much more prepared this year and ended up with four on-site interviews. The interviews take place at little round tables, and often many are going on at once in the interview room. With so many people interviewing, club representatives will only have 15-20 minute sessions with each candidate. Many teams did not even conduct interviews at the job fair, and instead will determine interview times for finalists after the holidays.

I arrived in Orlando on Saturday, Dec. 4 and the job fair began the next morning with "The Business of Baseball" workshop. The workshop was an eight hour seminar that focused on how to market yourself to employers and get a job in baseball. Guest speakers included the president and CEO of Minor League Baseball, Pat O'Conner, as well as general managers and sports business professors.

Since I attended the workshop at the winter meetings last year in Indianapolis, the topics and speakers were familiar to me. However, if you have never worked in professional baseball and are attending your first winter meetings, I highly recommend going to the workshop. There you will get good advice, as well as a realistic sense of what it's like to work in baseball from the people who are already in the industry.

The most important piece of information I took from the workshop this year was that being in the baseball business is a lifestyle, not a job. It's a lifestyle because during the season you will be at the ball park all day and well into the night, sometimes for weeks at a time without a break in the action. Even in the winter, you are getting ready for the next season.

Once the workshop ended, the job posting room opened. Jobs were posted by number on large bulletin boards, and people took notes on which ones they are interested in. To apply for a job, you had to write the job number on your resume and put it in the drop box that corresponded with the number.

On the first day, the job fair was only open from 4:30 to 6 p.m. It continued the next day, Monday, Dec. 6 at 9 a.m., and new jobs were posted every half-hour until 4:30 p.m. By the early afternoon some teams posted interview schedules.

The job fair proceeded this way through the next two days before it closed at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 8. The trip concluded for many job seekers that night with the Gala. It was a business casual event with food, drink and live entertainment that allowed people to unwind after a very busy four days.

Networking was also huge part of the winter meetings. Many team executives had business to do during the day, but at night they usually stuck around the hotel bar. Most job seekers convened at the hotel bar as well to socialize and meet new people.

The highlight for me was meeting Naomi Silver, the owner of the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. It was special to me because in 2009 I worked for the Geneva Red Wings, a collegiate league baseball team that has ties with the Triple-A Rochester club. As a result, Silver and I know some of the same people and it's nice for it to go full circle now.

I also saw several notable people including Yankees manager Joe Girardi, former Major Leaguer and current MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds, and Hall of Famer and former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda.

I left Orlando with many new friends who share my passion for working in baseball. I also extended my network of business contacts in Minor League Baseball, which is the most important thing you can take away from the experience aside from a job. If you are serious about working in baseball, I highly suggest attending the Baseball Winter Meetings and PBEO Job Fair. For more information on the job fair and the Winter Meetings visit www.pbeo.com.