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We all have personal goals when it comes to our professional development - moving up the ladder, taking on new challenges, and finding your niche.

I recently made the jump from a post-grad Marketing Assistant position to a full-time role as an Assistant Director of Marketing Strategy & Fan Experience at Maryland. It wasn’t just a change in title though - it was a change in roles, responsibilities, and focus. Previously, I worked with one non-ticketed sport and one ticketed sport. While I always had an eye on ticket sales and maximizing revenue, my focus laid on fan experience and building my teams’ brands. 

When my position changed, so did the sports I’m responsible for. While I still have a ticketed Olympic sport, I’m also charged with leading the marketing efforts for our third-highest revenue generating sport. This was a massive jump - suddenly, I became the leader for season and single game ticket campaigns and a revenue budget 10 times larger than any I had previously worked with. 

Making this jump in responsibility certainly came with challenges. It’s been a few months since I first stepped into this role and I’ve learned something new every day. Fellow young professionals, if you’re going through this jump, here’s some advice I would offer:

• It’s okay to not know everything. Taking over your first revenue-generating sport is one of the biggest jumps we have to make in this industry. It’s natural for there to be some information deficits. Did I know how to put together a season ticket booklet two months ago? No. But I used the resources I had on hand and took the experience I did have to make inferences on how to move forward. If I didn’t ask for help and pretended that everything is fine (insert “Dog in Flaming House” meme), the end-product would have been much worse.
  
  

• Communication is key. I know, I know, it’s a cliche. But it’s true! Working with a revenue-generating sport means that my day-to-day operations include more people than ever before. I’m in constant communication with our ticket office, digital marketing, and analytics staff to ensure our strategy is coherent and comprehensive. We all have to be on the same page to make sure emails are going out on time or to create new ticket promotions based on things happening in real time (preseason ranking, coach reaching record win, viral trend, etc). Additionally, my shift in role has required even more communication with the rest of the marketing staff. Tasks I used to do previously are now handled by new Marketing Assistants. I had to let go of previous responsibilities (some of which I really loved) to take on new opportunities and challenges that better fit my current skill sets. Now, my responsibilities are deep, where previously they were broad. Remember to communicate with your own unit about where you need help or when you need a second opinion.
  
  

• You have a voice and your opinion is valuable. This one was the toughest for me. I’m a naturally quiet person and being a post-grad intern, my role in a room or meeting was often to listen and learn. Now in a full-time position, I’ve had to find my voice. I’m often the youngest person in the room by many years, which can be intimidating. But I got to this place for a reason and my opinions are valuable. The same goes for you - you wouldn’t be where you are now if people didn’t believe in you and feel like you deserve a seat at the table. Be confident, find your voice, and speak your mind.