Atlanta Hawks Internships: Launching Your Career in Sports

The Atlanta Hawks, a renowned professional basketball team, and State Farm Arena, a state-of-the-art entertainment venue, offer exciting internship opportunities for individuals passionate about sports, live entertainment, and creating memorable experiences. These internships provide invaluable hands-on experience within a dynamic and fast-paced environment. The organization prides itself on delivering wonderful experiences that create lasting memories, seeking individuals who are the best at what they do.

Who are the Atlanta Hawks?

Since 1968, the Atlanta Hawks have been committed to entertaining and uniting the city of Atlanta. Under the leadership of Principal Owners Tony Ressler and Jami Gertz, the organization continues to build bridges through basketball by following its True to Atlanta mantra. The Hawks' exciting young core is led by All-Star point guard Trae Young, and the organization has received the NBA's top ranking in overall in-game experience for the last two seasons. Off the court, the Hawks organization focuses on positively impacting the lives of Atlantans through providing access to youth basketball, fighting food insecurity, and the recent transformation of State Farm Arena into Georgia’s largest-ever voting precinct for the 2020 elections.

What to Expect as an Atlanta Hawks Intern

Atlanta Hawks internships provide a fantastic chance to obtain hands-on experience with a premier NBA franchise. Interns get the opportunity to collaborate with experienced experts on real-world initiatives that benefit the club and its supporters. Participants attend training courses on a variety of topics, including sports marketing, event management, and data analytics.

Internship Opportunities Available

Internship opportunities are available with the Atlanta Hawks in a variety of areas, including:

Basketball Operations
Marketing
Communications
Community Relations
Ticket Sales
Digital Media
Global Partnerships (Sales, Activation, and Partnership Development & Insights)
Retail
Brand Communications

Most internships are available seasonally-fall, spring, and summer-and have varied durations to fit academic schedules.

Read also: A Look at Atlanta College of Art

Specific Internship Examples

Global Partnerships Intern: Supports the Sales, Activation, and Partnership Development & Insights teams.
Global Partnerships (Activations) Intern: Reports to the Senior Manager and supports the Sales, Activation, and Partnership Development & Insights teams.
Retail Intern: This position will work directly with the Atlanta Hawks retail department to provide support in day-to-day operations. Candidates of the position will work directly with the creative and marketing team on campaign launches, the senior buyer to understand product buy cycle, and how to manage inventory in-store. In this role, you will gather a full scope of learning various responsibilities to understand what it takes to run a successful retail brand. This position will report directly to the Director of Retail Design & eCommerce.
Brand Communications Intern: Supports the organization's public relations efforts through various responsibilities. The intern will develop a skillset in media monitoring, media relations, and storytelling.
Community Basketball Intern: Supports both Summer Camp and Community Court Tour activations across Metro Atlanta.

Who Should Apply?

The Atlanta Hawks seek enthusiastic lovers of sports, live entertainment, and people. Ideal candidates have a true passion for engaging in meaningful interactions and creating memorable experiences for all guests. They strive to be helpful, engaging, and knowledgeable of all things Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. They enjoy being a part of an exciting and dynamic group and are committed to continuously enhancing the productivity and effectiveness of their team.

General Requirements and Qualifications

While specific requirements may vary depending on the internship role, some common qualifications include:

Strong communication skills (written and verbal)
Proactive, problem-solving approach to tasks
Ability to work effectively and quickly in a dynamic environment
Strong attention to detail in execution
Ability to work with internal and external clients with a positive customer service-oriented attitude.
Ability to positively handle fast-paced or high-pressure situations
Proficiency in Outlook, MS Office, Google forms/docs, and other applications
Must be enrolled in an accredited HBCU College or University as a rising Junior and Senior (for some positions)
Minimum 2.75 GPA (for some positions)
For certain positions, candidates CANNOT be affiliated with a Boys AAU Program for ages 15-18; no contact with top 100 prospects (NBA RULE)
For certain positions, candidates CANNOT work with draft-ineligible prospects (EX: international players, top 100 high school player in their class)
Relevant field of study (e.g., Sports Administration, Marketing, Business, Management, Communications, Hospitality, Analytics, Sales, Digital Marketing, Event Management, Finance)
Creative mindset with the ability to deliver business objectives with creativity, innovation, and design solutions (for some positions)
An understanding of creative tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator to develop digital content through e-commerce and social media (for some positions)
Strong collaboration skills (for some positions)
A background in retail at any capacity (for some positions)

The Sekou Smith Hawks Summer League Experience

The Atlanta Hawks are proud to offer the Sekou Smith Hawks Summer League Experience. Named in honor of the former Atlanta Journal-Constitution Hawks beat writer and NBA Digital personality, this internship uniquely combines Smith's passions, friendships, and expertise to create a one-of-a-kind opportunity. It focuses on providing real-world, highly visible experience to a deserving journalism, broadcasting, or multi-media student from a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) university or college. The successful student-intern is a self-starter who is professional, eager to learn, and ready for a fast-paced, hands-on experience. The ideal candidate will have a passion for basketball, strong writing skills, and a vast knowledge of current sports media trends.

How to Apply

Check the Official Atlanta Hawks Careers Page: Begin by looking at the official Atlanta Hawks careers page or reputable employment boards for current internship opportunities.
Review the Job Description: Each post will include a thorough explanation of the tasks, criteria, and application deadlines.
Tailor Your Application: Your resume and cover letter are crucial. Tailor each application to the position, emphasizing appropriate experience, abilities, and love for the sport and the Hawks organization.
Proofread: Before submitting, make sure to double-check all information.
Prepare for the Interview: If you are invited to an internship interview, prepare by studying typical interview questions and brushing up on your Hawks and NBA expertise.
Discuss Logistics: Accepted interns should discuss the internship schedule, duration, and any salary or academic credit opportunities.

Additional Information

NBA Summer Internship: The NBA Summer Internship is a 10-week program that runs from early June to mid-August. Internships are open to both undergraduate and graduate students. To be eligible, applicants must be either a rising college senior or current graduate student in an accredited institution at the time of the program. Undergraduate internships are paid at a rate of $26 per hour. Undergraduate Technical internships are paid at a rate of $28 per hour.
The Atlanta Hawks are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

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