UCFB Burnley BA (Hons) Football Business & Media graduate Jay Taylor was recently appointed Media & Communications Officer at i2i Sports, the professional football player management company which helps and supports footballers who are who are looking for a new club or trying to get into the professional game. i2i Sports can boast plaudits from high profile sporting figures such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Sam Allardyce and Joe Royale, and football enthusiast Jay is now excelling at the hub of an exciting and thriving organisation.

Always knowing that his ultimate aim was to work within the highly competitive but rewarding sports media industry upon graduation, Jay sought out and undertook successful media positions at Tadcaster Albion and Rochdale FC that arose during his time at UCFB.

Now a successful alumnus with a dynamic full-time career in the sector, we asked Jay what advice he would pass on to the next cohort of students at UCFB seeking to secure their own future in sports media.

  1. Take every available opportunity to demonstrate your commitment.

“Whilst at UCFB I started volunteering at Bacup & Rossendale Borough, a non-league football club where I worked as their Media Manager & Press Officer. One night I was given the opportunity to tweet a commentary of the match, which proved to be a huge success for the club. After finishing my degree I received a message from Tadcaster Albion asking me to get in touch. The owners of Tadcaster, who also own i2i Sports, offered me a full-time job as the Media & Communications Officer.”

  1. Take as much from UCFB as you can.

“The skills you learn, both within your programme and the Complementary CurriculumTM, will make all the difference when looking for work and will ensure that you hit the ground running when you are recruited. I really impressed my employers with my knowledge and aptitude on social media, which I developed at UCFB, and now I manage all social media channels for i2i Sports with the additional responsibility of increasing participation from our followers.”

  1. Keep trying!

“It can be difficult, but it’s an incredibly exciting industry and you will be able to land your dream job if you keep trying – it just takes commitment and hard work.”