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How to approach an esports organisation

How to approach an esports organisation

Bryony-Hope
13 min read | 3 Jun 2021


Getting into contact with an esports organisation for the first time may be a daunting and confusing experience, but we are here to help. We spoke with some different esports organisations to find out the best way to approach them, and compiled them into this handy guide!

Contents:
Contacting the organisation
Making a good first impression
Being professional
Being clear and specific
Know your level
Know your worth
Are you suitable for the organisation?
Best behaviours and traits Contacting the organisation:
It may be tempting to reach out on social media to an esports organisation and pitch yourself there, but this can come off as unprofessional.

Look into the org you are approaching before you speak to them, and find out where the best method of contact is. Generally, this can be a contact form on their website, or an email address you can drop a line to. However, if you can’t find a way to contact the organisation, shoot them a message on socials to ask to be directed to the best method of contact.

In some cases, smaller organisations may be accustomed to people reaching out through social media and this may be their preferred method. But with the bigger orgs, being professional from the start is key.

Kieran Holmes-Darby, Co-Founder and Chief Gaming Officer from Excel Esports, said: “Any Discord, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter approaches generally don’t land well with me. An approach should be via email with an attached presentation.”

“Make sure every email is personalised to whoever you’re sending it to and make sure your attached presentation is punchy, understanding what value you bring to the organisation. It’s always best to talk through the presentation as opposed to sending it cold if possible!” he adds.

Remember: if you are using a template for your emails, make sure to change the personalisation for each organisation you send it to. You do not want to send an email greeting one organisation, when in fact you have sent the email to another team!
Making a good first impression:
As with all areas of life, making a good first impression is key for you to be able to grab attention. This is the case when contacting any esports organisation, but how can you make your first impression great?

Make sure you are using the correct tone and vocabulary to give the organisation a reason to want you involved. Writing in a professional manner is very important for your first impression, and can be the difference between getting a reply from the organisation or not. Avoid slang or abbreviations, and sell yourself in your initial contact as someone professional.

As well as this, make sure you properly introduce yourself in the initial contact, as this can gear an organisation to want to learn more.

Peter Thompson, from Endpoint Esports, said: “If someone emails asking if we are looking to get into a certain game or pick up a team/streamer and does not  say anything about who they are, I would be extremely unlikely to reply as to not go back and forth for what is likely not something we would be looking for.”
Being professional:
Staying professional also needs to continue once you receive a response from an organisation.

If the organisation is not looking to expand within this area, or sends a rejection email, it’s important not to be negative. Instead of going along the lines of a “your loss” mentality, you should thank the organisation for their considerations and for them to bear you in mind if this is an area they wish to explore moving forward.

On top of this, it is always worth asking for feedback on your CV, presentation or application so you can develop for approaching the next organisation. 
Being clear and specific:
Being specific in your approach to esports organisations can make all the difference, and allow you to let them know exactly what you are after.

In terms of being a player or players looking for a team, Peter from Endpoint encourages making a clear ‘Player Deck’ in your introduction.

This could consist of:
“a) Players on the team which has their experience, nationality, social accounts

b) A bit about the game and how the ecosystem is for players and organisations

c) What you can offer to an organisation

d) What are you looking to get from the organisation (this doesn’t need to be exact but a rough idea),” Peter suggests.

The main one here is what you can offer to the org – allowing you to continue to sell yourself as someone they want involved with their organisation.Know your level:

This is more specific to players approaching organisations, but you need to make sure you understand where you are in your gameplay, and where you see yourself realistically going.

There’s nothing stopping you from reaching out to the top level organisations, but it is best to approach teams in your skill level.

Kieran from Excel adds: “You need to understand what level you’re at, and therefore what level of team you should be approaching. Feel free to shoot for the moon but make sure you have some more realistic teams in your list as well.”

By understanding your own skill set, organisations can see where you are, but also where you want to go with them. This is a good thing to set out in your initial introduction, and shows you are willing to develop. Know your worth:
As well as knowing what level you are on in terms of your gameplay, you need to ensure that you understand your own worth when contacting organisations.

When asking esports organisations for opportunities, you need to be realistic in what they can offer you. If you are just getting into the industry, it’s very unlikely you can contact an organisation and they hand you whatever you request.

This is something to consider when thinking of who to approach, mainly so you can get the best possible chance to be picked up by that org!
Are you suitable for this organisation?
As mentioned before, research into the organisation you are approaching is very important. By having background knowledge on the type of work the organisation does, or what titles they have teams in, you can approach them with some more confidence.

In terms of a player reaching out, you need to make sure that the title you specialise in is appropriate for the org, otherwise this could set you back. Organisations normally set out what titles they have teams in, and what roles they are looking for within these teams.

So it is best to find an organisation that features your speciality title in the beginning – but there is no harm in reaching out to ask if they have plans to expand into other titles.

You also need to remember that just because these organisations have teams for particular titles, it does not mean they are looking for people to join.

For example, if you are a FIFA player approaching an org to be part of their ongoing FIFA team, the likelihood of them signing you is lower due to the fact this role is already filled. You can still approach them, but make sure to be prepared for rejection.

On top of this, organisations can also look for individuals with a good and positive social media presence to ensure they have the best people possible as part of their team.

Specifics on what they look for differs between each organisation, but these are a few general ones for the industry. Best behaviour / traits:
Alongside all of the other advice in this guide, your traits and behaviour are key in how an esports organisation will see you.

Some of these may include:
– Being able to take constructive criticism
By being able to take in this feedback, you can show an organisation you are willing to develop, and don’t take criticism to heart. This is a really good trait to have as it can allow you to progress a lot easier in your career.

– Being able to self-analyse
As mentioned previously, you need to be able to know the reality of your skills before approaching an organisation. By allowing yourself to analyse your own work or gameplay, you can better understand where you are, and where you would like to go.

Committing to your goal
Urszula Klimczak gave her top tips on ‘how to be a good teammate’, and one of the points that came up was about committing yourself to a set goal. She said: “Follow your team goals if you want to succeed as collaboration and teamwork wins it all. You can win a team game only if you look in the same direction as your team mates. The best is when you all have your eyes on the prize!”

– Controlling your ego
If you approach an esports organisation with a very big ego, you probably won’t get the outcome that you are expecting. Having self-confidence is good, but you need to be able to draw the line between that and a big ego, because organisations will see that. Make sure you showcase your achievements and skills in a positive light, without coming across as arrogant.

These are just a few of many traits and behaviours needed in order to get off on the right foot with these organisations. Whilst there are plenty more to keep in mind, these are definitely the most important to keep in mind when getting started!


Hopefully this guide helps you be able to approach an esports organisation, and get you started in your esports career!

Anything you think we have missed? Let us know so we can add it into this guide!


Jump back to:
Contacting the organisation

Making a good first impression
Being professional
Being clear and specific
Know your level
Know your worth
Are you suitable for the organisation?
Best behaviours and traits

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