Beyond the Job Board: Inside Sports Recruitment with Janine Mostyn
This week's podcast special guest is Janine Mostyn, Managing Director of Huckleberry Sport and one of the most respected specialist recruiters in the sports and entertainment industry.
With 20 years in recruitment (and nearly a decade running Huckleberry Sport), Janine has helped rights holders, clubs, agencies and brands build high-performing teams, and supported hundreds of candidates into dream roles across football, motorsport, entertainment, and beyond.
In this conversation, Janine lifts the lid on what really happens in sports recruitment: how clients should work with headhunters, what candidates must do (and stop doing) to stand out, and how great recruiters operate with integrity in a competitive industry. She also shares powerful advice on networking and becoming a genuine connector in sport.
What You'll Discover:
1.Janine's journey into recruitment and sport: The moment she realised generic sectors weren't exciting enough – and why sport and football felt like "the best feeling ever."
2. From public sector to sports & entertainment: How working at a creative agency, bringing in clients across sectors, led her to naturally gravitate to sports clients.
3. Transferable skills and the "blueprint" for recruitment: The non-negotiables: being thorough, not shortcutting shortlists, and genuinely considering every candidate.
4. Quality over quantity in the sports recruitment space: Why Janine prioritises long-term, high-quality relationships over chasing volume.
5. Do's and Don'ts for clients working with recruiters: How to set realistic expectations (no "unicorn hunting" for 6 months) and define what the essential 80% really is.
6. Do's and Don'ts for candidates in the sports industry: The problem with "apply, apply, apply" and why mass applications (300+ roles) rarely work.
7. The recruiter's perspective: standards, ethics & feedback: What great recruiters actually do behind the scenes: mapping markets, longlisting, referencing, coaching, and much more.
Connect with Janine:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janinemostyn/
Website: http://www.huckleberrysport.com
