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From boardrooms to ballparks

By Karen Tina Harrison | Special to amNewYork

January 14, 2008

The Big Career Switch: From management consultant to sports magazine editor

Who Pulled It Off: Alison Overholt, 31

What She Does: As senior editor at ESPN The Magazine, Overholt oversees investigative reporting plus coverage of action sports and the Olympics. (www.espn.com/magazine)

What She Used To Do: After graduating from Harvard, Overholt was a management consultant for a Big Five firm.

Why She Switched: "Consulting was mentally challenging and good money. But I'd been a reporter for my school paper and loved journalism and telling stories. After my umpteenth spreadsheet, I just missed words too much."

How She Did It: "Persistence, persistence, persistence! I wrote to Fast Company magazine telling them why they should hire me. I called nearly every day for a year, and they finally gave in. Then, when I wanted to work for ESPN, I spent two years dogging them. In sports and in life, you can never give up."

What A Sports Mag Editor Does: "I watch a ton of games and look for trends that no one has written about yet. Then I work with writers to develop ideas and help them polish their stories. My job is part detective, part drill sergeant and part therapist."

Who Does This Job Best? "You gotta love sports--but you also have to be curious, energetic, supportive, and very organized and thorough. The spreadsheet mentality from my consulting job comes in handy."

How's The Dough? "Turns out it's not that bad. Starting salaries in magazines aren't much, but you can freelance on the side for extra cash. And if you're good at what you do, the money follows."

What About Perks? "Well, I met Seth my first day at ESPN, and we got married last June! Going to the Super Bowl last year and to the Olympics and X Games this year are cool, too."

What Else You Should Know: "Seth is from Alaska, and I grew up in Hong Kong. Lucky for us, New York's got great dim sum and Alaska king crab!"