Traditionally, golf course superintendents have used the cover letter when applying for jobs in a very perfunctory manner; i.e.- to make search committees aware of their candidacies and to ask for an interview. This superficial use of the cover letter negates a candidate’s first and foremost opportunity to take the initiative, which is what job applications are all about. For example, following are sample profiles of the several key paragraphs within a cover letter that clearly demonstrate taking the initiative:

First Paragraph:
In about 75 words of your own choosing provide information relative to your present job, your career ambition and why you have a specific interest in applying for this job. Also, provide your personal career web site address because this is the single element that best demonstrates a candidate’s initiative. Remember that about half of job interviews are granted to candidates with quality career web sites. (See Step #1 within my earlier archived blog entitled, “Breaking Through The Glass Ceiling” for guidance in developing your own web site.)

Following Paragraphs: (Initially use the approximate italicized language below; then end with a traditional closing paragraph.)

Should I be granted the privilege of an interview, I respectfully request that the following documentation be made available to me before interviewing; i.e.- copies of:

* The current and recent years’ department operating/capital maintenance budgets.
* Recent years’ OSHA/safety records, labor records and department job descriptions.
* An aged maintenance equipment inventory with maintenance records.
* Recent years’ USGA Turf Advisory Service reports; irrigation system profile data; and listings of cultural practice concepts/schedules.

Finally, I would welcome the opportunity to tour the golf course property with members of the search committee before my formal interview. Having access to the above requested information, combined with a committee-guided interactive tour of the golf course and maintenance facility would equip me to submit a definitive multi-year “Plan Of Action” to the search committee prior to my interview.

(See my earlier archived blog entitled, “Stress Free Job Interviews” for further insight into the matter of committee guided pre-interview tours of the golf course.)

A cover letter containing the above initiatives (including a quality web site address) will virtually guarantee an interview. Conversely, passive cover letters fail to ignite candidacies.

Superintendents, want to help your assistant(s) on their career path? Print out these Career Corner posts and responses on an ongoing basis and assemble them in a hard copy binder for your assistants and crew.

The vast majority of golf course superintendents manage their careers like an unguided missile (once aimed at firing time the missile’s course can’t be changed) rather than as a guided missile, where the missile’s course can be constantly fine-tuned/changed during flight to ensure hitting the designated target (in our case, optimum secure employment).

For example, unless superintendents: (i) identify career defining issues early on (e.g. job sequence; job durations; the value of working in the public sector or for contract management companies; web site development; the benefit of pedigree jobs to a career; the importance of salary versus the quality of a job; to publish or not; setting a personal standard of job performance, etc.); (ii) monitor the development of issue-driven career paths through life; and (iii) make appropriate career path corrections as circumstances suggest – their careers may be seriously compromised. But, few realize this.

The most effective (only) way you can ensure that you will stay on top of these career-developing issues is to ask yourself once or twice every year the rhetorical question: “Where do I want my career to be in five years?” As you re-ask and re-answer this question through the years, you will learn to re-direct your career paths as circumstances warrant – thereby sustaining a constantly evolving dynamic career strategy.

At each of the approximate 75 Career Planning workshops I have presented to golf course superintendents over the last 25 years, I ask how many attendees routinely ask this five year career-defining question of themselves. To this day, I am still both surprised and disappointed to see that less than 10% of superintendents formally query themselves about their future career planning.

I then ask the natural follow-up question, “How many attendees, at this point in their lives, feel they will be able to realize the career goals they initially identified for themselves?” Roughly, the same 10% of attendees answer in the affirmative – while the balance of attendees identify disappointedly with an important teaching moment.

Golf course superintendents who fail to ask themselves where they want their careers to be at fixed points in their lives will be eliminating the best their careers have to offer – without knowing it.

Ask and you shall receive.

Superintendents, want to help your assistant(s) on their career path? Print out these Career Corner posts and responses on an ongoing basis and assemble them in a hard copy binder for your assistants and crew.

Is any golf course superintendent’s job safe in today’s discomforting economy that we’re told will get worse before it gets better? Where new taxation and coming inflation will target private club members’ and daily fee players’ wealth? Accordingly, we have to think that the economics of the country and throughout golf could get nasty over the next two or three years. We are already beginning to see veteran superintendents being replaced by less costly assistants. Furthermore, a few employers have begun to falsely charge outgoing superintendents with misconduct to minimize the need to provide fair severance compensation and/or to negate contractual obligations.

Therefore, there are two answers to the above question: (i) no; your job will not be safe if you passively stand by and wait to react to evolving economic conditions and (ii) yes, your job will be a lot safer if you, your chapter and GCSAA collectively take the initiative to address this challenge. For example:

Superintendents:
The best thing superintendents can do to keep their jobs is to take the lead in re-shaping course maintenance budgets to reduce operating costs without sacrificing significant course quality. Don’t wait for employers to tell you what to do with your budgets because they might too easily conclude that they do not need you any more. Rather, assume a leadership role and educate your employers how your expertise alone can help sustain a workable club/course economic plan. Employers do not fire employees who help ensure employer survival. (See my April 9th blog entitled, “Anticipating Austerity.”)

Employers do not fire employees who help ensure employer survival… 

Chapters:
The point to note here is that the PGA is already getting it right. Every PGA Section has a Club Relations Committee that interacts with search committees to ensure mutually fair written contracts on the way into jobs, and to prevent employers from summarily or unfairly dismissing their golf professionals. More on GCSAA emulating this program next week.

GCSAA:
GCSAA’s responsibility is quite clear: to take the lead nationally (via its TV spots, web site and new laymen’s educational programming) to inform the country’s golfing community about the indispensable role golf course superintendents can/should play in safeguarding the game of golf through tough economic times. More on this next week.

Implementing the above three initiatives collectively could save three of every four superintendent’s jobs that might otherwise be lost.

Superintendents, want to help your assistant(s) on their career path? Print out these Career Corner posts and responses on an ongoing basis and assemble them in a hard copy binder for your assistants and crew.