I have been puzzled in recent years why so many job applicants have consistently failed to include definitive "career mission" statements within their documentation (cover letter, etc.) when seeking a new job. I believe the fundamental reason for this consistent oversight has been because candidates fail to see the role taking the initiative must play within a successful job application process. (See June 26, 2014 blog.)
"Candidate initiative" which starts with a take-charge cover letter (se
I was recently given the opportunity to sit down for an interview for a podcast on career materials with fellow TurfNet member Randy VanderVaate. Randy is currently the Vice President of Agronomy at Century/Palmer Golf and creates a weekly podcast to provide superintendents with a discussion on varying topics that will help grow their lives and careers to the next level. I've known Randy for years now and he is always trying to help those in the industry and give back where he can, so I was happ
To my continuing surprise, a vast majority of the country's golf course superintendents are working today without a definitive job description - not realizing that working without a comprehensive job description is a high-risk venture. This is because superintendents' jobs remain undefined without a job description, which means they can be held accountable and become job vulnerable for work they were never assigned; i.e.- a problem that surfaces mostly when either the position of green committee
Now that all the business magazine experts have pronounced golf dead and shoveled dirt upon us, the powerful intellects sequestered at Rockbottum CC will weigh in with a little actual common sense.
Here at Fox Meadow we have what I am sure is not a unique problem. Back when the course was built the original owner had a vision for a grand clubhouse and grounds. No expense was spared including a large number of elaborate gardens, a beautiful fountain feature, and a fantastic view of the Charlottetown harbor. Undoubtedly it makes a great first impression of the property, but not much forethought was given to the cost of long term maintenance.
Fast forward 15 years. Our program to mainta
It should be abundantly clear that engaging attorneys for counseling purposes, or to gain access to the courts of law essentially has been a futile exercise for golf course superintendents from Day One because superintendents will:
Always have difficulty finding, engaging and affording qualified attorneys.
Always be facing the likelihood of defeat in any serious legal entanglement because employer clubs will always be able to comfortably out-wait and out-spend them.
Always have difficulty mov
In this short film, Mark Hoban discusses test plots and Elly May biscuits.
Robert Womac of Golf Agronomics drops by to educate me about invisible topdressing and also knocks Ken Mangum off his "Best Hair In The Golf Industry" throne.
I love reading Frank Rossi's blog.
I don't always agree, but I love the way he invokes thinking and the way he passionately grabs information and makes total slaw out of it. It's an immaculate process.
His latest blog post on TurfNet.com is just such proof. And for the record, I would love to have been the guy carrying the camera cases for these two so they could invoke the Ancient Italian Art of Talking With Hands. I know Dan Dinelli. I spent a day with him a few years back and my head
The issue of 'confidentiality' discourages many employed superintendents from seeking new jobs because they are fearful of putting their present jobs at risk any time they apply for a job despite submitting their applications on a 'confidential' basis. And rightfully so! Where does the problem originate?
The blame for disclosure does not generally lie within the various search committees because they are consistently made up of private sector business people used to routinely working with an
The following information pertains to portfolios as documents like a PDF, Word file, or other printable file type or digital file that must be scrolled like a document. This does not include online portfolios on websites.
After years of work looking over and/or building superintendent portfolios and the results produced, one item consistently appears in feedback from hiring personnel on DIY portfolios:
The content is too long!
I've written before about keeping your resume as sh
The loudest voice in my head is MGP, or The Mad Golf Prophet.
Occasionally he forces his way to my frontal lobe, demanding that I deliver his current prediction or he will do something crazy. As usual, I foolishly ignored him and then watched in horror as he made good on his threat.
MGP ruthlessly terrorized a foursome of Foot-Golfers by collapsing on the turf, writhing in agony and clutching clearly undamaged body parts.
After a few seconds of near-death, MGP suddenly hopped up a
Got a chance this week for a chat (AKA banter, debate, even argument) with my old pal Dan Dinelli. Anyone in this business with even the slightest interest in a broader environmental perspective on golf turf management knows Dan. I know him as a thoughtful, passionate steward of a piece of land (and exceptionally fine turf) that happens to be a great old country club on the north shore of Chicago. As usual our chat left me with more questions than answers.
The topic this time was Bacterial E
Why submit job applications via the hard copy equivalent of the 'pony express' when electronic service is available? The answer is that applicants wouldn't if they wanted to maximize their job application opportunities.
Yet, in this high tech age of the Internet, roughly 90% of golf course superintendents are submitting hard copy job applications via the U.S. Mail. This doesn't make sense because submitting job applications electronically provides the following unique advantages:
Immediate
We intentionally buried this news program deep in the dungeon vault after numerous threats from committee members and our accountant, but we have experienced a sudden inexplicable desire to "tell it all, brethren, tell it all".
Or it could be the effects of a week of fly-fishing in the NC mountains, drinking an exquisite beer called "Dirt Wolf" and our new film isn't ready yet.
I had one of those rare conversations with a good friend this past week. It was the kind of chat that leaves you feeling spent afterwards, but it was worth it in so many ways. Our talk wasn't one of surface banter that we as a culture so often engage in. You know the way most of us converse most of the time; both parties say lots of words, but in the end don't really say much at all. Nope, our conversation was of a different breed, and is one that we all need to be having with our friends and fa
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 candidacy and to ask for an interview - little more.
This superficial use of cover letters negates candidates' foremost opportunity to take the initiative throughout the application process...
....which is what the job application process should be all about; i.e., taking the initiative throughout the entire job applicat
"The world as we have created, it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking." - Albert Einstein
I want to thank the hundreds of people who, however it worked for them, supported me as I cared for my mom during the end of her life. True earning of karma. And of course there are the few who had to be opportunists for criticism. Oh well. The many outweigh the few. And I hope no one finds themselves in the position I found myself.
For a time, there wasn
The interview process between a job-seeking candidate and a search committee can be one of the most inefficient communication exchanges known to man.
The reality is that qualified but interview-inexperienced candidates often do not present themselves well in this typically tense and highly structured sit-around-the-table interview format. Is there a better interview format that would benefit candidates? Fortunately, there is; for example:
A candidate would request a more informal (stress
Warning! The following short film contains disturbing images and poor grammar.
Do not watch if you are sensitive to split infinitives, overly simplistic problem-solving and blatant Luddism.
Over the last several weeks it seems that quite a few job opportunities have come along across the country and I have been receiving many requests on how to handle cover letters for these opportunities. So for those out there that are interested, here is a point-by-point tutorial on crafting a cover letter to your advantage that I wrote last year as a solid reminder heading into your next opportunity.
There are countless articles and tips out there about writing an effective cover letter ac
Highlands Falls CC, deep in the rugged mountains of western North Carolina, is like a fairy tale golf course. It's almost too beautiful to be real, the layout is gentle and inviting and the inhabitants of this enchanted rain forest are far too pleasant for country club members.
The air is special here, at just over 4,000 feet, and standing amidst the firs, spruces and rhododendrons, it's hard to tell what is natural and what is intensively manicured. Noisy mountain streams, towering hemloc
