Following the path to success

In the competitive world of golf course superintendents, a bit of knowledge and a road map of the future can take one a long way.

The key to moving a career forward is having a sense of the golf course superintendent’s changing responsibilities and the proper steps to take when obtaining a job, according to Lyne Tumlinson, director of career services and Frederick Thomas, career guidance manager for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and Paul Vermeulen, director of agronomy for the PGA Tour. The three golf industry professionals hosted an interactive half-day seminar at the GCSAA’s annual educational conference, held Feb. 19-24 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.

Superintendents will find they’ll face a changing industry as society tends toward more choices and more constant updates in technology, Tumlinson says. She quoted John Stebbins, Western Region v.p. of East West Partners Club Management, who told her, “People think superintendents are magic or celebrities and have pixy dust.”

Other factors superintendents should be prepared to face, according to Tumlinson, include:

• The experience. Examples include watching donuts being made at Krispy Kreme or services personalized for each customer. Sometimes Starbucks employees write customers’ names on the cups.
• Lifestyle integration. Several superintendents admitted to checking work e-mail at home or running personal errands during the work day.
• Child centeredness. Parents tend to spend more time with their children than their parents spent with them a generation ago.
• Multitasking. Technology has allowed people to tackle multiple jobs at once. This is illustrated when people talk on their cell phones while driving.

The audience, which included a mix of golf course superintendents and assistant superintendents, then collaborated to name factors they see coming into play in the golf industry during the next 20 years. They include:

• Longer courses;
• The job will be more technology-based;
• More efficient water use;
• A more diverse group of golfers;
• Heightened environmental regulations;
• Fewer courses; and
• Higher expectations of turf conditions.

Those in the workshop also said superintendents will directly face some of the following factors:

• More of a mobile office (the ability and need for the superintendent to access information while in his or her golf car/utility vehicle instead of running back to the office in the maintenance building)
• The need for a highly qualified engineer to keep the technology running;
• A possible labor shortage; and
• The need to change maintenance programs due to environmental restrictions.

Taking action

First, golf course management professionals need to evaluate themselves. Look for aspects of job performance that could be improved and set goals to work for, Tumlinson suggests. For some, goals might include cutting the work week down to 40 hours and learning to train and delegate better. For others, committing to continual learning in the industry or working to strengthen family or community relationships might be what superintendents or assistant superintendents want to work toward.

Vermeulen has seen countless signs of golf course mismanagement at courses he’s visited, including bunkers that haven’t been raked or facilities that aren’t kept in a working condition. These reflect badly on a superintendent and can hurt any chances of advancement.

“You can’t hide your weaknesses s much as you think,” he says.

Once a superintendent feels he has marketable qualities and wants to aim for a higher position, he shouldn’t wait for opportunity to knock, Tumlinson says. Also, superintendents shouldn’t be discouraged about scary career-related numbers. For instance, it’s said more than 175 candidates apply for any given superintendent position.

“That’s a lot of candidates, but how many of them are qualified?” Tumlinson says. “The number of qualified candidates probably is much smaller.”

People also often speculate the number of turfgrass students entering the job field exceeds the number of open positions in the industry, Tumlinson says. But many of those students don’t end up entering the golf course industry. Still, the number of job candidates can be overwhelming, so the best way to stand a chance is to stand out.

Application process basics

The first step when applying for a job is to find a way to set oneself apart from the other candidates. That might simply mean displaying key competencies needed for the job. Tumlinson identifies them as communication skills, leadership, operations management, personal skills and resource utilization. A majority of the attendees chose communications skills as the most important tool for success.

Exhibiting these skills to a potential employer is a plus, but getting to that point is equally as important. It starts with the first correspondence with the hiring company: the resume and cover letter.

“They have to be state of the art, up to par and appropriate for that job,” Thomas says, adding a cover letter is a must. “The resume won’t get read without a cover letter,” he says.

The resume tells employers:

• Who you are;
• What you want (objective). It has to be job specific;
• What you have to offer (3 to 5 bullet points); and
• List accomplishments. Employers like to see numbers to illustrate these. If you’ve been out of school for less than three years, include corresponding dates.

The cover letter should include short, concise sentences explaining why you’re writing, what you have to offer and how you will follow up with the potential employer. If you’re called in for an interview, take advantage of the fact that the interviewers are likely amateurs with little experience with the hiring process, Vermeulen says.

“Sell to their weaknesses,” he says. “Make your moments with the selection committee count.”

Interviewees can do this by considering that the committee probably lacks:

• Knowledge of what the job requires;
• Understanding of the education required;
• An idea of what they want from the golf course;
• Knowledge of the hiring process; and
• An abundance of time

The committee will probably favor the candidate with the least resistance, Vermeulen says. A few other tips for the interview include:

• Don’t mention salary;
• Don’t chew gum or smoke;
• Don’t use profanity;
• Ask questions about the position;
• Practice good communications and presentation skills; and
• Poor posture is a turnoff.

Above all, set oneself apart. Consider creating a career portfolio with information about yourself, accomplishments and any other information you want the potential employer to know. Throughout the process, remember to make the application process about the employer.

“All they want to know is what you can do for them,” Thomas says.