Will you find yourself at the peak of your career … and unemployable?
It’s that most wonderful time of the year when local, state and regional turf conferences are piling up faster than the snow hitting my driveway this morning. I’m thankful I’m asked to speak at a few every fall, and I love getting feedback, story ideas and even a few free beers from attendees.
At the end of every speech, I always encourage folks to get in touch if they need more information or just want to talk. Quite a few take me up on it, including – recently – a growing number of highly successful superintendents who are creeping into their late 40s or early 50s and who are beginning to get nervous about the future. Even those who seem to have excellent, stable jobs are wondering what kind of job, if any, they could get if they lost their relatively cushy position.
First, I salute these guys for having the foresight to recognize opportunities at the high end of the market are extremely limited for 50-somethings. People who’ve been in the same position for 15 or 20 years and who command six-figure salaries and commensurate perks are going to be challenged to find a similar position in any industry. It’s even tougher in our business when well less than 10 percent of all positions – maybe 1,200 or so jobs – pay $100,000 or more a year.
Second, when asked, I offer the following advice to those facing the prospect of being like a great bottle of wine – well-aged, a little pricey and probably not for everybody:
- Think proactively. You’re a veteran, and you know the warning signs of job trouble: a new g.m., changes in the board of directors or ownership, shifts in good jobs at other nearby clubs, etc. But, even without those red flags, you should always keep your antennae up and your network of contacts fresh. If bad news “comes out of nowhere,” it probably means you weren’t paying attention or always thinking about what your next step should be.
- Conduct a self-analysis. In business, we all do SWOT analyses to consider the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of various ideas, products and programs. I always encourage people to SWOT themselves. In short, ask yourself what you’re best at doing, what you love to do, what you hate to do and how you could invent a job for yourself that maximizes the good stuff and minimizes the bad. Take the same steps to plan for your career that you’d take if you were planning a project on the golf course.
- Consider other career paths. Would you rather be a designer, a sales person or a consultant? If so, quietly talk with folks in those arenas to find out the pros and cons of their lives. Or, think of something completely different. One example: a major lawn care company believes superintendents might make excellent owner/operators for their franchises. Could being an entrepreneur be right for you?
- Be realistic. It can happen to anyone. Think about all the top-flight superintendents you know who lost a position and were never able to find something comparable. Don’t wait for it to happen to you.
Each of us probably goes through periods in life when things are pretty good and we’re tempted to coast a little. For superintendents facing the prospect of being in their 50s, there’s no room for coasting. Instead, it’s the best possible time to take a hard look at yourself and prepare for what might await you.