We live in a world where we think about something, and then magically a personalized advertisement shows up in our newsfeed that provides the answer — for a small price plus shipping. Just as marketing has become personalized well beyond what we could have imagined even a decade ago, career advancement is keeping pace, with personalization becoming paramount in job search success in the golf industry.
Gone are the days of sending off a résumé and trusting that your job titles and experience alone will get you in the door. Every golf facility in the world is unique and composed of its own distinctive leadership team, golfers and families.
In this month’s column, we will explore how to leverage personalization to win your next job.
Who is the target golf facility? Just as digital marketing experts use every available tool to learn about you so they can personalize advertisements specifically to you, the first step in conducting a job search is to delve into your target golf facility. Use every possible avenue to gain a better understanding of the unique characteristics of that particular golf facility. Go beyond just the public information on its website — focus on what sets it apart in the eyes of its golfers/customers/members. Reach out to everyone in your network with knowledge about the work culture, leadership team members, influential members and committee chairs.
“Take dead aim.” As Harvey Penick’s “Little Red Book” encourages golfers to use this marksmanship philosophy to aim small, miss small when striking a golf ball, this is an illustrative analogy depicting the granular level of research it takes to personalize your career message. Think of yourself as investigating to uncover tiny clues that will inform your targeted campaign to a prospective employer. The other candidates will know the basic information about a golf facility, so focus your attention on what makes the golf facility, course and its people truly special and unlike any other golf facility in the world. Then use that data to inform your personalized career message.
Who are you? The second primary way to personalize your job search is by how you describe yourself to a prospective hiring committee. Based on your in-depth research, be intentional about which strengths and qualities you choose to highlight. Throughout your career, you have accumulated a wide range of possible achievements, stories and examples of success you could share. However, there is only a limited amount of space in your résumé and limited moments in an interview to convey why you are uniquely the best fit with their leadership team. Select successes in your career that directly connect with the target audience and their priorities. For example, if you have found that a prospective golf club has an exceptional work culture supporting employee growth and engagement, then instead of listing another turf achievement on your résumé, replace it with a point about your leadership and ability to foster a positive work culture.
Another key strategy is to depict your current and past golf facilities from a broader perspective than just turf. The hiring committee will be made of people who view the golf course superintendent role as part of the overall club, not operating as just turf maintenance.
So, personalize your approach to your audience and describe your role through the lens of the overall organization mission statement, not just turf maintenance. How are you contributing to the overall success of your golf facility and serving its customers? What similarities do you see with the target golf club that you can highlight? This is where your deep-dive research pays off. How do you as a person connect to them as people? Give them a well-rounded depiction of you as a person, leader and team member, not just a turf expert.
Every job posting will yield a stack of résumés from men and women who are depicted as turf experts. Instead, personalize your message so that even before they tell you what they are wanting, you magically embody the role and person they are seeking — of course, for a small price plus shipping.
Carol D. Rau, PHR, has been a career consultant and speaker with GCSAA since 2005 and specializes in golf and turf industry careers. Rau is a frequent speaker at national, regional and local GCSAA conferences and teaches GCSAA webinars.