Golfdom, July 2017

Im Just Saying ITS HOW YOU SAY IT To whom it may concern was the start of a cover letter I received recently My contact info was on the listing more than once Its never too early to make a bad impression STEVEN WRIGHT CGCS Pine Tree GC Boynton Beach Fla Uncover the right cover letter T o whom it may concern is not the proper way to introduce yourself in a cover letter Unless of course you want it to go to the bottom of Redundant yes important yes Wrong name or wrong company is a major mistake that I see every time I advertise a position 2 Cover letters are not one size fits all Do not use the same cover letter for different jobs 3 Grammar is still important Dont think you can get by on spell check and your own ability to spell check Have someone double check you 4 No more than one page please No matter the position and your qualifications a wordy cover letter goes nowhere 5 Qualifications Simple examples directly related to open position are fine Avoid using superior exemplary outstanding or other ridiculous descriptions of your qualifications Its OK to tell your story Make it about why you are the right person the stack or worse the circular file This is a trying time in our industry Everyone is trying to hire an assistant Nationally one site lists more than 80 assistant and 23 second assistant positions The GCSAA job board reflects similar numbers Obviously some are the same jobs posted on different boards In the south Florida area eight open assistant positions at good clubs are advertised right now Starting salaries are better now than last year To say it is a highly competitive market is accurate Competitive in one way clubs trying to fill open positions Unfortunately most of the few résumés we get wont get an interview because of simple mistakes To whom it may concern was the start of a cover letter I received recently I know I put my contact info in the job listing but I re checked anyway To the hiring manager was for the job Try not to rehash your résumé No unsupported claims either It all comes out in the end 6 Research the company or club to which you are applying A little bit goes a long way here Again dont get carried away Maybe you will find a great idea while researching Maybe youll decide its not the right fit based on your research 7 Follow the instructions on the job posting Twitter is good for getting the word out but a little too casual for official job search Follow up with cover letter and résumé Cover letters are the first document regarding you that a potential employer reads In our profession its still widely recommended to send cover letters for every job for which you apply Résumés have structure and guidelines that you should follow strictly There are plenty of online resources and GCSAA has a great team dedicated to help with résumés cover letters Im not sure how many assistants 30 plus that I have had the pleasure of working with through the years but each one began their career with me by attaching an acceptable cover letter with their résumé Job hunting is all about finding the right match for both parties Give yourself the best chance with a good cover letter justsaying Steven Wright CGCS is golf course superintendent at Pine Tree GC in Boynton Beach Fla He can be reached at steven_ wrightcgcs@ pinetreegolfclub net or followed at @ wrightsteve19 another opener My contact info was on the listing more than once Its never too early to make a bad impression I also received another cover letter and résumé that was so vague I wasnt sure for what job this applicant was applying BTW I was only advertising one position Ive received several that were too long and some that were too short Cover letters still are important especially in management positions Cover letters are read by someone who will decide whether to talk to you further Does your cover letter represent you well enough that the decision maker considers it worth his her time to interview you Some obvious tips come to mind 1 Check the job posting to make sure you address your cover letter to the right person Then make sure you address it to the right person 12 Golfdom July 2017 Golfdom com