3-in-1: Needle tine - Pitchcare

YOU may by now have concluded, with
some regret, that after a lot of effort you
are finally at or near the top of your
game. Perhaps you are one of the very
best groundsmen or greenkeepers in the
country, but for some reason the world
still doesn’t beat a path to your door and
bombard you with fabulous job offers.
You may now even suspect that the world
wants you to beat a path to its door, leave
a note of your e-mail address and your
mobile number and then wait for a call.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Ralph Waldo
Emerson’s famous misquote was true
today? “Build a better mousetrap, and
the world will beat a path to your door”.
For the record, Emerson (1803-1882)
apparently wrote: “If a man has good
corn, or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell
... you will find a broad hard-beaten road
to his house.”
Nowadays, if you want to get on, you
have to actively promote yourself. Just
like those exhibitors at SALTEX, you
have to look for opportunities to display
and ‘sell’ yourself.
You could, of course, wait patiently for
advancement at work to eventually
happen. Unfortunately (and I have bitter
experience of this) your competitors are
not waiting around to be promoted or
hired. Alarmingly, your own managers
could actually see your patience not as a
virtue but as a vice. It might even be seen
as a clear sign of your apathy, an
indication that you’re not interested in
advancement. In fact, they might even
believe that they are doing you a favour
by not promoting you!
Meanwhile the proactive amongst your
competitors have already raised their
profile (in the eyes of your managers),
networking and ‘selling’ themselves on
their good points and making it clear
that they want advancement in order to
demonstrate that they’re better than you
and everybody else.
Perception is reality
The first thing to accept about selfmarketing
is that it is not about how you
see yourself but how others see you. Your
success is down to how well you can
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Trainer and Careers Counsellor FRANK NEWBERRY continues his
series on methods to help you get on in your chosen career. in
this issue he looks at the challenge of marketing your most
valuable asset - yourself.
Will YOU be making
an ‘exhibition’ of
yourself at SALTEX?
shape the way that others see you. The
first question you might ask yourself is,
do you know how others see you? Do you
know how you come across to others?
Have you ever asked for feedback on
your image as a professional? If ‘yes’,
then have you acted on it? If ‘no’, then
perhaps this should be your starting
point.
There is research that has calibrated
just what it is that contributes to your
advancement and promotion in
organisations. The results show three
main characteristics:
First - your ability (which accounts for
about 10% of your impact).
Second - your visibility (your
reputation or how well known your
ability is - which accounts for 25% of
your impact).
Third - your image (whether you look
the part, whether you make a good first
impression which accounts for 65% of
your impact).
These results are only disturbing to the
point of realisation that the people who
make decisions about your career may
know little or nothing about turf
management. These people may assume
that you know your stuff (your ability)
and, if they know you at all, they know
you only by reputation (your visibility)
and by the impressions you give them
when you meet (your image).
If this is really true, and every
groundsman and greenkeeper I have
asked about these results thinks they are
largely true, then you must learn to ‘play
the game’ or ‘work the system’.
One step ahead ...
Where can you start? A good place
clearly is to ‘Plus One’ your physical
image. This means that you should dress
to a standard that is one higher than the
standard people in your job would
normally adopt. Instead of going to
SALTEX in jeans and a tee-shirt, wear a
crisp, smart shirt with clean trousers and
footwear. Get your haircut by a good
barber and trim any facial hair. Learn to
‘work the room’ and have something
positive to say to people (no whinges)
when you meet them. Smile, shake hands
briefly and give good eye contact,
especially when you are listening. Take
an interest in their day and nod whilst
they speak to show your interest and
approval. Have business cards to give out
to people and tell them you hope to
spend more time with them soon - then
move on with a smile.
When you meet someone you really
want to chat to in more depth then ask if
it’s a good time or, should you meet up
with them later. Offer them a drink and
have something to ask them about,
something you want to discuss,
something you want their opinion about.
People are flattered when you want their
input but keep it short, don’t take over
their day. You could ask to see them at
another time and place. Give them your
card and/or ask for theirs. Make a note
on their card of when you met them and
what you talked about, so that when you
call for an appointment it’s fresh in your
mind.
If you’re worried about your ability to
speak confidently then review your
reading. You may need to upgrade to a
newspaper that will stretch your
vocabulary. You don’t have to give up
your favourite tabloid but you should
read a quality paper one day per week.
The Times is a good one to start with and
you may wish to try out the Independent,
Guardian or Telegraph later on. Again the
‘plus one’ rule applies. Your challenge is
to expand the range of your visibility by
mixing confidently with people who do
not know you or do not know you well.
As far as your current job is concerned
you should put it in writing that you want
better work, more responsibility and
more involvement in decision-making. If
your employer is nervous about this then
suggest a trial period for the
arrangement.
FRANK NEWBERRY is an accredited selection consultant
and has recruited (and rejected) candidates for positions in
a number of major organisations including BT, the Post
Office and the DVLA. In the next issue, Frank looks at how
to market yourself through the format of your CV and how
to tackle interviews.