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About this blog

Matt Leverich (and guests) from Playbooks for Golf blogs on tips and techniques for using technology to advance your operation and career.

Entries in this blog

Winter Career and Technology Checklist

For many of you winter is the only time you are able to really spend much time in the office. So, I thought I would include a few things we've covered at different times over the last several years that you can take action on now... when you actually have some time for it. By doing these tasks, you'll quickly be on the road to advancing your career and technology skills for the next challenge your career faces.  Acquire Photography of Your Course If you haven't had any images taken of y
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Website Series: Writing Your Bio

One of the things you should always try to include in a career website or portfolio is a biography. It can help the hiring person get to know you quickly and hit on some points of interest for them to add your application to the yes pile at the initial stages of the process.    The problem is that a biography can get out of hand in a hurry and actually work as a disservice to your application if done wrong. To this end, here are a few tips to the beginnings of a well-crafted bio.   
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Website Series: Use career materials at your current club

Career websites have become increasingly popular over the last 6-7 years and I can tell you authoritatively that they work very well to increase your odds of attaining an interview or call back when you otherwise are not acquiring them. Print portfolios also have extremely valuable use during the interview process, leaving a professional and lasting impression with the hiring committee. I have way too many stories of past clients' success in the arena for anyone to discount this fact. So if you
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Website Series: Taking the Right First Step

This is the first in a series on building career websites for the turf industry. We will cover all aspects of content, page building, imagery, and more. Let's start with some facts. There is still a bottleneck at the top of our industry in trying to attain a Superintendent position at a quality club. If you are applying blind to a position where you have no connections to the club at all, a standard cover letter and resume will not get it done. With dozens upon dozens of applicants, you hav
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Website Series: Professional Photography for Your Course & Career

While building career materials projects throughout the years, one key component is typically missing from them: excellent photography. The kind that can showcase just how great your course conditions can be. Very few guys have quality when it comes to this most important area, maybe one or two nice shots taken by amateurs. Hiring a professional photographer is a fantastic way to instantly create a bigger and better impression of your work. The difference in quality of images can be quite d
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Update: New TurfNet Look Is Even Better On Devices

Last fall I provided a tutorial on using TurfNet from devices like smartphones and tablets. It makes it very easy to view things like the Forum, Jobs Board, and more all from any device. This month, Peter and the team at TurfNet have launched a new version of the site which looks great, and it works even better on mobile devices. While the basics of my previous full tutorial (read here) are the same, there are a few changes to the navigation and getting to areas of the site. So, here's a few tip
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Top 8 Considerations for Your Resume

In addition to the normal questions I receive regarding resumes this time of year there has also been quite a bit of chatter about them in the TurfNet Forum, at GIS, and other industry channels. Last fall, I put together a very comprehensive article on resumes that covered many topics. It is quite lengthy, so I figured I would create a condensed Top 8 list for quick reference. Here is the original article if you want to get into the why on some of this stuff. A true resume is one page in
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

2

The Interchange: an introduction

Welcome to The Interchange, a new resource to help you keep your fingers on the pulse of the latest trends in career development and industry technology as they affect the golf course industry.   Over the past several years, a growing number of people have contacted us at Playbooks for Golf for guidance on how to best utilize communication technology to advance their careers.  We thought about starting a blog on our own site but the opportunity to reach so many more on TurfNet was too good to
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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The impact of a handwritten note...

Watching my wife designing holiday cards for clients and friends reminded me of an important topic related to todays modern world: the hand-written note. Yep, when it comes to our industry, it still works, and possibly now more than ever. It can be used in seeking another position or improving your standing with members at your current club. Before we get into it, I'd like to include a snippet of an article from the Harvard Business Review (full article) about the topic that sums it up quite wel
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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THE DANGERS OF AN ONLINE PRESENCE (though it’s still worth it)

If you're reading this, you know that online technology has allowed us in the turf industry to share good things like tips, tricks and maintenance practices.  But it can also impact your ability to retain your existing position or get that new job. How you craft and manage your online presence can be a boon or a bust to your operation and career.  FACEBOOK A hotly debated issue of late is companies asking prospective hires for access to social media such as Facebook, or to like the company or
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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The Course Set Paradox...

by Greg Wojick, Playbooks for Golf   Many golf course workers can now be thankful that setting up the course is over for the season (not so for the sun belt guys and gals). Course set-up is that recurring job that golfers can easily understand but it can also become a tedious chore for the worker routinely assigned to this hugely important duty. Day after day this set of chores is expected to be done with perfection lest the superintendent will hear about it. If a violation with course s
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

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The Confusing Use of Your Full Name

This is one of those posts that there's not a cut and dry solution for every situation, but rather recommendations based on feedback from hiring professionals and potential employees. It happens often enough that I thought it worthy of a post. It is commonplace in most professional industries to use your full first name on your resume, cover letter, website and other career materials. Some even use the middle name initial or "junior, III, IV," etc. The main idea is that people think it make
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

2

The application email, & using a header image

This post is a quick and easy, yet very effective use of your application email for making an impact in your job application right at the start. First off, there are a two things you should know about sending your application email: You should state your sincere interest in the club or company and mention why their organization is worthy of your interest. It almost always serves you well to flatter with a statement about them, instead of solely focusing on you. This is a great way to sta
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Technology Time Management

Recently I have been working with the MetGCSA in rebuilding their online presence and ran across a great article from their award-winning Tee to Green publication archive. It deals with how technology has both saved and added time to the duties of the golf course superintendent. This started me thinking about the daily routine of today's superintendent. Due to my work I am almost always in front of a computer all day, every day. I see a new technological advancement as saving me time. But f
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Tech: Reboots, Tests, and Lessons Learned

I haven’t delved into technology posts lately on this blog, instead focusing on career topics. It’s been due to not having enough time to offer quality advice in a field that constantly changes. Why, you might ask? Well, I have been working for the last 18 months on a new project for the industry that occupied any free time I had. And it’s finally done, at least version 1.  I don’t usually speak directly on this blog about our products, but I think this service is beneficial to both your op
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Tech Tip: Online Password Management Solution

This topic isn't specific to the turfgrass industry but we are all adding more and more technology into our daily operations, which typically means new logins and passwords for various software or websites. Add to that your personal accounts for bills, family activities and more, and it can get frustrating to remember all of them. As of today, I have over 50 logins!  When it comes to daily organization, I have written in the past about my use of Wunderlist, a free app for making lists and a
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Tech tip: Image headers in Word for a professional look

I would estimate that close to 100% of superintendents have and use Microsoft Word for creating various documents for use around your clubs, and personally as well. While there are limitations to the software, one thing that works great is how it handles headers. There is a little bit of process to it, but in the end you can have a very nicely designed document that you can then edit on your own.    Let's say that you have had TurfNet design a header for your blog and you'd like to use i
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

1

Take Action This Month!

For many of you summer is crazy busy and full of nothing but work on the course. So naturally many of your other endeavors regarding your career and even using communication tools and resources like TurfNet can get put on the backseat. So, I thought I would revisit a few things we've covered recently that make this month a great chance to take action on them. Acquire Photography of Your Course If you haven't had any images taken of your great course conditions this season, now is your
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Smart Board Update: Now Easier Than Ever

While writing this blog I try to keep the past materials I've written as up-to-date as possible for a strong resource archive, which can be difficult when it comes to the technology stuff we sometimes cover here. One of the tutorials I wrote last year -- setting up a "smart board" for your operation -- provided a step-by-step guide to doing it with ease.  At the time, the best way to pull this off was to purchase an AppleTV and a piece of software called AirParrot, especially if you were on
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

SET UP A CREW “SMART BOARD” WITH EASE

Many turf managers ask us for a suggested "smart board" setup for crew training, assignments and other uses at their facility. A smart board is a digital device used to display information to your crew. Essentially, you use your office computer or tablet tied to a projector or TV in the crew room area. There are many different ways to do this, but for the purpose of this post we are going to show you one of the easiest, cheapest, and most versatile setups. For around $500, you can get set up wit
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

1

Rethinking the Superintendent Search

Guest post by Greg Wojick, Playbooks for Golf -- I recently visited the CMAA (Club Managers Association of America) website. One of the first things I noticed was that more than two dozen executive search firms were listed.   I looked further, scanning many of the search firm sites. I saw that there were numerous searches for general managers, most often referred to as COOs and occasionally CEOs. I also saw searches for assistant general managers, executive chefs, directors of
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

2

Rethink Your Lengthy Portfolio

The following information pertains to portfolios as documents like a PDF, Word file, or other printable file type or digital file that must be scrolled like a document. This does not include online portfolios on websites. After years of work looking over and/or building superintendent portfolios and the results produced, one item consistently appears in feedback from hiring personnel on DIY portfolios: The content is too long! I've written before about keeping your resume as sh
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Resumes: Guidelines for Professional References

References are very important in the turf industry -- it's relatively small and there is a good chance someone from your work history is connected where you are applying. This is especially true for Assistant Superintendent positions. So why is there continued use of 'References Available Upon Request'? Misinformation, mostly. Here are some suggestions to make the most out of your references. 1. Always send references -- always. As mentioned, there is a good chance this can really help you
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Reminder for cover letters...

Over the last several weeks it seems that quite a few job opportunities have come along across the country and I have been receiving many requests on how to handle cover letters for these opportunities. So for those out there that are interested, here is a point-by-point tutorial on crafting a cover letter to your advantage that I wrote last year as a solid reminder heading into your next opportunity. There are countless articles and tips out there about writing an effective cover letter ac
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Presentation Tips: How to Engage Your Audience

Guest Post by Greg Wojick   Our industry has always been about so much more than growing grass. Eventually everyone has an issue arise, either agronomic or elsewhere in the operation. My belief is that whenever you're in trouble -- and even before you are in trouble -- you better be able to communicate well.   I'm usually impressed with superintendents' technical competence and professional conduct. If only that were all you needed for success! The reality is that a m
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

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