CASE STUDY: Career Planning for Success4 min read

Club Inc’s Career Coaching service has helped more than 100 individuals since its inception a year ago, helping CEO’s, GM’s, Golf Club Secretary’s, Directors of Golf and Golf Professionals with their career planning and objectives, and in doing this we’ve identified the common practices that are required when preparing for a new career opportunity application.

Golf is a fascinating and varied industry with much history and it employs many thousands of people across the UK & Europe offering a variety of roles and opportunities within different areas of the sport.

Most of us will spend 30 – 40 years of our lives working in different roles and organisations so it is important that we make the right choices and think through how best to make the most of our assets to create an interesting and fulfilling career.

Considering options when it comes to a career can be challenging and difficult, and knowing where to go for insight and advice can be daunting, which is why it’s important to review and assess where you are currently in your career, identify realistic and achievable goals that can support your progression within the sport and club industry, and also to create a clear plan to take you to where you want to go.

Two Club Inc. success stories are qualified PGA Professionals Matthew Hough and Karl Whitehead.  Matthew was one of our very first candidates having met me at a PGA course regarding working in China.  Matthew, 26, was employed as a qualified assistant at a traditional golf club in the North of England.  He was frustrated in his role, ambitious to take his career to the next level and had targeted Asia as the ideal place to work and live.

“At first I wasn’t sure what this assessment would bring me and it was going to be a big investment for me.  I worked with Niall to understand what my strengths really were, how I could turn my weaknesses into opportunities, how to grow those opportunities and realise any possible threats just like a business.

“Niall even sent me his CV and showed me a template that was clear and helped me to really highlight my achievements.  I grew to realise that a CV is not a job description – it really needs to show perspective employers very quickly who I am and what I have achieved.  With my CV transformed I was then eager to make the next step of undertaking a role-play interview.  This was just like an interview I even put on my jacket and tie on and felt really nervous.  Niall showed me a recording of the interview and offered his advice on where to improve, from this experience the next role-play session was much better and gave me confidence for when the real thing came along.

“We then looked at my LinkedIn and Twitter accounts and gave me a much better brand even changing my email address which made me look more professional.  Finally Club Inc showed me the importance of networking opportunities and I visited the Open Championship where they introduced me to so many people, which is really Club Inc’s unique skill as between Mark, Niall and their associates they know nearly everyone in industry.”

Another example is Karl Whitehead, now Head Professional at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, who had a clear career goal of working in the Middle East:

“I contacted Club Inc, as I knew they could help me achieve my goal of working in the Middle East. Niall was a GM in Dubai I tapped into his knowledge about the area and his contacts.  My CV was transformed to be specific and was worth the time and resource investment to get my dream job.

“My CV and cover letter certainly played a pivotal role in my success in achieving my dream move to Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi.”

Both these examples show the difference that a clear, concise and targeted CV can make when applying for career opportunities.  But what they also highlight is that it’s not just the CV that is important – a full mix of skills involving your CV, interview technique and preparation of your own online presence is required to help you achieve your career goals.