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AFM Magazine


The Big 10

10 tips for getting your next job...
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Every year thousands of coaches try to take the next step up the ladder of success thatleads to the land of head coaching. Most of these men fully believe they have "what it takes" and all they need is a chance. Yet, many of these same men will tell me they feel totally disenfranchised and do not know how to "get in the loop" or make it to the next level. So many coaches seem to feel if they work hard, their efforts will be noticed and rewarded. My response is: Maybe. But, why should someone interested in moving his career forward leave success to luck or chance their future on the fact that possibly someone will notice their accomplishments?

Chance can be minimized by coaches when they "think outside of the box" and do not rely on the "old system" of moving up the feeding chain of the coaching hierarchy, Coaches should do everything possible to refine their skills, improve their marketability, and get their work noticed These coaches should study and learn from acknowledged experts. And, these experts do not necessarily have to just be from the football world.

The modern game of football is much more than x's and o's. It is a game of management principles, motivational psychology, working within budgets and according to precise deadlines and within very specific rules and regulations. Therefore, the next generation of coaches must be masters of many disciplines.

So, what can a coach do to prepare for future success? Here are 10 suggestions:

1. Learn from the masters of the game... The real secret to improving the quality of your life and coaching ability is to learn from and model yourself after the top professionals in the game. Learn from the best. Look for clinics at great schools whose O or D you want to emulate. For example, if you want a wide-open passing game, go to Oklahoma, BYU or Texas Tech. Virtually all schools have these as a means of recruiting in-state, but they are more than open to others joining in...also, these clinics are a great chance to develop relationships to go back later for some one-on-one.

2. Create a detailed plan of attack... don't leave success to chance... You do not necessarily need to sit down and write our your Top 20 things you want to accomplish like Lou Holtz did; but you do need to assess your talents and make certain they coincide with your goals. So think about what you want; make a plan (actually commit it to writing... not some abstract thoughts like, "I wanna' be a head coach by the time I'm 35."). Write down your step-by-step plan. Thereafter, sit back and determine if it is realistic plan. Have others look at it and honestly assess your goals.

3. Develop an area of expertise... In any job, one of the best ways to get ahead is to make yourself indispensable. The same is true in coaching, I believe that "experts" succeed; they get noticed and they get hired. So the lesson is a coach needs to develop an acknowledged area of expertise. Do all you can to learn and, thereafter, market this acquired expertise. For example, let's assume you want to become an expert at special teams play. You should plan to visit the best schools and teams (Virginia Tech, Bobby April at the Rams, Mike Westhoff at the Jets, etc.). You need to find clinics where the top special teams gurus will be featured; get there, and ask questions, take the coach to lunch, etc. Get every tape possible of trick plays and great return schemes. These types of things will help you get outstanding results, and this will get you noticed.

4. Develop highly trained computer skills... In the 21st century there are only two kinds of coaches: those that are computer literate, and those who are not able to turn a computer on. If you want to move quickly up the ladder, you have to become more than proficient at all of the computer technology available to help coaches with their jobs. This includes video editing, play diagramming software, recruiting management, and scouting software, statistical analysis and much more. All of these tools and software are designed to assist coaches quickly perform the tasks that used to take hours. Coaches who can utilize these valuable technological wonders will have more time to devote to career enhancement and be recognized by their bosses and peers as "computer guys", which is a badge of honor in the year 2001.

5. Master the Internet... The information available to web surfers is almost unfathomable. The current ability to perform thorough and expeditious research is unparalleled in history. If you want instantaneous answers to virtually any question, all you have to do is get on the web and begin to search. But the nuances of web surfing must be mastered so as to not waste time on useless tours through sites not related to your inquiry. By in-depth study and practice, you can find more information about recruits, products, job prospects or anything else you need in a fraction of the time it took just a few short years ago. Also, with the ability to use the state-of-the-art word processing programs, you can cut-and-paste information to make excellent reports and presentations.

6. Learn the secrets of success of people from other areas (i.e. apply business ideas and management philosophies to running a football program)... The business world constantly borrows from the sports world for the application of management techniques (staff meetings, "... we need to improve this quarter," etc.). But very seldom does the sports world borrow from the sound marketing, management, organizational structure, etc. principles that exists in the business world. I wholeheartedly believe that far-sighted coaches understand that they are managers, salesmen, leaders, and teachers. These coaches study every possible discipline imaginable to learn the secrets of successful people in those fields. These coaches will find mentors in fields other than coaching and emulate their success patterns. You should read Steven Covey; study master marketer Jay Abraham; learn the management principles of Edward Demming, and more. The on-field aspect coaching is only a small part of the total equation... don't ignore the other aspects of the job.

7. Be a head coach in training... Every single coach I have ever met did not stumble into his job. Each and every one of them prepared for the day he would run his own program. These coaches knew from "day one" they wanted to be a head coach. They studied their bosses; making both mental actual notes of all of the good and the bad. These coaches understood the things they wanted to copy and the things they wanted to do differently. In other words, they had a concrete plan fro what they would do the day they got the job. They did not have to plan as a matter of reaction to the new job; they had been proactive and had a day-to-day plan in place. There is a story about Dom Capers and his first interview to become the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Supposedly, he walked in and handed each person on the committee a five-inch thick notebook with his day-to-day plan for what he would do, whom he would hire, how he would run training camp, etc. Do you think it helped him get the job?

8. Dress professional and you'll be treated as a professional... This seems so simple that it should almost not be worth mentioning, but believe me there are a million coaches who overlook this very important aspect of the interview process. Let's begin by looking at the interview. By and large, an interview will be held with a group of influential boosters, who are generally successful businessmen. It is safe to assume these men will be dressed in nice suits and ties. Someone once coined the phrase, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Doesn't it make sense to attempt to dress in a manner that will make your hosts feel at ease in the interview setting? Look, you want them to focus on your coaching skills, not the fact your shoes are untied and not polished, or that your jacket and pants do not match, or the fact your shirt is wrinkled. Just pay attention to the details and go buy a suit if you have to. Get professional help from a haberdasher. It may be worth a $500 investment to get a $1000,000 per year job.

9. Develop great Interpersonal communication skills... In reality an interview is a sales pitch; you are selling yourself and your career. The best sales people in the world are the ones who are articulate and can talk to people in a manner that displays confidence and congeniality. Communication comes easy to some of us and to others it is unnatural. But the bottom-line is that if you are going to get a job, you are going to have to be an effective communicator. Put yourself in the search committee's place, if they do not feel you communicate well to them, how can they feel comfortable you will be able to get your points across to a room filled with 100+ athletes? So if this is an area of weakness, work on it. Hire a consultant, practice interviews with friends and spouses, etc. Just don't be naive enough to think, "I've got a winning record and a good pedigree, I'll get the damn job." Believe me it doesn't work quite that simply.

10. Create a terrific multi-media presentation package as opposed to a plain resume... First, it is highly debatable as to whether or not a person will ever get a job as a result of simply sending in a resume for a job opening. But, since it is the accepted form of applying for a job, it is advisable to make your one shot as effective as possible. I would urge you to create a "presentation package" including a resume complete with career highlight pages, letters of recommendation, media articles, published articles, charts, graphs and/or diagrams showing statistical successes. All of these things should be bound together professionally at a Kinkos or copy center of that ability, with all sections clearly labeled and an inclusive Table of Contents to make it easy for the reader to follow. With respect to the resume itself, these documents are arduous at best to read. So the resume form can be made much easier for the reader to comprehend by creating a "career summary" as an opening to the document. The career summary should list in one or, at the most, two paragraphs the applicant's career: his highlights and accomplishments must be listed in clear and concise chronological order. These are the types of things that would lead a reader to say "wow" or "this guy has really done some great things." The resume should also provide in-depth insights to the level of expertise of the coach, by listing statistical accomplishments, conference leaderships, national rankings, number of all-conference, all-district players, etc. Finally, in addition to the presentation package, the coach should become conversant with the media package called Power Point and create a fully integrated multi-media presentation to use at his formal interview. This can incorporate charts, graphs and/or diagrams showing statistical successes and video showing his style of play or highlights of the coach's career.

I hope the 10 points mentioned above are of some help to you in your quest to make it to the top of the career ladder. Needless to say, they certainly won't hurt.






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