015 | The Importance of an Open-Minded Approach When Selecting Candidates with Mary Maloney

We are excited to introduce our very own Administrative Manager, Mary Maloney, on this episode of Leadership on the Links! Mary provides essential administrative support to the Tyler Bloom Consulting team, along with assisting in our recruiting efforts and marketing channels.  Prior to working with Tyler Bloom Consulting, Mary worked in manufacturing before pivoting to a career in recruiting. Mary is tied to the golf industry through her husband who is a Field Staff member for the GCSAA, and grandfather who is a golf course architect.  In this episode, Mary gives examples of having an open mindset when selecting candidates for your roles and the benefits of this hiring approach.  Education Isn’t Everything While having a degree can be an important qualification for a job, it’s not everything. When hiring for your golf course, it’s important to heavily consider a candidate’s experience. For instance, while someone might not have the perfect educational background, they could have been working at a golf course since they were 16 and gaining knowledge through hands-on experiences. If you find someone who is a good fit, they can always gain the education they need through additional schooling or hands-on training after they are hired. By giving unconventional candidates a chance, you are widening your candidate pool and improving your chances of hiring someone great.  Culture Is Essential to Success Before the hunt for your next employee even begins, it’s important to define your company culture. This way, you can ensure the candidate you select is going to mesh well with your team. In order to attract people who fit your culture, you want to showcase what your golf course is all about to candidates. Show people what they can expect when they walk into their interview or first day on the job.  Keep your website up to date and include plenty of photos of your facility. Even using social media to highlight your other team members is a great way to show your workplace culture.  Networking Is Key As many people know, the golf industry tends to be male dominated. However, there are plenty of women who find success in this field as superintendents and in other leadership roles.  For women trying to break into the industry, Mary strongly encourages them to network. Whether it be attending golfing events, joining online groups, sending messages to fellow professionals on social media, or any other means of surrounding yourself with people in golf, networking can help you get your foot in the door.  Enjoy this episode with Administrative Manager, Mary Maloney… Soundbytes 11:17-11:28 “I think that people forget that, like you said, people are, ‘oh, you get to work outside, how fun?’ Yes, it's nice, and you're not bored at a desk, but it is a very demanding job.” 14:19-14:46 “I think it's important when you are home to be present with your family. Make sure you allow that time. Make sure you have all of your ducks in a row on the course and have people who you trust on the course when you're not there, so you can enjoy that time when you're at home.”   Quotes  “If you're okay to explore, not having that one specific thing, you might end up with the perfect candidate.” “You do need to have a passion in this industry to further your career and get to those top-level positions and clubs.” “I know it’s kind of cliche, but network network network.” “He's not that patient of a man in real life. But, for some reason on the golf course, he's very patient and very fun to play with.” Links mentioned in this episode: Tyler Bloom Consulting: https://tylerbloomconsulting.com/ Connect with Mary Maloney on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/mlmmaloney