Look out for those guys when hiring

In looking ahead to interviewing and hiring the seasonal staff for the coming season, I started thinking about the recurring characters that you run across every year. I don’t mean encountering the exact same individual every year; I’m talking about dealing with the same types of people, year after year. Let’s take a look at some of the regulars:

The Jack of All Trades

This is the guy who claims to have done everything at his last course. Experience with all types of equipment, check. Spraying, check. Cutting cups, check. Hand watering, check. In short, there’s nothing he can’t do. Fortunately for you, he decided he needed “a change of scenery” and he’s willing to take a pay cut to make it happen. While he knows your pay range for seasonal staff tops out at $10 per hour, he was making $15 per hour at his previous course, but he’d be willing to join your staff for the paltry sum of $13 per hour. This guy actually turns out to be as good as advertised maybe 20 percent of the time and that might be generous. Frequently though, he’s just hoping the change of scenery will get him out of the fly-mowing and weed-eating purgatory he was stuck in at his old course.

The Golf Junkie

The Golf Junkie just flat out loves golf and golf courses. He rolls into the interview in standard golf attire, complete with white belt and sunglasses around the back of his Titleist hat. His first question is when is Employee Golf Day and his second question is if he’s allowed to play on other days too. Every once in a while, you’ll run across an especially brazen Golf Junkie who will push the envelope further by asking if he can bring guests every week too.

The Prospective Superintendent

This guy has been around golf course maintenance enough to know that if he acts like he’s seriously considering a career in the industry, he has a better shot of getting more money and better jobs when hired. Unfortunately, things keep falling apart for him at the last minute when he actually tries to enroll in a turf program. It’s not uncommon for a guy to be a Prospective Superintendent and a Jack of All Trades.

The Scheduler

There is no one more infuriating than The Scheduler. Despite the fact the job posting clearly states that the position is 40+ hours a week and weekends are required, The Scheduler will show up at the interview with a revised schedule that will better fit his needs. Not surprisingly, the new schedule doesn’t include weekends due to his demanding sand volleyball tournament schedule.

The Shotgunner
(aka The Cyclist)

The Shotgunner is the guy who doesn’t have a car and/or driver’s license but whose girlfriend (or mom, roommate, friend, etc.) is going to bring him to work every day. If he can’t get a lift, he’ll just ride his bike. Thinking that someone is going to drag themselves out of bed every day before dawn to drive someone else to work is crazy. You can sometimes spot The Shotgunner as soon as he walks into your office because for whatever reason, they seem to favor Affliction T-shirts, which, as everyone knows, is always appropriate for a job interview.

You usually run into at least a couple of these guys every year when you’re hiring and even though you know the odds of them being a good fit are pretty low, it’s still worth your time to be open-minded. One of the best crew guys I’ve ever hired was a Shotgunner and occasionally, a Jack of All Trades really is just that.

It’s hard to find good people nowadays. There aren’t a lot of people lining up to be up at the crack of dawn to work a labor-intensive job that isn’t exactly lucrative. The broader the net you cast, the better your chances of success.

On the other hand, The Scheduler never works out. You’re just setting yourself up for a season of headaches with this guy. If he ends up in the net, just throw him back.