Hello world! Can I have a job?
Hello. My name is Mike Breslin and I am the Senior Career Specialist at the Sage College of Albany. My goal with this blog is to educate my loyal readers about the art, science and (sometimes) magic of the career planning process.
That sounds rather dry, does it not?
Hopefully, with the help of some outside the box examples, I will be able to make it less dry and more relevant to the needs of my faithful readers.
So on with my first entry…
I am a sports fan. Not rabid but I do enjoy the competition, rooting for the underdog and appreciating the hard work and sacrifice it takes to succeed at the the higher levels. What does this have to do with career planning? I’m glad you asked. Recently, the Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL for the non-fans…if there area any) fired their head coach, Lane Kiffin. Details can be found here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3617977
A quick bit of background. The owner of the Raiders, Al Davis, was once one of the great owners in all of sports. He conducted himself and the team as he saw fit and had great results to show for it. He coined the team motto, “Just win, baby,” which is used today to ridicule his once great franchise. Since 2002, he has had six head coaches and the Raiders have compiled a record of 20 wins and 64 losses. For comparison’s sake, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had six coaches since 1957.
Of late, the media has questioned the decision making abilities of Mr. Davis. At 79 years old, some believe his over-involvement in the day-to-day affairs of the team are becoming increasingly detrimental. As such, no established coaches want to work for him. 31-year-old Lane Kiffin did.
His previous job was as a coordinator for a college football team. Most aspiring NFL coaches have to wait years for their first head coaching opportunity. This opportunity fell into Mr. Kiffin’s lap and he took it. I will not get into the debate about whether or not he did a good job as coach of the Raiders but I do want to talk about some of the things he might have done (or should have done) before taking the position.
- Do your homework. Research the place to which you are applying. If the business is all over the news with hirings and firings and the boss is a known micro-manager, you may want to consider if you can survive and prosper in such a work environment.
- Talk to current and former employees. One of the Raider’s previous coaches was Art Schell. He coached them twice, both tenures under Mr. Davis. Why did he go back? Did he love the work environment (he was fired both times, the second time after a single season)? Or did he want a shot at coaching an NFL team (for perhaps his last time…minority coaches are under-represented in most major sports)? Talk to a former employee and find out what they liked, what they did not like, and why they left (or were asked to leave).
- Be willing to make compromises. Mr. Kiffin knew when he took the job that several coaches fired by Mr. Davis went on to have successful careers. If I might crawl inside Mr. Kiffin’s head for a minute, he knew that the job would be difficult; both in working with the substandard roster of players and working for the micromanaging boss. But where else could a 31-year-old reach the pinnacle of his profession? He made that compromise, got the year-plus of experience and is now free to pursue other jobs. For some of you the compromises may revolve around travel, money and/or benefits. Know what you are willing (and what you are NOT willing) to deal with before agreeing to take a job.
- When you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas. Usually, I hate using cliches to make a point…but this one just works too well. It remains to be seen if Mr. Kiffin will escape the Raiders without any of the current Raiders ’stink’ on him. He is in the process of suing for the remainder of the money due to him under his contract. A drawn out legal battle may not enhance his candidacy for another position. Another example, if you worked for Enron and apply to another job, where do you think the interviewer’s thoughts will immediately turn?
It would seem that Mr. Kiffin entered no-lose position. If he does well, he’s a great coach in the NFL in his early thirties. If he does poorly, people are lined up to place blame on his out-of-touch owner. Either way, he got the experience and gets to move on from the Raiders, never to look back.
Thanks for reading.
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