2006 Squash Australia National Coaching Conference

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2006 Squash AustraliaNational Coaching
Conference

• National Athlete Career and Education
  Presentation
• Saturday 18th November, 2006.

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Introduction
Rob McDougal National Athlete Career and
Education Consultant. Formal education Bachelor
of Science (HMS Psych), Masters of Applied
Science (Sports Coaching). Vocational Background
Australian Regular Army Battalion and Brigade
Education Officer. Sport Queensland Rugby
Union, Cycling Australia, Australian Sports
Commission Australian Institute of Sport.
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What is NACE?

• Network of professional athlete career
  education advisors based within the SIS/SAS
  network.
• Currently a total of 25 staff.
• Due to new initiatives, figure will be doubling
  up to 50 staff in the next year.

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What do we do?

• Guidance and assistance in both career and
  education for athletes from NSOs, SIS/SAS
  Scholarship holders and AIS athletes. (Overall
  approximately 3000 athletes).
• Major event support during events such as the
  Olympics.
• Primarily face to face interaction with athletes.
  
• Online resources available to athletes.
• From next year coaches, dancers and professional
  footballers.

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Coach Career Management

• Develop the best coaches possible
• Provide positive sport experiences for all
  people, including coaches.
• Servicing approximately 120 high performance
  coaches from next year.
• ACE online will be adapted to have a separate
  area for coaches

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The process

• Face to face interaction and Initial Assessment
  (IA) during this session, career desires,
  education background as well as personal
  strengths and weaknesses will be discussed.
• This IA helps formulate the Action Plan (AP) to
  give a way forward for the coach to develop their
  skill sets and experience required for their
  desired career path.
• The role of the Coach Career Advisor is to assist
  and empower the coach to make the decisions
  necessary to enhance their career prospects.

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Question

• How many of you here, have an action plan for
  your career?

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In coaching terms

• The AP is your periodisation training program for
  your career
• Serendipity
• Failing to plan, is planning to fail.
• Word of Mouth
• Preparation
• Paper trail, to trace, document and justify the
  decision making process.
• Your role is to help justify the decision to hire
  you.

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Case study Applying for a job.

• The slippery pole.
• Applying for a job is like trying walk across a
  slippery pole, you can fall off at any stage.
• Coach Career Management is about increasing your
  rate of success in crossing that pole)

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Step 1 Recruitment The advertisement.

• Key points to note are the
• POC Point of Contact
• Website Address for the application pack.

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Step 2 The tools (Your chance to sell
yourself)The covering letter

• Tell them that you are applying for the position
• Give the contact person a call.
• Make sure you ask questions.
• If it is the ideal job dont be put off by the
  salary range.

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CV / Resume

• Most important tool.
• Qualifications
• Experience
• Results
• Customise
• Read the requirements carefully and match your
  experiences and results with those requirements.
• Experience has shown most applicants fall over at
  this stage by not meeting the job requirements.
• As to how you assemble and present your CV/resume
  up to you.

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Apply

• Get it in on time.
• The postal rule applies.
• Most organisations require it electronically.

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The Shortlist

• Congratulations, you have been informed that you
  have made the interview stage
• Generally, a phone call
• Clarify where the interview is to be held
  (Nothing worse than turning up late because you
  got lost on the day!)

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Preparation

• Research.
• Go to the next level
• Knowledgeable others
• PPPPPPP

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The interview

• Dress to impress
• Professional and confident smiling will help.
• The interview process is as much an interview for
  you as it is for them.
• Follow up questions.
• Dont ask questions for the sake of asking
  questions.

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The position

• Well done!
• Dont relax now.
• Attention to detail - ensure that you dot the is
  and cross the ts on everything.

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Take home messages

• Seek help! Confucius once said It is easier to
  walk a cleared path than to cut your own way
  through the forest.
• Experience has demonstrated that where people
  fall off the pole is in not addressing the
  selection criteria match your qualifications,
  experiences and results against the criteria and
  cover them all.
• Do your homework on the organisation and the job.
• You are competing against others, put your best
  foot forward, presentation and confidence are
  important in the face to face interview.
• Once you get the position make sure you follow
  up on the admin to ensure that you stay hired.

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Resources

• Weblinks
• www.ais.org.au/ace/index.asp
• www.careers.usyd.edu.au/students/jobsearch/applica
  tions_resume.shtml
• www.sss.uq.edu.au/index.html?page1188
• www.careerone.com
• www.seek.com
• www.novita.org.au/content.asp?p89progressive_mus
  cle_relaxation

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Finally

• Thank you for the opportunity to present at your
  conference.
• Questions?
• robert.mcdougal_at_ausport.gov.au
• 02 6214 1916