IT-ing off: Tech jobs at the U.S. Golf Association
Be prepared to play your A game if you ever interview for a job with Jessica Carroll. You won't have to prove yourself out on the links (golfing is not a prerequisite for working in her IT organization), but you will have to demonstrate your technical skills, your problem-solving ability and your rapport with users while in the hot seat. Carroll, the United States Golf Association's managing director of IT, wants candidates to show her their stuff during job interviews. And boy can she put them through the paces!
Each year, the United States Golf Association (USGA), which writes and interprets the rules of golf in the States and in Mexico, stages 13 championships, including the U.S. Open, the Senior Open, the Women's Open and the Amateur. These events involve lots of logistics and unexpected variables, and their planning and execution can be stressful. So Carroll seeks IT staff members who are flexible, unflappable, hardworking, solution-driven and, above all, who get along with the rest of the USGA staff. And she really tests candidates during job interviews to make sure they're right for the job and for the organization.
In this Q&A, Carroll talks about her interview process and criteria for evaluating candidates, and she reveals her biggest hiring mistakes and the lessons she learned from them.
John Mann: How do you staff and provide support for major USGA events, such as the U.S. Open?
Jessica Carroll: IT is critical for our championship operations, mainly because the USGA staff that is running the championships cannot be worried about their equipment, the Internet connection or the network at the site of the championship. We strive for world-class championships, so it is critical for us to make sure that we have the equipment and network in place as well as onsite staff who can make sure that the championship staff does not have to worry about the equipment. It is a little bit tricky because I don't have a large staff.
We start in November, and one step is for the network team to work in conjunction with the help desk team. The network team is charged with coordinating and making sure that we are going to have the appropriate high-speed network at the event. They do not typically go out and do a site visit. We do this over the phone and work with individuals at the event location. What is challenging for us is that every event is in a different location and is different every year, so it's not like we always know we have a setup that is rock solid. We often do not know what we are getting into.
Typically, two weeks prior to the event, my onsite staff goes to the site. That could be one of the network staff, but more often it is one of the help desk staff. They are highly experienced
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