April 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 44

FUTURE LEADERS continued from page 42

overall worth of employment with an agency, upwards of 30 percent over the base salary. In addition, a young professional should
examine whether agencies will provide opportunities for professional memberships,
travel, and training. All of these considerations should be factored into the decisionmaking process, not just starting pay.
Within the first six months of
employment, what are agency directors
looking for in their new employee?
Enthusiasm, and willingness to try new
things, stay late, and come in early. I also
look for employee growth-are they learning from their mistakes, are they learning
their job, and do they see the impact their
decisions are making in their job?
How long would you suggest young and
new professionals stay in a position
before looking for advancement
opportunities?

It depends on the organization they are
working for and the desire of the employee. If the employee does not have
the drive and desire to move up, they
should stay where they are and continue
to make a positive contribution. There
is nothing wrong with being comfortable where you are, especially if you
are making a positive impact. But for
those with a desire to be promoted in
the field, I would recommend evaluating what skill sets they need to master
for their current job. Once they have
mastered that skill set, regardless of
the time spent in that position, then they
can look into moving to a new position.
It should be noted that mastery of a skill
set needs to be viewed by someone else
besides the young professional. Sometimes when you have mastered your
current skill set and are ready to move,
the department does not have any promotion offerings open. If this happens,

the professional must understand that if
they really want to grow they may need
to go somewhere else to do it. Make sure
you seize the opportunity if that is what
you really want to do.
I want to thank Chris Nunes for taking
time out of his busy schedule to do the interview. If you have an idea for an upcoming column, please let us know; head to
the Young Professional page on the new
NRPAConnect website and tell us your
thoughts.

Shane Mize is the Recreation

Superintendent for Missouri City, Texas.
He is currently Chair-Elect of the Young
Professional Network and serves on the
Congress Program Committee. He is a
previous recipient of the NRPA Young
Professional Fellowship and the American
Academy Young Professional Externship.
He enjoys recreation and leisure activities
with his wife and four kids.

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