March 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 41

By Shane Mize

FUTURE LEADERS

Finding a Job in a
Tight Market

SHUTTERSTOCK

AM EXCITED TO BE WRITING MY FIRST in a series of columns for the

new Young Professional Network-columns by us, for us. This
month's column addresses fi nding your fi rst job in a tight market.

For any student reading this, there is a good
chance you will be graduating soon and looking for
your first professional job in the field of parks and recreation. This is also a relevant topic for me because
after six years at my fi rst professional job, I began
searching for a new position and used many of the
same steps to fi nd a new job opportunity of my own.
Your fi rst step in a job search should be professional memberships. I know paying dues is the last
thing you're interested in as an unemployed young
professional, but if you are a student, hopefully you
know to take advantage of the student membership
rates. There is a good chance if you are reading this
magazine you are already an NRPA member. That's
a great start, because professional membership is a
key function not just of a successful job search, but
of a successful career in the parks and recreation
industry. NRPA has a large number of resources for
members to use, from the career center, to network
pages, to state and affi liate pages. All of these are
very useful in your search for employment in the
parks and recreation field.
There is also a matter of focus. What are you qualified to do? What is unique about you and your experiences? What are you interested in doing for the
next three to five years? What part-time jobs have
you held in the field? What is your degree? These
are important questions to ask before jumping into
a job search. This is a tight market. There are still
good jobs to be found, but they are very competitive.
Companies, agencies, and municipalities are looking
for the most qualified candidates. So, did you work
as a camp counselor over your summer months?
Did you work part-time at a recreation center or a
YMCA? Were you a sports official or a lifeguard? Is

your degree in sports management, recreation, or physical education? Once you
determine how highly
qualified you are for
future jobs, you are
ready for the next step:
determining your
future job's location.
Where are you willing to
work? If you have no attachments and are willing to travel, you can see the world
through parks and recreation. All the major commercial cruise lines have positions
for job seekers with a degree in

You

What are you qualified to do?
What is unique about you and
your experiences? What are
you interested in doing for
the next three to five years?
the field and experience planning and programming youth activities and youth sports. If living on
the seas is not your thing, are you still interested in
travel and living abroad? All branches of our military
and the Coast Guard provide civilians recreational
job opportunities working in programming and adult
sports. These jobs can be found online on the NRPA
career center, but searching MWR (Morale, Welfare
and Recreation) on any search engine can also steer
you in the right direction.
Maybe you are interested in a more traditional
parks and recreation job. Head to NRPA's website and

w w w . N R p a . o R G M A R C H 2 0 1 1 parks

& Recreation

March 2011 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2011 - Parks & Recreation