The NCAA is developing a plan to allow prospects to enhance their job search on the Web.

Joining forces with Monster.com and TMP Worldwide, the NCAA is hoping to create a career database for persons pursuing jobs in athletics to advertise their skills to institutions seeking to fill positions. The plan would deploy Monster.com, the largest Internet human resources search provider, as a portal for job seekers to access the database. Monster's current site does not list positions in intercollegiate athletics, but it would provide a link to another site designed specifically for college athletics. That site would be yet another resource for institutions to find qualified candidates.

Identifying core competencies

Although Monster.com will provide the engine for the database, the NCAA will oversee the site and display its own marks. And while helping people find jobs in athletics may be the primary goal of the site, what makes the site unique is that it will be a core-competency-based model for intercollegiate athletics. Ron Stratten, NCAA vice-president for education services, said the NCAA has enlisted the help of TMP Worldwide, the recruitment advertising agency that owns Monster.com, to identify critical core competencies that are necessary to obtain a career in athletics administration. The company will conduct numerous interviews with college administrators and coaches to establish areas candidates must master in order to succeed.

"For example," Stratten said, "the core competencies for an athletics director might focus on the ability to supervise personnel and manage budgets, whereas the core competencies for a coach might include an understanding of recruiting rules, time management for self and others, and the ability to motivate student-athletes. TMP's survey will allow existing athletics personnel to help define those areas."

Stratten said once the core competencies have been identified, job seekers visiting the site will be able to measure how well they are suited for a career in intercollegiate athletics by completing a competency-based assessment. That assessment will determine the candidate's strengths and weaknesses, which could be beneficial for persons who want to develop the competencies they lack or market the areas in which they excel. A developmental area on the site will direct visitors to resources that will enable them to improve their competencies.

Job seekers are not the only ones who will benefit from this database. Stratten said institutions and companies looking for employees also will be able to use the site as a recruitment tool. Employers will have the opportunity to review applications and resumes, as well as specify what they are looking for in an applicant. An employer can use the database to search for an applicant with qualifications as general as the amount of experience required, or they can base their search on one or more of the core competencies and request that an applicant have specific skills. Ultimately, the site will allow for matches to be made.

'Diversity Zone'

Stratten also said the database's function as a recruitment tool is especially important for women and minorities. Although the database and other features on the site will be available for general public use, special efforts are being made to develop opportunities for women and minorities in order to diversify the applicant pool for positions in athletics.

"But just increasing the number of women and minorities in the applicant pool is not enough," Stratten said. "We need to help women and minorities develop and meet the core competencies that are required in the field so that they will have a greater chance of being hired. We also need to encourage institutions and companies to move outside of their comfort zone when searching for job candidates."

Stratten said employers often are reluctant to hire people outside of their network of acquaintances (sometimes referred to as the "good ol' boys' network"). Unfortunately, not enough women and minorities are included in this group. "If in fact we are trying to create a diverse leadership in collegiate athletics that reflects the demographics and diversity of society," Stratten said, "one thing we know for certain is that the current hiring methods are not working. This database could give the employer an effective system to identify potential qualified candidates and make a more diverse hire."

How that will work is through the site's "Diversity Zone," which will provide women and minority candidates with resources to improve their core competencies. For example, candidates interested in hands-on opportunities to develop leadership skills might be encouraged to participate in programs like the existing NACWAA/HERS seminars offered by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators, or the newly developed Leadership Institute for minority males created by the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee or the new minority leadership program being developed by the Division I-A Athletics Directors Association. All three programs provide intensive on-the-job training regimens that allow participants to develop skills, network and establish ties with mentors who already hold positions in intercollegiate athletics.

Other information in the Diversity Zone might include applications for postgraduate scholarships through the NCAA's Women and Ethnic Minority Enhancement Programs, or information on the NCAA Fellows Leadership Program, which is a mentor-based development initiative for women and ethnic minorities in athletics who are looking to advance. Also, a Diversity Zone chat room might feature online discussions of current issues related to minorities and women, surveys and other topical information.

"Our goal is to create a site where persons seeking careers in intercollegiate athletics, particularly minorities and women, can go to identify their abilities, develop those abilities and channel them into rewarding careers," Stratten said.

Stratten said that information regarding the proposed site could be presented to the membership as early as January. Developers anticipate that the project will be ready to launch by summer 2001.