Wrapping up the Craig Montana Winter Session

Wrapping up the Craig Montana Winter Session

I think we may be wrapping up the winter session here in downtown Craig Montana.

Maybe.

I am feeling this because the air temps will reach the 30F mark tomorrow. Or are forecast to do so!

And, many of the winter fly shop tasks are behind us.

Products for the primary season are arriving daily.

• Fly boxes from a couple manufacturers arrived. Cliff, New Phase…recycled materials fly cups on the shelf. Green. Go Green man.
• RIO March order arrived. Lines, tippet, lots more trout spey gear, line cleaner tubs, fly clips, and the like. New RIO Flies in stock this season too!
• Sage. A bundle of Sage X rods along with Sage ONE Trout Spey rods in 2, 3, and 4 weights.
• SIMMS. Packs, bags, rod tubes, the new SIMMS lightweight FlyWeight Wading boot is on the shelf…and more! SIMMS makes Headhunters their Missouri River home.
• Flies. Boxes full. Honest. Solitude, Umpqua, Montana Fly Co, Fulling Mills, RIO Flies, local tiers, Rainy’s, Yellowstone Fly Co, and more. 7wt has been busy stuffing the bins full.
• Sunglasses. Stocked. Costa, Smith, Suncloud, Fisherman Eyewear, Guideline. All we need is sun!
• Headhunters Logo wear is on its way. We are raising the bar on our logo wear again with tons of hats, T’s, and cool stickers to rock your fly fishing world.
• Nets. Craig’s greatest selection of river nets. Cool ones too.

We have hired our summer staff. Knock on wood. Please. Thanks to all who applied. Enjoyed talking to you folks out there in trout land. To those who are coming..we look forward to meeting you. To those who took jobs elsewhere, good luck. To the rest here is a letter I recently wrote to an applicant…

Hey Trout Bum,

Thanks for your resume. Unfortunately we have already finished the hiring process for the 2019 fly fishing season.

You are certainly encouraged to apply again in 2020. We begin our hiring session in early January. Send out your resume right at the beginning. We will be taking resumes anytime after Christmas.

One way you can make your self look better on paper, on your resume, to potential employers is to present a great looking, tight, proofread resume. That means proper capitalization, punctuation, and form. Look online at professional resumes and model yours after those that look great!

A professional resume is a fantastic way to present yourself in the best light to your potential employer. The good ones float to the top, the bad ones sink towards the bottom. When employers like myself receive 50+ resumes for a position it is easy to sort through them and get a basic grip on who my potential employees may be. The great resumes get looked at. The poor ones may not even get a phone call. They sink pretty quickly man.

Keep these thoughts in mind when re-designing your personal resume TroutBumWannabe. I’m sure you are great fellow, fishy as hell, enthusiastic and fun.  But your resume does not portray those qualities.

Best of luck man. Looking forward to speaking with you in early 2020. Have a great summer. You can certainly call me if you want to come up to the Craig area, or Montana this summer. Many of the fly shops are actively hiring for 2019 along with the other guest services in the Missouri River canyon. I can facilitate phone numbers, the right folks to speak with, etc.

Give me a buzz if you wish. 406-459-8739

Thanks,

Squeeky Oar Lock

We look at this problem as an opportunity. Mentorship. Leading by example. Conducting ourselves, and our business professionally. Participating in the community ie Caddis Fest, UMOWA, supporting all local businesses, and raising the bar inside the fishing industry.

The letter above is in response to the multitude of resumes that are poorly presented. I wonder if those applicants think that we are not too smart? Or something? I believe that most who have attended any sort of grammar school should know that you capitalize “I”, every time. Always. Even if it does not begin the sentence. And yes, every time you begin a sentence you capitalize the first letter. And, yes, proper names are capitalized.

When you apply for a job, I have always thought you should present yourself in the best light. But, maybe not for everybody. 739 word paragraphs are bad. 1 long paragraph that may go a couple pages? Without capitalization and spell check. Or forgetting to proofread  your resume even 1 time? Bad, bad, and good bad. Leaving the phone number off your resume? Bad. Titling your cover letter to another fly shop, not HH. Bad. Misspelling Headhunters? Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad.

I guess the most confusing thing about this phenomenon is when I question the applicants about the obvious mistakes…they generally believe that I am an asshole? And then comes the litany of excuses.

Well. I get that all the time. Not surprising.

I also am baffled about the fellers who do not send in a resume even after I request one. They generally assume that they are above our stated protocol. Strange to me. Those who say, and appear, overqualified...maybe just are.

All water under the bridge at this point of the winter. I guess spring does not arrive for another two weeks. We are ready here in Craig.

A reminder that the local Craig businesses beyond HH are still looking for summer employees. Fly Shops, taco stands, restaurants like Izaak’s, convenience stores, housekeepers, waiters, bartenders, cooks, dishwashers, shuttle drivers. Get on it. Spend your summer in Craig MT.

P.S. We do need a couple more shuttle drivers. Call 406-235-3447. Good news. No resume required! You can also call Mark if you want to yell at him for being an asshole, or for help facilitating your summer here in Craig.

P.P.S. Yes, I know I have poor spelling on this blog. And rarely do I proofread my work. But, I already got hired, and I presented a great resume!