The Results-Oriented Agriculture Workplace

Agriculture jobs, whether growing and harvesting crops or flowers or livestock, are involved in a lot of detail-mostly numbers. When agriculture people are so engrossed in the details of their jobs, it's easy for them, for anyone actually, to lose sight of the bottom line.

A Results-Oriented Agriculture Job Description is different from a traditional job description because it focuses an employee on the several job results that answer the question: What results must this agriculture job accomplish for the organization?

Agriculture Job Standards added to job expectations tighten management controls by clarifying how well and when results must be accomplished.

Agriculture Job Objectives establish management and employee plans by highlighting important current and future results needed.

Job-specific Agriculture Employee Management Forms maintain consistent and legally sound management actions by basing manager-employee interactions on job results.

The Purpose of Agriculture Jobs

Stated in a results-oriented, three-line style, agriculture jobs--

GROW PLANTS AND ANIMALS by

allocating acreage; calculating seed, fertilizer, and chemical requirements; preparing animals; conducting inspections; protecting, maintaining and improving crop and animal quality; anticipating adverse conditions; taking preventive actions; maintaining equipment and supplies.

Types of Agriculture Jobs

Some jobs prepare and fertilize soil in order to grow crops. Other jobs do the same thing for other items, such as flowers, or sort production into categories. Still other jobs raise animals. And, of course, somebody has to manage and supervise the agriculture people and processes.

Agriculture Job Management Tools

Here are actual job examples of how agriculture job actions can be focused on results and kept on track using each of our job management tools:

Results-Oriented Agriculture Job Descriptions form the foundation of all job management tools. Our uniquely structured job descriptions focus on the result to be accomplished first and prominently, followed by the duties performed in order to accomplish the result. For example,

RECOMMENDS AGRICULTURE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Agriculture Job Standards sharpen employee attention and management control by defining and communicating how well the agriculture results must be accomplished and what benchmarks will be used to measure job results. For example, for the job result above, the job standards might be:

• Agriculture situations are correctly understood.
• All options are identified and evaluated.
• Agriculture recommendations are ready when needed.

Agriculture Job Objectives point the direction for employee actions by focusing job efforts on current and future agriculture issues. Job objectives are written in the three-line, results-oriented structure. For example, for the job result above, a job objective might be:

SPEED-UP DECISION MAKING by

reducing time to deliver agriculture recommendations by 10% by (date).

Agriculture Employee Management Forms tied specifically to each agriculture job description are more helpful (and legal) than generic forms used for all different kinds of jobs. Job-specific forms are used to state job qualifications, guide job interview questions, orient new employees, plan job training, and appraise job performance.

Agriculture Job Qualifications are stated in the same terms used in the job description. They are not translated into generic (typically behavioral) terms. For example:

RECOMMENDS AGRICULTURE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Agriculture Job Interview guide questions are inserted directly below each job result in the job description: For example:

• "What specific job responsibilities have you had in this area?"
• "Where did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "When did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "How did you go about accomplishing these responsibilities?"
• "What accomplishment in this area gave you the most pride?"
• "In this area, what were some of your biggest challenges?"
• "How did you overcome the challenges?"

The Agriculture Job Orientation guide reformats the job description sequence so that job explanations, policies, protocols, processes, and procedures are logical and complete and can easily be checked off. For example:

RECOMMENDS AGRICULTURE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Here's the procedure and format we use to analyze and present agriculture recommendations."

The Agriculture Job Training plan guides a thorough examination of actual job knowledge, skills, and abilities as described in the job description that need improvement or that might be enhanced. For example:

RECOMMENDS AGRICULTURE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Analytical skills would be improved by enrolling in a statistical analysis class."

The Agriculture Job Performance Appraisal guide is a job-specific form. It is not a universal form used for all jobs. The guide adds an appraisal scale below each job result in the job description so that attention can be drawn to each job requirement and expectation. For example:

RECOMMENDS AGRICULTURE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

__ Great! Just want we wanted.
__ We have a problem.
__ Improvement is needed.
__ Much, much more than we asked for.

Comments: _________________

Agriculture Résumé Template

Potential employers want to know what a job applicant has accomplished in his/her agriculture work career. They don't want to be bored with minor details. Our Résumé Template provides:

• an outline to help assemble personal background information.
• a Results-Oriented Job Description to provide the agriculture job language-focused on results-needed to write an effective résumé.
• Agriculture Job Objectives to orient thinking in terms of accomplishments.
• instructions on how to use a Results-Oriented Agriculture Job Description and Agriculture Job Objectives to express job accomplishments.

Use the agriculture job description responsibility statement as a base:

RECOMMENDS AGRICULTURE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Select the agriculture job objective that fits your experience:

REDUCE COSTS 10% by

improving agriculture processes.

Combine the two into a résumé statement:

Reduced costs 10% by analyzing, identifying, and recommending new agriculture system controls.

Agriculture Career Links

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Learn about the training and education needed for agriculture jobs, earnings, expected job prospects, what workers do on the job, and working conditions.

Careers in Agriculture

Helps find a rewarding and interesting job in the world of agriculture--public agriculture, tax, auditing and managerial agriculture. Information on the profession, skills and talents required, job options, salaries, trends in agriculture, and top firms in the industry.

JobsintheMoney.com, Career News and Advice

News and advice specific to agriculture and finance professionals in the United States, plus a variety of tools for job seekers to market themselves and to manage a new job search.

Agriculture.com, Resources, and Discussion Groups

Resources, discussion groups about career advice, agriculture procedures, exams, and homework.

University of North Carolina - Wilmington The Career Center

Career counseling and resource center providing information on skills required for the agriculture profession, related career titles, and links for career planning, resources, job and internship searches, and professional associations.