my job
By Laura french • jobslink@startribune.com
The classic moves in the job-hunters' playbook can get you to your dream job — Jed Kosmoski proved it. He has built and maintained his network over decades. When he found the organization he wanted to work for, he started as a volunteer. He made himself indispensable to management, and, ultimately, they found a way to make the job happen.
Kosmoski's networking within the Twin Cities sports community goes back to the 1990s. He first met Mark "Lunch" McKenzie, now head baseball coach for Concordia University, in 1993 when McKenzie was head coach at Minnetonka High School.
"Koz was helping out in Wayzata, which was in the same conference," McKenzie recalled. Their friendship deepened when McKenzie moved to Armstrong High School in Plymouth. "My sons were little kids. He was their buddy — he took them under his wing."
In 1999, after Concordia University moved into Division II, McKenzie was hired as head coach. In 2004, he said, "Koz reappeared." He'd been assisting with the Hamline University hockey team, where he had earned two championship rings.
Although Kosmoski was working in the fast food industry, the Concordia athletic department was where he really wanted to be. Marilee Larson, Employment Services Director at TSE Inc., who had helped Kosmoski with previous job placements, urged him to volunteer at Concordia.
"He'd be here every morning. He'd do anything I asked him to do," Athletic Director Tom Rubelke recalled. "He helped us put up the practice domes, worked the front desk. At some point, I thought, 'Why not hire him?' "
TSE Inc. helped with the arrangements for the job. Kosmoski has been working 19 hours a week for more than a year. Although his official duties are cleaning and maintaining the two weight rooms, Kosmoski works virtually all athletic events. Last year he began traveling with the baseball team.
