The following are green career strategies and perspectives that I found around the web. If you have a green career strategy or perspective that you would like to share, do not hesitate to contact us.
Ways to Network Your Way into Your (Green) Dream Job. Amie Vaccaro, a blogger for Ecofrenzy, has created a list of ways to find your green dream job using networking.
1. She recommends using a chart or spreadsheet to keep track of your networking activities; stay informed about what is going on in your industry by reading relevant blogs, news, newsletter, etc.
2. Become an expert in your specific area of interest. She recommends blogging as a way to do it. (just a side note– we started The Green Economy Post for that reason. It is difficult and fool-hearty to write on a topic without being informed).
3. Attend green networking events.
4. Practice proactive introductions, so that you will be comfortable taking the lead and introducing yourself in any networking situation.
5. View and treat all contacts, at every level, as valuable ones.
6. Make business cards even if you are unemployed, so that it is easy to remember and reconnect with you.
7. Write the details about the people you meet on the back of their cards anduse that information when you follow-up.
8. Give introductions and always ask for referrals to others who would be of help.
9. When you are meeting with someone new, do research beforehand, so that you have an idea of what they do and can speak intelligently about their company and also so you can express genuine interest;
10. Keep your updated resume and bio on hand for networking and introductions.
11. Create a list of the top companies you would like to work for, and find out if any one in your network knows someone who working within any of those organizations.
12. Keep in touch with your network by sharing pertinent articles, websites, referrals as well as other forms of information.
Megy Karydes, of Karydes Consulting, a member of SustainLane, submitted two additional green networking tips in her review of the post.She recommends that you remember to always send thank you notes, to those who have set aside time to help you, making sure that the stationery is 100% eco-friendly. Her second suggestion is to volunteering with a green non-profit who can use your skill sets. This activity will help those trying to green their resume.
Green Resume Strategies for Students and Grads. Carolyn at Bright Green Talent has posted an informative three-part Resume Boot Camp for student and Grads seeking a green career. She advises: not to let your resume go beyond one page; include all the jobs, internships, positions you’ve held in student groups and awards received; leave out SAT scores; if your GPA is low, don’t include it; don’t be to heavy-handed with the promotion of your political or religious activities; avoid the TMI syndrome (too much information)
In part 2 of her resume boot-camp she provides some great strategies for keeping your personal life separate from your job application process: She provides five strategies to use on facebook to keep employers from finding information that you would rather keep private. It think that you should do this with any other social network platform you frequent as well. For example MySpace. She recommends searching through Google, YouTube, Flickr and other such sites you use to remove any embarrassing pictures, videos, posts, etc. If possible delete them. If not, be preparedto explain them as employers are increasingly looking up potential employees on the Internet. She reminds readers that it is important to remember when tweeting, that twitter is public. She also provides some advice on protecting you privacy on gmail.
The final part of the resume-boot camp reccommends applying the CAR technique to develop the general framework of your resume. CAR stands for Circumstance, Action, Result. Using alot of verbs, you should explain the challenges you faced, the goals you had, how you handle the circumstances, and what you achieved. She also explains the importances of quantifying your achievements, using buttet points, provide the location of the company you worked for and make sure that you job descriptions are explain in such a way so that they are relevant to the types of jobs that you are applying for.
Where Are the Non-Technical Green Careers. Carol McClelland explains that most of the jobs within the green economy have the same job titles they have in the traditional economy. She lists several ways you can see yourself fitting into in the green economy and provide a few strategies to use to map your way into the green economy. To see her list of non-technical green career specialties and her recommendations on how to break into a green industry, visit GreenCareerCentral By the way, Carol just announced that she is writing Green Careers For Dummies. It will be out in January 2010! Congradulations Carol! We are big fans over here.
Penetrating The Green Job Market. GreenBiz.com recently talked to Nick Ellis, managing partner of Bright Green Talent, an environmentally focused executive search firm and Tom Ballantyne, a professional career coach with Torchiana, Mastrov and Sapiro. GreenBiz got their advice on entering the green job market and http://greeneconomypost.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/green-career-perspectives.jpgasked if they had special tips for experienced workers who are looking for new opportunities following layoffs.
They provided the following green job hunting strategies:
1. Read up on the growing environmental responsibility movement and its effects on business and the economy.
2. Consider obtaining further training and new credentials,identify who are the people and the organizations driving the industry.
3. Since most jobs are obtained through networking, both recommend tapping into (or rebuilding) your existing networks and developing new contacts,
4. Learn how to use social media as business tools.
5. Reach out to alumni and professional associations
6. Use volunteering at environmental organizations to point to tangible evidence of your interest, demonstrate how your skills are relevant in a different field, acquire new experience and add new contacts to your professional network.
7. Green your current job by helping your company save money by increasing operating efficiency in a way that also conserved energy or water, reduced emissions or waste, use fewer resources in production or packaging.
If you have a green career strategy or perspective that you would like to share, do not hesitate to contact us.
