Green job boards are popping up all over the internet. I review them regularly and my assessment is this: the chances that you will land a job in sustainability because of something you see on a job board are slim. Very slim. Consider that in more flush times, Americans have a much higher chance to find a job through networking than responding to an ad. Statistics vary, but I have seen anywhere from 60% – 80% quoted as the percentage of jobs found through networking. Now consider that these are difficult times for the American job market and companies are having a hard enough time finding the resources to add jobs to their payroll that we all know and understand, let alone something “new” like sustainability director. In a nutshell, there is not much on these job boards in either quantity or quality to give a job seeker hope.
So you wrote a CR report! Big deal! What next? Make it BUZZ. The thing about writing CSR reports is that they take a helluvalotta energy. The reporting process takes months, involves many internal and external stakeholders, and creates a reporting frenzy in the organization which bypasses none but the most unengaged employees. In theory, that is. Sometimes reporting is an intensive process for a just small group of individuals in the organization. Whatever the format, it’s intense. There’s a build-up. A deadline. Many hurdles to defuse. (is that as mixed metaphore?) Then. It happens. You send the report to print (or upload it to your fancy new html flash mini-site for viewing by the general public) and that’s it. B-I-G sigh of relief. Mop your brow. Stare into space and feel the release. Off to the bar for a celebratory drink. Sit back and wait for the compliments to start flowing in. I suspect this is how it happens in most organizations.
Guest Post by Jennifer Massie, founder of Massie Group, a recruiting consulting firm I have decided to conduct a series of interviews with people who have made a career transition to the clean/green sector. This could include any type of business related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable business, etc. I am finding more and […]
The desire to make the career transition from IT to cleantech is an extremely popular one. The reasons are fairly obvious. After 30 years of tremendous innovation and high growth, there appears to be less opportunity than there once was. Whereas cleantech seems to be a area open to new out-of-the box thinking and has a landscape of great opportunity. This is the time when you can really make your mark and IT professionals seeking to make a green career transition have an advantage over many others seeking to do the same. Network engineering and systems operations, user front-end development, software development, and embedded device development are just a few areas where IT professionals will find themselves in great demand. There are skills transferability opportunities on almost every level.
The following are links to green career advice and perspectives that I found around the web. The topics include: What are the the qualities you should look for in a green mentor. Find out 6 critical skills needed to be a successful environmental professional in the global “green” economy. Randy’s Career Tips provides a list of seven green jobs that are currently in demand. Green Gigs has compiled a list of what they see are the best industry specific green job boards. CleanTechies provides the most important things to consider when writing a resume. Carolyn, from Bright Green Talent puts forth, her Linkedin Manifesto.
