The BIG Bright Green Guide to Green Jobs

8/14/2019 The BIG Bright Green Guide to Green Jobs

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BRIGHT GREENHOUSEPenned by Christina Gilyutin, Carolyn Mansfield, and Tom Savage

Compiled by Dana Lin

The Bright Green Talent Story................................................................................................................................................................. ..2

This Book..................................................................................................................................................................................................2Job Search Strategy...........................................................................................................................3

The Real Deal on Green Jobs.....................................................................................................................................................................4Bright Green Talent's 5 Ways to Ramp Up Your Job Search.................................................................................................................... ....57 Reasons to Use a Recruiter.............................................................................................................................................................. ......5Career Pathways..................................................................................................................................................................................... .6Get Skills, Get Savvy.................................................................................................................................................................................7Routine, Structure and Staying Positive: The Job Seeker's Trifecta.............................................................................................................86 Ways to Avoid Wasting Time on Job Boards............................................................................................................................................8

Communication Guidelines...............................................................................................................10"Can You BELIEVE This Guy?": Thoughts on the Importance of E-mail Etiquette.......................................................................................11The Art of the Voicemail.........................................................................................................................................................................11Communication Overload: 3 Rules for Job Search Sanity with your iPhone/Blackberry............................................................................11

Resumes and Cover Letters..............................................................................................................13Bright Green's Resume Boot Camp for Students/Grads............................................................................................................................143 Reasons Your Resume is Getting Passed Over When You Apply Online...................................................................................... ......... ..16Resume Guide ........................................................................................................................................................................................18Cover Letter Guide .................................................................................................................................................................................24

Online Tools and Traps: Social Media in your Job Search...................................................................28Keeping your personal life separate from your green job application process.........................................................................................29Tweet Your Way to a Green Job........................................................................................................................................................... ....29Get Linked(In).........................................................................................................................................................................................30Carolyn's LinkedIn Manifesto for Successful Jobseeking..................................................................................................................... ....31

How to Make Friends (er, Connections) on LinkedIn................................................................................................................................ .32The Importance of Getting Connected.....................................................................................................................................................32"Oh no, please don't make me NETWORK!!"............................................................................................................................................33How Not to be a Jobseeker Horror Story............................................................................................................................................... ..34Dive In: 21 Places to Look for Green Volunteering Opportunities................................................................................................... .........35

Interviewing....................................................................................................................................37Top 10 Lessons on Interviewing, Courtesy of Amateur Comedy Night.....................................................................................................387 Tips for Mastering the Art of the Phone Interview...............................................................................................................................39

Green Inroads: Thoughts on Going Green and Particular Career Paths..............................................41Getting Oriented to Go Green....................................................................................................................................................... ......... .42The Top 30 Green Newsletters.................................................................................................................................................................42Green Career Pathways..........................................................................................................................................................................43

Getting Technical: Solar Inroads for Engineers................................................................................................................................. .......44Solar Classes and Certifications..............................................................................................................................................................45Sustainability Consulting: What is it, and am I qualified? .......................................................................................................................46Getting Radically Tempered: Creating change from the inside........................................................................................................... ......48To School or Not to School? That is the question......................................................................................................................................49Other Resources................................................................................................................................................................................... ..50A Lazy College Kid's Guide to Going Green: 10 Ways to Clean Up your Act.......................................................................................... ....51



The Bright Green Talent Story

Bright Green Talent began with two people, one book, and a single shared insight: the world needsmore environmental leaders.

Our story is rooted in human connection. In 1999 our Chairman Paul Hannam, owner of a successfulrecruitment business, read a book about our environmental crisis while flying to a conference. Paul wasso inspired by the book that upon landing he forgot entirely about the conference, tracked down theauthor, and went directly to meet him convinced of a new purpose: to plant the seed of environmentalentrepreneurship in others. Paul left his business and embarked on a mission that led him to teach as aDon at Oxford, fertilizing the great minds of a coming green revolution. One in particular - TomSavage - would see the seed of inspiration grow most beautifully.

Tom began his career working in the undergrowth of an investment bank. Deeply unsatisfied, he left to become a social entrepreneur, founding Blue Ventures - a now award-winning marineconservation organisation - and embarking on an adventure that saw him pass through the hallowedhalls of Downing Street, build businesses in Madagascar and the UK, win prizes at the UN, and earn ascholarship to Oxford.

It was at Oxford that- despite their 20 year age gap- Tom and Paul connected on a commoninsight spurred by watching both their peers and pupils struggle to find pathways towardsfulfilling, rewarding careers. They decided to build a business that fueled positive personal, social, andenvironmental change by channeling the next generation of environmentalleaders into organizations worldwide. Bright Green was born.

In 2007 Bright Green Talent sprouted onemore branch. We shared the idea with Nick Ellis, another former investment banker,

and so was born Bright Green Talent in theUS (San Francisco). Today, Bright Greencontinues to make connections to businessleaders around the world, greening theworkforce one introduction at a time, and planting the seeds of a brighter, greener tomorrow, every single day.

This Book

While we unfortunately can't place everyone into a job, it's our goal to help every person that stepsthrough our door. This book is a compilation of the advice and resources we've pulled together after years of placing people into meaningful jobs. We hope it will serve as a launching point for findingyour way into a green job.

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The Bright Green Talent Team



Job Search Strategy

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The Real Deal on Green JobsEveryone seems to claim that when they graduated from school, the job market was the worst it’s ever been – kind of like how when they were young, they walked to school 10 miles in the snow uphill bothways.

We have had to adjust expectations and probably take paths that we had not planned on. But it’s amatter of understanding the barriers we face, and finding creative ways to surmount them.

The challenges for us young’uns getting into a green career are basically these:

• For entry-level positions, everyone’s background is relatively undifferentiated. Sure, youmight have relevant coursework or have gone to a great school, but you haven’t necessarilyworked to gain particular skills that make you the obvious choice over the other 500 peopleapplying for the job. You need to figure out how to make your resume – academic andextracurricular – make you stand out from the bunch.

• Not only do lots of recent graduates want to get into green jobs, but everyone wants to get

into a green job. People that have 10 or even 20 years of experience are shifting careers,applying for entry-level positions in order to gain “green” skill-sets and credibility. Just havingthe green fever won’t cut it – you’re going to need to back it up with skills.

• What’s more, everyone wants a job – any job. Given the unemployment rates right now, people are diving on every posted job opportunity in hordes. Companies are getting absolutelyinundated with resumes for low-level positions, and making your candidacy stand out from thehundreds of other applicants is even more difficult.

Okay, it sounds pretty dire. The good news is you’ve got a couple advantages working for you as youtry to step into a green career.

• The “green” industry is young, and tends to favor younger minds and attitudes. They want

energy, growth, and enthusiasm – and especially people who can think outside the box, as somuch of the industry is focused on innovation right now. Plus, skill sets that you wouldn’t evenconsider special (like being Facebook and blog savvy, being read up on the most recent greentechnologies, and spending ¾ of your life on a computer) give you a huge advantage over older folks who have to actively learn these skills.

• You are, for the most part, a free agent. Generally, you have fewer commitments tofamilies/spouses, you don’t own a house, and you’re able to travel or relocate more easily. Thismakes it easier for you to fit into positions where they arise than some of the older, moreexperienced jobseekers.

• On your campus, there was probably a lot of talk of sustainability. Even if you didn’tactively seek it out, you likely went to a few talks or had greenie friends who kept telling you

about the latest innovations in composting. Just by virtue of being connected to a university,you’re more plugged into what’s happening in sustainability than folks who have to read it inthe newspaper or online. (If you’re on campus, make the most of this!)

So don’t despair. There are ways to position yourself to get into a green career, and the opportunitieswill only grow from here.

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Bright Green Talent's 5 Ways to Ramp Up Your JobSearch1. If you haven’t yet, register your resume:

• You’ll be the first to know as new opportunities arise that are relevant to your skill set.

• You’ll receive our monthly newsletter, with advice, information on green career events we’rehosting and/or attending, and up-to-date information on the green job market.

• Sometimes we work on positions that we don’t post on our site - you’ll be eligible for consideration in those special cases.

• As you apply for jobs, we will be your advocate. If you’re qualified for a position, we work hard to get you an interview and negotiate for the best possible compensation package

2. Sign up for career coaching.

• If you’re new to the green space, you might be disoriented by all the resources, job boards, andadvice swirling around out there. Spend some time with Christina, our Career CoachExtraordinaire, to gain our unique perspective on who’s hiring right now, and create a smart

strategy for finding your ideal green job.

3. Follow our blog, facebook , and twitter !

• We offer daily tips, insight and advice from our unique perspective. Find resources for transitioning into a new space, hear what clients are thinking, learn how not to be a jobseeker horror story, and more.

4. Sign up for our weekly tips, and check out the Greenhouse, our jobseeker resource center.

5. Refer a friend or fellow jobseeker to Bright Green Talent!

• We believe in “paying it forward” — no one gets a job all by themselves. Help out a friend and

the good deed will come back around when you’re in need in the future.• And to speed up those karmic returns on helping a friend find a job, we offer a $750 referral

reward if we place someone you recommend for a position.

7 Reasons to Use a RecruiterIf you are a recent graduate, chances are you've never worked with a recruiter before. Here are 7reasons for using a good (the good bit’s important!), green recruiter wisely:

1. Share the load. You’ve landed a green job and aren’t actively looking - let someone else keepan eye on the market for you. A good recruiter will keep you in mind as they swing throughtheir days, weeks and months.

2. It costs you nothing - recruiters receive fees from the company, not you, so why not post your CV? As long as you don’t get continually spammed for hopeless jobs, you should benefit.

3. Gain an advocate. Recruiters will know the industry, they’ll help you get the right salary, giveyou tips before interview, and help negotiate on your behalf.

4. Save time. You’ll learn what you should/shouldn’t be applying for and what you’re likely to get

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or not before wasting time yourself on something unrealistic.5. Increase your resume’s chance of being read. Companies receive a slew of CVs. If yours

comes through a good trusted recruiter, it’s already been filtered from many others - thereforeit’s more likely to be read.

6. Think long-term. Once you’ve engaged with a recruiter on one position (whether you are hiredor not), they’ll always keep you in mind for future positions. The more you engage, the closer

relationship you’ll create and the more opportunities will come your way.7. Access insider opportunities. Recruiters will sometimes recruit for a green job that they cannot post publicly - they hunt actively rather than passively, and they’ll start with their databases.Positions are sometimes filled without ever being posted. If you’re not on the list, you’re notgetting hired.

Career Pathways"Green job" is such a widely-used and ill-defined term that a lot of people wonder what it even meansand what counts as a green job.

Straight off, our mentality is this: any job can be a green job. It's what you make of it. It doesn't helpanyone - in fact, it can disempower people - to claim one job is green and another is not. So when weuse the term "green job," we're using it loosely to include jobs that work directly on environmental or sustainability goals - but also those that are part of an initiative within a non-green company that'strying to clean up their act. It can also be a regular job in a non-green company that you're leveraging tomake the company stronger - more on intrapreneurship later.

So, some sample career paths we're talking about:

• Non-profits/organizing

• Engineering in renewable energy, clean tech, energy efficiency, and more

•Start-ups

• For-profits with triple bottom line goals (that is, their bottom line includes social, economic,and environmental measurements) - roles such as marketing, sales, business development,operations, administration

Where do you want to go? Kind of a big question, we know. If you're not sure, get on job boards andcheck out which job descriptions sound interesting and exciting to you. Talk to folks you know (or inalumni networks) who are in those organizations, and figure out what they're motivated by. Scheduletime with your career counselor or get a career coach.

Check out the last section of this book for further thoughts on specific career pathways.

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Get Skills, Get SavvyThe prophet Napoleon Dynamite once expounded upon the importance of having skills: “You know,like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills…” He’s concerned about his chancesof getting a date, but the same basically holds true for finding jobs (though I’d go easy on advertisingthe bow-hunting abilities).

Yes, green passion is a vital part of your resume - being involved in environmental groups on campus,taking environmental studies classes, and nagging all your friends to recycle will give you thecredibility you need to communicate with green organizations.

However, if you can back this up with demonstrated ability to do the tasks required of a job, you standa much better chance of being hired. Companies right now don’t have as much time, energy andresources to put towards training you, so they’re going to look to hire people who they know can diveright in.

You’ve heard these before, but let me reiterate these two tactics for building your extra-curricular

resume:• Get an internship or a part-time job while you’re in school. It doesn’t have to be in the green

sector, but you should be sure to come away from it with a set of tasks that you can complete.For example, if you have a media internship, you’ll be able to write press releases, cold-callreporters, even speak in public. With an administrative position, you might learn to manage anoffice, organize schedules, or plan events. Even being confident in working a fax/copy machinecan tip you over the fence in the hiring process: we’ve seen amazing people be turned awayfrom basic administrative positions for not having nitty-gritty, seemingly mundane skills likethis.

• In the student groups you’re involved in, find your way into a leadership role. If you can’t, build a new branch or start a new initiative or group. Demonstrating broader reach, leading

collaboration with other groups/administration, and having concrete accomplishments will giveyou strong material to pull from in an interview. For example, “I helped a student groupencourage recycling on campus” is a lot less compelling than “I worked with schooladministration and student government to get recycling bins put into every student dorm room.”

• If you’ve already graduated, build on what you did in college — get involved with communityorganizations and non-profits. Given the state of the economy, non-profits need a lot of helpright now and could really value your volunteer time. Depending on what you’re interested in(policy? water issues? international development?), find a non-profit in your area and see howyou can help out. Not only will you build your resume (= skills!), but you’ll meet people in thefield and potentially get connected to job opportunities — basically, it’s a productive andmeaningful way to network in the space you’re hoping to enter.

By doing any combination of the above, you’ll show flexibility, a range of skills, and the ability totackle challenges from a paper-jam to campus-wide composting. While it might take some effort, youcan make your resume almost as sweet as Napoleon’s dance moves.

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Routine, Structure and Staying Positive: The JobSeeker's Trifecta

• Stick to your routine. If you're unemployed, it's important to keep up your habits and schedule.Do you usually work-out in the mornings or wear a suit to work? If so, keep doing it!

• Set-up an ASG* (Accountability Support Group.) If you have friends or acquaintances alsolooking for a job, set up a “check-in group” to bring structure and accountability into the process. You’d be surprised how motivating it is to have a friend ask you, “So did you call those3 people you said you would?”

• Stay positive. Find something that is uplifting that you can come back to as needed. That couldmean joining a soccer league that gets you out running around on grass and really feeling the“team spirit” again. But it can be even simpler that that… Christina's own personal choice for a5 minute pick-me-up is listening to a story or two from This I Believe on NPR . Hearing othersshare stories of dealing with obstacles much more harrowing than your own can put your ownsituation in perspective, help you feel grateful for all that you DO have and restore your energyto keep on keepin’ on!

* Don’t worry, this is a made-up acronym…you aren’t behind on some fancy new lingo or anything.

6 Ways to Avoid Wasting Time on Job BoardsIf you’re starting a job search, probably the first thing you’ll do is start to hang out on job boards to seeas opportunities come up. But be wary: job boards have the potential to be a waste of time.The reality is that, as of yet, there aren’t the mass numbers of green jobs that necessitate so manydifferent green job boards, so each of these hundred-odd sites basically shows the same set of jobs.So, how can you fight back and make sure you’re using your jobseeking time efficiently andeffectively?

1. To reiterate: You should not be spending hours daily perusing job boards. To stay up to date onwhat’s being posted, set up a Google Reader account with RSS feeds from your favorite job

boards. This way you can see at a glance when new jobs are posted without getting boggeddown in visiting all of them.

2. Install the Alexa ranking tool bar on your browser so you can see which job boards are actuallygetting a lot of visits. Some of our personal favorites include GreenBiz’s, Treehugger , NetImpact, Justmeans, Idealist, StopDodo and SustainLane (we post in a lot of other niche placesaccording to the specific job).

3. Use a job board aggregator. In your RSS feeds, set up a search within SimplyHired or Indeed with specific keywords you’re interested and the locations you’re open to — the feed will do allthe work for you of grabbing jobs from across the internet.

4. Use a recruiter. Signing up with a recruiter like Bright Green Talent will put your search in thehands of folks whose job it is to actively place people all day long — plus, we’ll be your advocate to get you an interview, coach you in advance of that interview, and help you negotiateshould an offer come through.

5. Get well-integrated on social media sites so you can make direct connections with hiringmanagers. The best tool is LinkedIn, where you can see exactly who posted the job, who you

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http://www.thisibelieve.org/

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http://www.sustainlane.com/green-jobs

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http://www.indeed.com/



http://www.linkedin.com/

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http://www.alexa.com/toolbar

http://jobs.greenbiz.com/







http://www.sustainlane.com/green-jobs

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know at the company, and can be much more strategic about your application.6. Get in front of people. The truth is you’re much more likely to get a job through spending half

an hour having coffee with someone each day than spending that time on job boards. 80% of people are hired through having some sort of connection with the company. Plus, given thatcompanies know they’re going to get swamped if they post a job on a job board, a lot of jobsare going under-the-radar right now, and are being sourced exclusively by recruiters doing

targeted searches or through employee referral networks without ever being posted publicly.

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Communication Guidelines

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"Can You BELIEVE This Guy?": Thoughts on theImportance of E-mail EtiquetteE-mail etiquette is just as important as phone etiquette, the way you’d speak to someone in person, or

how you’d present yourself in a cover letter. A golden rule of online jobsearching and interaction:you’re still dealing with PEOPLE. There is a real person - with feelings, and an ego, and their own personality - on the other end of the communications you send out.

Think to yourself - If you met the recruiter or hiring manager in person, would you still communicatein the same way as you do on email? Make the same claims? Use the same tone? Be as pushy?

There is a thin line between assertiveness and aggressiveness that is even harder to walk in the onlinespace. While we’re not telling you to be too meek or passive, it’s better to err on the side of politenessthan rub someone the wrong way and get blackballed altogether by the company.

The Art of the VoicemailOne overlooked art is that of leaving voicemails. Any time you interact with a potential employer, it’s part of your application.

We often receive confusing messages that leave an unprofessional impression, or that go on for twominutes - so here’s what we recommend:

1. Say your name2. Give context: say what you’re calling about (one sentence)3. If you want, mention when you’re available to talk.

4. Give your phone number 5. Repeat your name and your phone number 6. Say goodbye!

Ideally, your message shouldn’t be more than 30 seconds. Don’t ramble!

For example:“Hi, Nick, this is Carolyn Mansfield calling you back. You left a message for me yesterday about the

Director of Marketing role, and I’d love to find a few moments to chat about it today. I’m available all

afternoon and tomorrow morning. You can reach me at 555.555.5555. Again, this is Carolyn Mansfield calling about the Marketing role and my number is 555.555.5555. Thanks, and look forward to

speaking with you!”

Communication Overload: 3 Rules for Job SearchSanity with your iPhone/BlackberryBeing connected is, ultimately, a good thing. But with so many people using their iPhone or Blackberry

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during the job search, it's important to set some guidelines for proper and healthy usage, so that youdon't drive yourself insane in the process.

Here are three rules to keep you sane and productive as you and your PDA are jobsearching:1. Have relationships with humans, not machines. Favor quality of interactions over quantity

when jobseeking - it will not help you to be a resume spammer, or Tweeting every 6 seconds

about how you need a job. Think of all the time you spend Facebooking and LinkedIn-ing andTweeting and emailing back and forth with people - it definitely adds up to much more time andeffort than it would take to just sit down and have coffee with that person for 20 minutes andcatch up.It will help to go out and meet people and have real human interactions that we’re programmedto remember and value. Those few minutes of human connection can be all it takes to getsomeone to understand and trust you enough to connect you with a hiring manager or remember you when they hear of an open job.If you need a reminder of how potentially absurd our reliance on technology for socialinteraction can be, watch this MeetUp video.

2. Keep healthy distance, and take mental breaks. Jobseeking is really stressful - it can weighon you deeply, especially if you’re checking your Blackberry/email every 5 minutes to seewhether you’ve heard back on any applications. As someone told me recently, a regular job is 9-5; jobseeking is 24/7 occupation. Sometimes, you need to unplug and disconnect. Change thesettings on your phone so it’s not beeping, flashing, and buzzing each time a message comes in- this will make you less prone to neurotically checking it.

3. Mind your manners, and know when to turn it off. It is very distracting when people are blatantly paying attention to their phone and not what’s happening in real life. Being a goodlistener is a skill that companies really value, and continuously glancing at your phone is a goodway to demonstrate that listening is not your strong suit. Turn off your phone while you’reinterviewing - it’s not worth jeopardizing your shot at a job.

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Resumes and Cover Letters

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Bright Green's Resume Boot Camp for Students/GradsYour resume and cover letter might be the only shot you have to differentiate yourself, so you need totake some time and get it right.

With the usual disclaimer that everyone’s case is different, here are some general tips for what toinclude in your resume and what you should definitely leave out.

First things first: if you're less than ten years out of school, your resume should be one page. Peoplehave short attention spans, so you need to get to the point.

Brag all you want:

• Awards and grants. Don’t be modest - if you won the international Rubiks Cube tournament or were named smartest student in the Slavic Studies department, play it up. Even better if you cansay how many people you beat out for the award or grant.

• Concrete achievements. Include all the jobs, internships, and positions you’ve held in student

groups. More on how to present these next week.

Proceed with caution:

• A low GPA. No one requires you to include your GPA; if it’s not awesome, you don’t need tostress about not including it.

• Your SAT scores. Haven’t we all suffered enough for this test without bringing it into the jobsearch? You took it at least 4 years ago, and it’s not even on the same scoring system anymore.If you got a perfect score, okay — but lay it to rest if your scores weren’t stellar.

• Discussions of religious/political beliefs. You don’t need to make your resume totally secular if you’ve been heavily involved in religious life or play down that you campaigned for your localcongressperson, but your resume shouldn’t come across as any sort of manifesto.

• TMI (too much information) — like how much you love your girlfriend or how recentlyyou’ve had a dental cleaning. If interests of yours aren’t obvious in your resume, you can listthem at the bottom in a “Skills/Other interests” section, but think through how they’ll comeacross.

Our rule of thumb: think about a 45-year-old reading your resume - channel someone like your 5thgrade teacher. What makes you sound like a serious candidate, and what makes you sound ridiculous?(Hint: unless you can make some convincing arguments about what you learned about event planning,don’t just list all the frat parties you helped buy kegs for.)

Rules for formatting [See our sample resume below]:

1. Simplicity reigns. We receive resumes all the time that look like they were composed in KidPix - colors everywhere, different fonts, clip art… scrap all of that. The flashiest your resumeshould get is bold type on the schools you attended and the titles of positions you’ve held.

2. Do not succumb to the desire to have columns in your resume . I don’t know from whencesaid desire comes, but it makes the resume visually confusing and a lot of automated applicanttracking systems will mangle all your information as they upload your resume.

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3. As lovely/mature/handsome you might look in photos, please don’t include any in your

resume. Nick, our Managing Partner, sums it up as such: “It distracts from your accomplishments and oftentimes lowers recruiter’s opinion (makes it seem like you’re relyingon your good looks, or are over-confident).”

4. And while we’re on the subject of visuals, let us touch upon video resumes… basically,

we’ve yet to see one done well. In the future, they might become the norm (for instance, keep

an eye on Visual CV) - but for now, it seems like the flashiness and entertainment value arecovering up weak experience or some other shortcoming.5. Don’t make any of your resume too text-heavy. Bullet points are a great way to go — they

make your resume seem digestible at a glance, which will in turn increase the likelihood of someone reading through the whole thing. Plus, it’ll make you avoid rambling and vagaries,which there’s no room for in a one-page resume.

Focus on the actual meat of your resume — work experience and positions held. Here are tips onmaking your achievements powerful and to-the-point.

As a general framework, career coaches sometimes talk about the CAR technique:

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Circumstance means setting the scene — what challenges were you facing in the role? Whatgoals did you have?

• Action: describe what you did to handle the circumstance. Use verbs.

• Result: what was the outcome that you achieved?

Specifically, here are some tips and tricks:1. Give context — the months or years you worked, a very brief description of the group or

company if it’s not well-known, and where the position was located.2. Use numbers — as many as possible. This will help you avoid being vague (though clearly

make sure the content is relevant).3. Use bullet points. Sentences glom together and are hard to glance over. Bullet points are easily

digestible for hiring managers.4. Make it relevant to the job you’re applying for. Map your achievements to theskills/qualifications the company is looking for, and get rid of or downplay the rest.

So, here’s what one of your positions might look like (this one’s a bit on the long end):1/07-3/07 Research Assistant, The Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development , Stanford, CA.

• Chosen by a visiting professor as one of two research assistants to quantify and codify ecotourism operators’manners of addressing the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from travel.

• Wrote and distributed a web-based survey of 150 tourism operators on 6 continents.

• Compiled and processed data on tourism operators’ use of carbon offsetting programs using SPSS; created 25charts to display results using Excel.

• Co-authored 30-page report published on The International Ecotourism Society’s website in 2007.

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3 Reasons Your Resume is Getting Passed Over WhenYou Apply OnlineAs impersonal, anonymous and frustrating as it feels to apply for jobs online, most companies can only process resumes that come in this way.

Hence, here are three reasons your resume might be getting passed over, and how to fight back:1. The mistake: Your cover letter is an attachment. The remedy: If you’re applying by email,

copy and paste your cover letter into the body of an email rather than having it as a separatedocument. Not only is it more likely to be read, but some automated resume systems will justgrab the first attachment on your email and parse that — so you want to make sure it’s your resume that’s making it into the system.

2. The mistake: Your email address is ridiculous. It’s cool if your email address that you use withfriends is “sk8rrrgurl1331″ or “babysealclubber” (and yes, we’ve seen that username), but whenwe receive applications from these types of addresses, it’s hard to take the person seriously as acandidate. The remedy: If you need to, create a more serious email address to use for job

applications.3. The mistake: The title of your resume or cover letter document is ridiculous or irrelevant, ala “MansfieldResume_EDITEDVERSION4 5-5-09.doc,” “BEST CANDIDATE FOR THE JOBMANSFIELD RESUME.doc,” or worse, “Mansfield Generic Resume.doc.” As for your cover letter, make sure it’s not “Mansfield Generic Cover Letter.doc”… you might as well title it “Itook less than 2 minutes to consider and apply for this job.” If you obviously don’t care aboutthe position, the hiring manager isn’t going to waste their time reading your resume. Theremedy: You ARE tailoring your resume and cover letter to each position you’re applying to,right? Make sure the title reflects that - such as “Mansfield Bright Green Resume” or “Mansfield Cover Letter - Bright Green Talent.” Getting your name in there is important, too,so people can pull your resume back up easily.

Some clarifications:

• Is it preferred and OK to attached the cover letter as the first page of the resume?

Yes and no. To qualify what I wrote last time (that you should put your cover letter into the body of your email), I would do so and then attach a copy of your cover letter below your resume, as the second attachment. That way it will also go on to your automatic file (dependingon the back-end system the company is using).As for combining the two documents, avoid it at all costs. It’s cumbersome, and whereemployers are making quick judgments based on a glance at your resume, having to scroll past a1pg cover letter may be just enough of an annoyance for them to overlook your applicationentirely.

•

Is it an acceptable format to convert the Word document into a PDF when asked to include anattachment?

PDF certainly looks cleaner and you can make sure the formatting won’t get screwed up whensomeone opens your resume with a different version of Word.My only hesitation is that some back-end systems have trouble parsing PDFs correctly, or creating “previews” of these documents for the recruiter to easily glance at. However, if acompany or recruiter prefers one type of file to the other, they’ll probably specify, so just read

16



© Bright Green Talent 2009 | www.brightgreentalent.com

Crafting a Killer Resume

Contents

STEP: Know Thyself

What are your strengths?

STEP: Sell Thyself

Translating your strengths so others understand them

STEP: Be Relevant to the Opportunity

Mapping your resume to what the company is looking for

STEP: Write it up!

Using your selling points and the job requirements to write a killer resume and cover letter

Please avoid printing this guide unless it’s absolutely crucial




Your resume shouldn’t just be a chronology of your life and work experience. You get to select everything that goes

into it, and it’s potentially the only resource an employer will look at on the first glance. It’s worth taking a fair bit of

time to think hard about how you’re presenting yourself. Through the following exercises, we’ll help you reflect onyour strengths and how to best communicate your experience and skillset to an employer.

What do you consider to be your top 5 selling points?

Selling points

Examples: Experienced salesperson; 15 years business development; deep knowledge of environmental issues

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Okay, now look at what you wrote. Take out the two most generic-sounding qualities. Rewrite.

Selling points

Examples: Experienced salesperson; 15 years business development; deep knowledge of environmental issues

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

STEP : KNOW THYSELF




The proof is in the pudding. Now write down two quantitative examples that concretely display

these traits. Some tips: use numbers, timelines, and dollar amounts – the more specific you can

be, the more that achievement will mean to an outside reader

Selling Point Proof 1 Proof 2

Example: Outstanding consultant with a

strong record of achievement

Was the youngest person of 1000

graduate employees to be promoted to

senior consultant in my first year

In the first year, I billed $250,000, over

twice the average of my peers.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

STEP : SELL THYSELF




Even if your selling points make you sound outstanding, you have to be sure that your resume is

relevant to the particular opportunity you’re applying for. What are the requirements they list?

Parse these out, and for each, write a couple examples of how you’ve done, and excelled at,

something similar.

Job Requirement ExamplesExample:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

STEP : BE RELEVANT TO THE OPPORTUNITY




Now, using your selling points, examples, and how your experience is directly relevant to th

description, go ahead and weave these thoughts into your resume. Remove vague bullet points; make

every bullet point or sentence packs a punch.

See our other documents

(http://www.brightgreentalent.com/jobseekers/greenhouse/greenhousegrow.html)

for what should be included in your resume, and what’s better left unsaid.

You’ll also find examples of great resumes that have caught our eye as they’ve come across our desk.

Need some inspiration for your selling points? These Personality Profile and Professional P

worksheets are part of our Interview Prep, but can give you some ideas for where your strengths lie a

craft your resume.

PERSONALITY PROFILE

Quality Description Example1. Driven You are goal ‐oriented & thrive on making things happen.

2. Motivated You are enthusiastic and willing to ask questions. You take the initiative and enjoy challenges.

3. Effective

CommunicatorYou express yourself in a considered & intelligent manner, in person & on paper.

4. Chemistry You are confident and optimistic. You don’t get rattled. Great team player.

5. Energetic/

PassionateYou work hard and give that little bit extra effort to the cause.

6. Determined You don’t back off when the going gets tough. You will see a job through.

7. Confident You are not arrogant, but friendly honest and open. 8. Future

Potential

You love to learn and develop yourself. You’re a great future investment for the

organisation

STEP : WRITE IT UP!




PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Quality Description Example1. Reliable

You complete the job well and on time.

2. Honest &

values-driven You take responsibility for your actions and

make decisions in the best interest of your

company. A keen sense of what‘s important

to you.

3. Pride You take pride in a job well done. Attention

to detail.

4. Dedicated You do whatever it takes to see a project

through to completion

5. Analytical The ability to weigh the pros and consbefore making a decision. You handle

complex information with ease

6. Listener You listen with empathy and objectivity and

understand with insight.

7. Economical You are able to save money for the

company by being efficient and economical

8. Profitable You create value for the company through

your contribution - which is the goal of every

employer (even NGOs)



Learn more at www.brightgreentalent.com! © Bright Green Talent 2009

1

Cover Letters: The Good, the Boring, and the Bright Green

First things first: yes, even in this day and age, you still have to write a cover letter. We knowmany employers who are swayed by great cover letters. Plus, if you're career transitioning, itgives you a forum for explaining exactly why you want to switch from selling paper clips to

selling solar panels, and how you're qualified to do so.

Okay, with that issue dispatched, let's move on to the nitty-gritty.

Who am I writing to?

• DO: Try to track down the name of the hiring manager, using LinkedIn or the companywebsite or Lead411. If you can't find it, you can name the team you're applying to (suchas "The LEED Projects Team," "The Marketing Department"). And if you manage to findtheir name, spell it correctly!

• DON'T: Address it to "Dear Sirs" or anything that's gender specific, unless you know who's

going to be reading the cover letter (in which case, you should be using their name).

What am I writing?

• DON'T: Send a generic cover letter. There's nothing worse than reading a cover letter that the applicant has obviously put no thought into at all (or has leftover remnants of itsprevious incarnation for a totally different and unrelated position). If you're not going to

bother making it at least tangentially relevant to the position you're applying for, you'dbe better off leaving it out entirely.

• DO: Follow James Dilworth's advice for how to craft a cover letter. Someone in our community sent us this link to his Craigslist "Best of" post on how to apply to a job, and wegenerally couldn't agree more with his thoughts. Basically, DO NOT write a cover letter

that sounds like every other person's cover letter. Use bullets where appropriate to pullout the most important ideas; use precise language and specific examples instead ofgeneric language; do not exceed a page (aim for about half a page). See our samplecover letters below.

• DON'T: Include random keywords at the bottom of your resume and/or cover letter.We've seen people do this -- including companies they haven't worked for, productsthey haven't sold, universities they haven't attended. Yes, some applicant tracking

systems will generate an "automated" match based on word matching, but regardless ofwhether you make that first cut, your dishonesty/trickery in that first round will not gounnoticed, and you will probably just annoy the hiring manager that has to read your cover letter that's irrelevant to their position.

How should I send it?

• DO: Follow all instructions. Send your resume to the right place, with the right subjectheader if the company specifies it, and with all the required questions answered. That'snot to say you can't embellish here and there, but you need to make sure your resumemakes it to the right place. Many companies use automated forwarding systemsdepending on the title, or can only receive applications through their website.

• DO: Copy the text of your cover letter in to the body of an email, if that's how you're




2

applying. It increases the chances of your note being read, or something in the cover letter sparking interest in the hiring manager at first glance. Otherwise, we'll likely gostraight for your resume, and if we have no context for why you're interested, we might

just move right on to the next candidate.• DON'T: Upload or submit a cover letter with the document title resembling anything like

"Generic Cover Letter" (this only applies if you're uploading it on a site; otherwise it

shouldn't have a title, per advice on copying & pasting above).

A couple other thoughts:

• DON'T: Forget to spell check. There's no excuse for grammar or spelling errors in the ageof automated spell check.

• DO: Get the name of the company (including spelling) right. You have no idea howmany times I've read cover letters saying how enthusiastic people are about working at

"Big Green Talent." Double check you're getting the position title and company right. • DON'T: Say anything snarky about the company in your cover letter. For example, I saw

this one come through recently: "I'm glad I came across Bright Green Talent as I was jobseeking, as I honestly can't say I'd heard of your company before, which is especiallystrange considering I was working previously for one of the most innovative, eco-friendlycompanies in the area." Okay, maybe we're being sensitive, and they did specify they

were glad to find us, but if it doesn't help, don't bother.




3

Sample Cover LettersThe Boring:

Dear Sir/Madame,

I am writing to apply for the position of Recruiting Consultant with Bright Green Talent, a position

I found listed on GreenBiz. I believe that my exceptional communication skills and passion for green business would allow me to excel in the role.

After extensive research, I am convinced that my unique background and work history makeme the best candidate for this position and the growth of your team. I recently received aMaster's in Environmental Studies from XXXXX University, where I gained invaluable

communication abilities and a deep understanding of the environmental challenges facingours and future generations. Before receiving my Master's, I worked as a consultant at XXXXCompany, where I developed my analytical skills and the ability to finish projects on timewithout significant oversight or guidance.

Personally, I am an entrepreneurial and reliable person and work well with a team or independently. I am passionate about environmental issues and would love to join your team inworking towards a brighter future.

To conclude, I believe that my personal, professional and educational background prepare meto be a key player in growing out your company. I look forward to discussing employmentopportunities with you in the near future. I am available for an interview at your earliest

convenience.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Mansfield

What's wrong with this picture?

• Take a step back -- you could substitute almost any other company name in the green sector for

Bright Green Talent. This person claims to have done "extensive research," but doesn't

demonstrate that at all. What particular initiatives at the company are interesting to you? What's

the biggest news at the company recently? Showing you've done your homework and thought

about the fit will help convince the employer you're serious about pursuing the role.

• There isn't a single concrete example in here of how the applicant has experience doing the

types of tasks they'd be required to do in the new role. Be as specific as possible.• Like you learned in 5th grade English class: show, don't tell. Actions and achievements speak

louder than fluffy language (what does "exceptional communication skills" even mean?).

• We don't see any of the person's motivations. Why did they go back to get a Master's? What

areas of study were particularly interesting? What types of projects most inspired them and make

them want to work with Bright Green Talent?

• Use the job description and go through point by point - what are the qualities they most need?

How does your own experience map to those needs? The more concrete you can get, the better

off you'll be.




4

The Bright Green:

Christina,

I was thrilled to come across Bright Green Talent's advertisement for a Recruiting Consultant onGreenBiz.com. As an engaged environmentalist with a passion for people and positive

psychology, I've kept an eye on your company with great interest as you've grown your brandand presence. I would love to join your team and help channel more talented people intomeaningful careers.

I think I'd be a great addition to Bright Green Talent's recruiting team for three main reasons:

1. I'm a people person. Your ad called for someone with strong phone skills, ability to network,and an outgoing personality. In my prior work as a consultant, I developed my skills in all threeareas: I managed clients remotely and coordinated teams of consultants working in our

company's 5 national branches, doubled my team's number of projects in one year throughactive business development, and received an employee award for active engagement in my

company's volunteer programs. If possible, I'd like to channel this experience towards helpingBright Green Talent enrich its partnership with Solar Richmond and expand the company's non-profit partnership program.

2. Passion for sustainability. After 3 years in traditional management consulting, I returned to

XXXX University to pursue a degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on the educationalsystem. I wrote my master's thesis on how universities are integrating sustainability issues intotraditional academic frameworks in order to prepare students for the 21st century's resourcemanagement challenges. This unique background in training and preparation would translatewell to helping talented recent graduates find the first steps in their "green career."

3. Entrepreneurial drive and work ethic. I am aware that Bright Green Talent is a small team

and that each person must operate relatively independently. In my past consulting role, I took aleadership position in each of the project teams I worked on and operated efficiently on

remote teams where I had to self-impose deadlines and goals.

Overall, I'd love to add my skills and perspective to Bright Green Talent's team and add mypassion for people and sustainability to the efforts to grow the business. Feel free to reach out if

you have other questions. I look forward to hearing back from you!

Cheers,

Carolyn



Online Tools and Traps:Social Media in your Job Search

28



Keeping your personal life separate from your greenjob application processIf you just can’t step away from your iPhone, Facebook, MySpace, etc, here’s a common sense

checklist for cleaning up your image.

Facebook:

• First off, fix your Facebook privacy settings to keep people from being able to find you.

• And control who can see your photos.

• And consider - as hilarious as they are, how many photos of you with a drink in your hand doyou really need? Detag where necessary.

• Are any of your groups incriminating?

• All that stuff we said about professional networking? Keep it separate from Facebook. Avoid“friending” professional contacts - people you might ask for a reference from, your aunt’s friendwho has connections with a green marketing company you’re interested in, etc. Use LinkedIn

for that.

On the interwebs:

• Google yourself: look for news, web hits, and images.

• Check on YouTube for embarrassing videos that your friends uploaded.

• Check Flickr and other public image hosting sites as well.

• If there’s anything incriminating up there, try to get it removed, or at least have an explanation prepared.

Twitter:

While I’m still trying to wrap my head around Twitter and why people need to know/care what I’m

doing every 4 minutes, there are lots of reasons to tweet, but do be aware that it is, in fact, public.• If need be, create one “professional” twitter account that makes you look studious and mature,

and another where you can tweet things like “omg SO hungover for interview this morning;hope they didn’t notice”

Gmail:

• Ever notice how random people you emailed once show up on your chat list? Yeah, you showup on theirs too. Careful with your Gmail status.

Tweet Your Way to a Green Job[Editors' note: Follow Tom Savage, founder of Bright Green Talent at twitter.com/brightgreen. Tomwas also named one of the Top 75 Environmentalists to follow on Twitter by Mashable.]

Is there real value out there in the Twitter-sphere for the wise that are looking to get into a green job?

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http://twitter.com/brightgreen

http://www.brightgreentalent.com/blog/2009/03/18/toms-rules-of-thumb-twitting-your-way-to-a-green-job/twitter.com/brightgreen

http://twitter.com/brightgreen

http://www.brightgreentalent.com/blog/2009/03/18/toms-rules-of-thumb-twitting-your-way-to-a-green-job/twitter.com/brightgreen



From Tom:It feels good to mix fun and pierce the sometimes overly-formal veil that lies between a company’s public image and the people that work within. Yes, stop the press, we here at Bright Green Talent find people meaningful careers, but we also have tipsy evenings, days of despair, and laugh. We want to beable to share these moments too, to prove that it’s not all work and no play, as well as reward peoplewith more up-to-date action and reaction from Bright Green Towers.

But onto twitutility - there are some useful ways to use twitter to help you find a green job, or researcha green career. Here’s my list, in a lot more than 140 characters:

• Find out if your future employer twitters. Use this as a method of doing your research andenabling you to go into interview, or to pitch to that person/company with a better idea of whatthey like/don’t like.

• If you have a big enough following, ask people questions about your resume, your

interview technique, or anything you want quick answers to. Use your followers to doresearch and get reactions.

• Use the searches. Although unrelated, the best way my friend in Madagascar could keep upwith the crisis there was to check Twitter rather than the news (which was always too slow).

Beat the rush by searching for green jobs, or using some of the # (hashtags) to find out what’sgoing on. You might find out about opportunities before others if you’re on the ball.

• Follow those specifically targeted at green jobs, or other categories that fit your needs. e.g.greenjob, Green Jobs in the USA, Green Jobs.

• If you’re twittering, be sure that a future employer can’t follow your posts about your communist past, love of beer or flirtation with illegal substances. Recruiters will start to usetwitter more and more to do a check on someone.

• Be careful, you can screw up.

• Use it as one of a number of tools, but don’t go overboard. Having 20k followers isn’tnecessarily going to result in your getting a job. At some point you have to drop the keyboardand get stuck in. There’s nothing like face-to-face time.

Tom aka @brightgreen

Get Linked(In)LinkedIn is basically the cheap & easy way to start virtually networking. Here’s some homework for the uninitiated:

Step 1: Create a profile. Fill out your profile with the internships you’ve had, positions held. Mygeneral resume tips apply — but you can be more concise on LinkedIn. Just the most relevant andimpressive things you’ve done.

Step 2: Find folks. The genius little robots behind LinkedIn can get into your Gmail/Yahoo/AOLcontact list and find folks you already know that are on LinkedIn. As you invite people to connect, takethe chance to include a friendly hello — and, if you like, politely mention you’re jobseeking.

Step 3: Join groups! Find alumni organizations, interest groups, and, especially, Bright Green Talent’s

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http://twitter.com/greenjob

http://twitter.com/GreenJobsinUSA

http://twitter.com/GreenJobs


http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/03/18/Dutch_MP_apologizes_for_offensive_Tweet/UPI-18861237400073/



http://brightestgreen.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/students-and-grads-resume-boot-camp-iii/

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=146385

http://twitter.com/greenjob

http://twitter.com/GreenJobsinUSA




http://brightestgreen.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/students-and-grads-resume-boot-camp-iii/

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=146385



group. Groups are a great way to find interesting discussions, job postings, and links, and to connectwith folks who share communities and interests.

Now down to business: who has the job you want?1. Make a list of companies you think you’re interested in working for. If you haven’t figured

that out (solar? green consumer goods? carbon finance?), use the industry search function under

the “companies” tab to browse who’s out there. Find out who’s who in that space. Use other resources like GreenBiz to see which companies are making headlines.2. Now, search those companies - if you can narrow down to the job title you’re interested in, all

the better (use “keywords” under the company search). Who do you already know there? If appropriate, send them a note to connect - as always, don’t be too pushy.

3. For people that currently hold the position of your dreams, what does their career pathgenerally look like? Do they have a graduate degree? How many years work experience? Whataccreditations do they have (LEED AP, etc)?

Do this for 10-15 folks in 3 or more companies - the more the better. You’ll start to get a sense of general trends in qualifications, and also in what specific companies are looking for. For example, if you’re looking at sustainability consulting firms, are they generally hiring people who have 5 years inenvironmental non-profits? Or out of traditional consulting backgrounds?

About an hour of poking around like this will give you an idea of whether you have a good shot at being noticed and hired when you apply for positions at that company.

Carolyn's LinkedIn Manifesto for Successful JobseekingFollowing Michael Pollan’s advice on what to eat (“ Eat food, not too much, mostly plants”), I put forthmy own LinkedIn manifesto: Be open, not too open, and choose quality over quantity.

And putting a few disclaimers first:

• Some people disagree with me on the quality over quantity point. I’m going on what I’ve personally seen be effective in my time at BGT.

• Everyone uses LinkedIn for the own purposes (business partnerships, advertising, jobseeking,etc), and will have different takes on what’s useful for those aims. I’m focusing on jobseeking.

Be open:

Yes, make sure you’re marked as “Interested in Career Opportunities,” have a public profile, a photo, acompleted profile, etc. (See LinkedIn’s own tips on jobsearching through the site).

Not too open:Know someone whose LinkedIn name looks like this? “Bob Smith [email protected] TO ALL CONNECTIONS”

These people make me shudder for a couple reasons: they look desperate, and they look like they don’thave a clear idea of what they’re looking for. If you want to connect with people you don’t know, theyhave to see the value in connecting with you. The age-old dating rule applies: while you need to be

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http://brightestgreen.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/sustainability-consulting-what-is-it-and-am-i-qualified/

http://blog.linkedin.com/2009/04/02/ten-tips-to-enhance-your-job-search-on-linkedin/


http://brightestgreen.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/sustainability-consulting-what-is-it-and-am-i-qualified/

http://blog.linkedin.com/2009/04/02/ten-tips-to-enhance-your-job-search-on-linkedin/



open and accessible, do play a little bit hard to get.

Drop the CAPS lock, the exclamation points. asterisks, etc. Your resume and experience should be ableto market you. If they don’t, spend your time getting some experience instead of adding Wingdings toyour profile.

Choose quality over quantity:To me, flags are raised when people have 3000 connections. Or when they have 5. Find a sweet spot between those numbers, comprised of solid connections with people you’ve met or worked with. The point of LinkedIn is you can access all their second and third degree connections, so you don’t need tolink to every person you ever come across. If you want to expand your networks quickly, join a bunchof groups that you’re interested in (like BGT’s — in order to be able to vouch for everyone in our personal networks, we link to our community through our group rather than through those 3000connections with people we’ve never met).

How to Make Friends (er, Connections) on LinkedInHere are some guidelines for how to use LinkedIn correctly in the jobseeking process.

1. LinkedIn is your virtual Rolodex — and an easy way to store all those business cards you pick up. When you meet people at events, follow up with a *thoughtful* note and invitation toconnect.

2. Demonstrate judgment when requesting a link to someone or accepting someone’s request. Asyou may have noted, people without said judgment are a major pet peeve of mine, so I’llexpand a little here by including thoughts on how to determine whether you should link tosomeone: Would I feel comfortable contacting this individual on behalf of another friend?Would I be willing to introduce this individual to someone else I know so they can do business

together? Am I comfortable letting this person use my name as a business reference? Will this

person know me if he’s approached by others who use my name? 3. DO include a personal note. And get their categorization correct (ie, if you’re going to attemptto link to someone you’ve never met, don’t say someone’s your friend. It seems careless, if nota bit creepy.)

4. If they don’t respond, relax. Don’t send two requests to the same person in one day (yes, ithappens).

5. Mention folks you know in common.6. Personalize. You waste an opportunity when you send an obviously generic note with your link

request (such as addressing it to “Friends and Colleagues” — especially when I’m neither!).7. Most importantly: don’t use LinkedIn as a crutch. “Meeting” people online DOES NOT

EQUAL knowing them. Go meet people in person (need inspiration? watch the video below

from MeetUp.com). You will get much more value if you get up, get to networking events,volunteer, etc.

The Importance of Getting ConnectedMaking your resume stand out is difficult if you haven’t had work experience to really differentiate

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http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=146385&trk=hb_side_g

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=146385&trk=hb_side_g



you.

At Bright Green Talent, we’ve seen all sorts of creative tricks for getting resumes noticed in a bunch — rampant highlighting, personal notes, stickers, glitter… Luckily for those of us who are as artistically-underachieving as I am, applying for a job does not have to be an arts and crafts project.

Knowing someone at a company, or a friend’s cousin’s great-uncle of someone at a company, will giveyou a much better shot of being seriously considered. For hiring managers, being able to place you in asocial or personal network lowers the psychological barriers to hiring you - they can check with that person to make sure you’re a stable person, or you at least have a better chance of standing out whenthey come back across your resume (”oh, this is the girl that went to pre-school with Sam fromAccounting’s nephew!”). [Warning: of course, using personal connections can go in the other direction, too. We've seen qualified folks get dismissed because whoever knows them at the company

doesn't think they'll fit in with the culture, or is still mad that the applicant never returned their

lawnmower].

As a student or recent grad, here’s how to dive in to the networking scene:

•

Obviously, start with using who you know. Bosses from internships, professors, alumni fromstudent groups you’re involved in, friends of your parents – don’t be shy about asking thesefolks if they know of open opportunities at their company or other companies. Do be polite inyour phrasing, and do not be overly pushy (ie, “Hey, I know we haven’t talked in 3 years, butcan you get me a job/interview?”). More on etiquette next week.

• No excuses: use your Career Development Center. You’ve already paid your school hundredsof thousands of dollars to prepare you for the real world; you might as well invest a few hoursgetting their advice on how to actually get into the real world.

• Use your alumni network. Alumni, for nostalgia’s sake or whatever other reason, generallylove helping out students from their alma mater, especially if you were both in the sameacapella group or archery club. Research companies, see what alumni might be there, and send

a friendly note.• Meet new people. In the green space, there are networking events practically every 4 minutes -

GreenDrinks is a good way to schmooze (and many other iterations exist, depending on whereyou live - Climatini, Sustainable Business Happy Hour , etc, etc). Go to panel discussions, dovolunteer days at local gardens, get involved in your local Sierra Club chapter.

• Use online resources like LinkedIn (for the uninitiated, it’s like Facebook for grown-ups and people who take themselves seriously; see above chapter on Online Tools). This is a greatresearch tool, and a way to find those friends’ cousin’s great-uncles who can help you get intothe company of your dreams. And you can join the Bright Green Group!

Unfortunately, you can't just click around social networks and expect to surface with a job opportunity.It's important to get out there in front of people and make sure that they remember you when they hear

of an open job or are hiring themselves.

"Oh no, please don't make me NETWORK!!"During career coaching meetings, the topic of networking comes up pretty much every time because

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http://www.meetup.com/sac-energy/calendar/9489321/



http://www.brightgreentalent.com/blog/2009/02/23/students-and-grads-get-connected/www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=146385

http://www.greendrinks.org/

http://www.meetup.com/sac-energy/calendar/9489321/


http://www.brightgreentalent.com/blog/2009/02/23/students-and-grads-get-connected/www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=146385



people:1. Know they need to be doing it.2. Are not doing it enough.3. Have an averse reaction to it.

Let’s address #3 since that’s the most critical to deal with #1 and #2. I tell people that it would behelpful to re-frame what networking means to them. Rather than walking into an event assuming you

are ‘on the prowl’ for a job and/or for someone who can give it to them, Why not just think of it as anopportunity to meet some interesting people, hear what they’re up to and perhaps talk a little about

what gets you excited in the world? Huh. That sounds a little more like a party than a networking eventdoesn’t it? That’s the point.

I don’t want to make it sound quite so easy. A true “re-framing” is difficult to achieve but the benefitsto both your job search and sanity are endless.

How Not to be a Jobseeker Horror Story

It’s important to be sure you’re getting noticed for the right reasons — the way you interact with peopleis a great demonstration of your judgment and social wherewithal, and how you might fit in with acompany. The first impression might be the only impression you get to make — and you’d be shockedhow quickly word travels in the tight-knit community of green businesses and organizations.

We know you’re new to the job search process, and people are throwing advice at you from all angleson how to succeed. However, since we all have a morbid fascination with horror stories, here’s a list of people you really DON’T want to be remembered as.

Appearance:

• “The guy who looked vaguely homeless.” If you’re meeting people in person, dress nice. The

green sphere is generally somewhat more casual, but people expect you to look neat and well put-together, even if you are currently living in a tent to reduce your carbon footprint.

• “The girl dressed for a frat party.” To state the obvious, don’t be showing too much skin -especially if you’re competing with a bunch of other students or recent grads and trying to present yourself as older and more mature.

• “Wait, which guy?” Everyone tends to wear muted colors or dark clothes when they interviewor go to job fairs. Wear something unique — a bright color or an interesting necklace/accessorywhich might make you more memorable in a sea of jobseekers.

In conversation:

• “The guy who talked forEVER.” If you’re at a schmoozy event, don’t corner someone for 25

minutes, and, as tempting as it may be, don’t recite your senior thesis from memory. Converse.Ask smart questions.

• “The girl who asked me point blank for a job.” Be confident; don’t be too brash. If you have agood conversation with someone, get their card and follow up with an email the next day sayingsomething along the lines of, “Great to meet you, enjoyed the conversation, I’m interested tohear more about your company and employment opportunities that might be available.” You’ll

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do even better if you have a favor to do for them in return — connecting them to someone youknow or something else along those lines.

• “The guy who kept interrupting me.” As your mother always says, have manners and be a goodlistener. Also, make sure your conversation is relatively P.C. - if you don’t know the person thatwell, better to err on the side of not offending them, given that you don’t know their sensitivities.

Ethics:

• “The guy who fibbed .” Be honest! We can’t emphasize this enough: if there’s one thing that willautomatically get you ruled out from a job, it’s getting caught in any sort of lie, even somethingthat seems totally innocuous. As recruiters, we’ve dealt with this as candidates have tried to tellthe company different stories than they’ve told us — and, given that there’s a lot of informationsharing going on, it won’t go unnoticed.

Dive In: 21 Places to Look for Green Volunteering

OpportunitiesWe always encourage students and grads (and everyone else!) to volunteer with environmentally-focused organizations/initiatives in order to network, get some green experience on their resume and dogood as they’re jobsearching.

So, you ask: What opportunities are there to dive into a green career through volunteering?

• Non-profits: Given the state of the economy, non-profits need a lot of help right now and couldreally value your volunteer time. Find a non-profit in your area that works on issues you’reinterested in - policy, water issues, international development, etc. Do keep in mind that it’s better to focus on a specific project that you are willing to help with or spearhead. Idealist.org

has an extensive list of volunteer opportunities that you can sort by interest and location to get asense for what’s out there. Find your local Sierra Club chapter; Green for All has resources onhow to support green jobs growth in your local community.

• Get down and dirty: Add some manpower to a green building project and get industryexposure at the same time. GRID Alternatives is popular in the Bay Area, where volunteers helpinstall solar panels on low-income housing. Habitat for Humanity has some green buildingrelated projects as well. Friends of the Urban Forest in San Francisco asks for volunteers to helpwith tree-planting. Find your local community garden project or farmer’s market and offer tohelp out. Join AmeriCorps for a year of service. Go help clean up your local park, or find asummer or seasonal job in a National Park through The Student Conservation Association.

• Get political: Find your state PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) and help them canvass

and push green legislation in your state (we’ve got Environment California here in the BayArea). Apply to spend a year working with GreenCorps, a year-long hands-on training programaround the U.S. that breeds the country’s top environmental organizers (and has a really strong job placement program and alumni network to take advantage of at the end).

• Go abroad! Foundation for Sustainable Development places students and recent grads ininternships in developing countries around the world. You are placed in a domestic non-profit

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http://sierraclub.org/

http://greenforall.org/

http://www.gridalternatives.org/

http://www.habitat.org/

http://www.fuf.net/

http://www.fuf.net/

http://www.americorps.gov/


http://www.thesca.org/

http://www.uspirg.org/


http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/

http://www.greencorps.org/

http://fsdinternational.org/


http://sierraclub.org/

http://greenforall.org/


http://www.habitat.org/

http://www.fuf.net/


http://www.thesca.org/


http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/

http://www.greencorps.org/

http://fsdinternational.org/



there depending on your development-related interests and can design your own project, seek funding, and get some great hands-on experience… all while experiencing a new culture.Ecoteer.com connects you with green volunteer opportunities around the world. Join WillingWorkers on Organic Farms (WWOOF) and spend some time trading your work for room and board in one of many countries around the world that hosts a WWOOF network.

• Take a “pay the bills job” and volunteer for a company you’re interested in. Make sure you

have a specific project suggestion to put in front of them, rather than just willingness to work.For example, a 2007 graduate named Ajay sent us this note about his efforts to get “green”experience. He works for a utility, and offers a few days a week for free to a solar company inthe area, who he reached through a contact there (go network!). As he says, “The more I work with this solar manufacturer, the more people I meet and the more people know my name.”Troll green job boards such as Treehugger and GreenBiz for unpaid internships or volunteering;use contacts at these organizations and others to find out whether you can lend a hand.

• Network : Another example is helping to organize green networking events in your city. GreenDrinks is a great monthly meet-up that has chapters in many cities. Contact your local chapter tohelp organize; if none exists, start one up! We’re working with an amazing team of GreenDrinks volunteers here in San Francisco that are helping set up a “Green Careers Connections”

event - by doing so, they’re networking with eachother and getting to reach out to lots of companies that they might be interested in working for themselves. We’re also big fans of NetImpact - lend a hand with your local chapter and get connected to passionate professionals.

• Conferences need volunteers. When you hear a green conference is coming to town, find outways to volunteer with the organization and actual conference. Green Festivals needs lots of hands on deck; keep an eye on GreenBiz’s list of events for whether anything’s being plannedfor near you.

• If you’re already out there volunteering, send us a success story of how it’s helped you in the job search process!

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http://www.ecoteer.com/index.php

http://www.wwoof.org/


http://www.treehugger.com/



http://greenbiz.com/


http://greendrinks.org/


http://sfgreendrinks.org/2009/green-career-connections-tuesday-may-19th

http://netimpact.org/


http://greenfestivals.org/


http://www.ecoteer.com/index.php









http://sfgreendrinks.org/2009/green-career-connections-tuesday-may-19th



http://greenfestivals.org/




Interviewing

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Top 10 Lessons on Interviewing, Courtesy of AmateurComedy NightAt Bright Green Talent, we’re all in favor of not taking things too seriously and making sure there’s

always enough laughter going around. Thus, we recently headed out to an amateur stand-up comedynight at a local club. During the show, we realized that there were some real overlaps in the VennDiagram of stand-up comedy and interviewing…

Here’s what we came up with to help you avoid those moments of scattered, forced laughter (or blank stares) from the crowd:

10. Know your audience and cater to them. If you’re in a room full of women, don’t make sexist jokes. Same goes for an interview or cover letter - figure out what you can say that will resonatewith the reader. Sensitivity and judgment will go a long way in warming the interviewer up toyou; lack thereof will quickly get you blacklisted.

9. Just the right amount of eye contact… Not too much and definitely not too little! In aninterview, don’t look up or out the window too much when you’re considering a question… better to look down at your notes. We’ve had people disqualified for jobs because of wanderinggazes.

8. Energy! The comedians who were too loud and energetic for the crowd seemed overbearing;those who were lethargic seemed like they were unprepared, nervous or just didn’t care. Findthe right balance of energy between sluggish and overzealous so that you can express both your passion and your composure.

7. Be confident and natural in what you are saying. Sounding too rehearsed will not bode well.If you give canned answers that mirror your resume or cover letter exactly, it can appear asthough you have no more to offer than what they already read about you in the application.(Though practice does make perfect in this case - “mock interviewing” with friends is one of themost effective ways to prepare for an interview.)

6. Be concise. Know where the story is going and get there! (With the appropriate tangents alongthe way…) For the comedian, if it’s obvious that your joke isn’t funny to the audience, don’t beat a dead horse — change tacks. This goes for interviewing too — if something you’re tryingto express about your experience or passion is drawing blank stares (or worse, offended looks),carefully exit from that strand of conversation and strike out in a new, hopefully moresuccessful, direction.

5. Timing is everything. Hey, delivery matters. Just look at Jon Stewart.4. Incorporate others only as much as they want to be incorporated. Actually, this comparison

doesn’t actually work: Interviews are considered successful when they are a conversation between two people rather than drawing a clear distinction between interviewer andinterviewee. Whereas for a comedian, the audience may prefer to be passive and that’s okay!

3. Work with whatever makes you, you. The best and most successful comedians are those witha memorable, distinctive style which they have made “work” for them. This is true for the restof us as well. Know your strengths and quirks and make them work for you.

2. Don’t be negative about previous employers. At this show, we saw an elementary-school- principal-by-day reference how ridiculous her students and parents were — with a fair number

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of expletives laced in — while her husband was enthusiastically filming the performance. Wecouldn’t help but think if that video ever got in the “wrong” hands of her colleagues, school parents, or anyone else, she would likely lose her job and her reputation would take a serioushit. There is never a need to un-constructively criticize an organization just to prove dedicationto a job opportunity; rather, emphasize the things you would change and how you think theexperience has prepared you to contribute to a new organization.

1. If you make people laugh, that is a very good sign! Interviews can be tense situations. If youfind that you have a good enough rapport with your interviewer, finding some (appropriate!)humor can take the edge off and make you seem poised, confident and likeable…all good thingswhen they are evaluating whether they want to work with you!

7 Tips for Mastering the Art of the Phone InterviewSince you’ll almost always have to go through a phone interview in order to get in front of actual people in a company, it’s important to nail it.

Here are some tips for prepping and carrying out the interview:

1. Use your invisibility! Speaking on the phone carries the huge advantage of the interviewer not being able to see what you’re doing.

• Have the job description, your resume, and your cover letter printed out or in front of you.Take some time beforehand to highlight the experiences and qualities that you want to besure to hit on in the interview, and refer to these while you’re chatting.

• Know your strengths and weaknesses. Write out your three strongest selling points, andyour three weaknesses — with an answer to how that weakness can be improved or leveraged.

• Have questions for the interviewers written down, and take notes as others come up in the

conversation.Of course, don’t be reading something you’ve written already - they’ll know you soundrehearsed. Bullet points will keep you on track.

2. Get dressed up. Okay, you don’t have to go all out business attire, but if you’re at home, wear something nice that will put you in the “work” mindset and keep you feeling sharp.

3. Just because they can’t see it doesn’t mean they can’t hear it. Don’t be eating, chewinggum, or smoking while you’re on the phone. It’s fine to have a glass of water around just likeyou would in a normal interview.

4. Find a quiet place. You wouldn’t believe how many people having yelling kids, barking dogs,nearby traffic and other distractions around when they’re doing phone interviews. Not only willthese be a distraction to your train of thought and presentation, but they could make you feel

apologetic or embarrassed to the interviewer, which isn’t a psychological place you want to bein when you’re selling yourself.

5. Enunciate and speak deliberately. Because you can’t read the interviewers’ facial expressions,it’s easy to start doubting whether they’re still with you and to speed up your answers. Takeyour time, be deliberate, and finish each thought.

6. Make sure you have phone service, or use a landline. With most people speaking on cell

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phones, calls can drop easily - creating an awkward break in the conversation and moreuncertainty. If you are having trouble hearing the interviewer, tell them - there’s no point ingoing through an interview where you can’t understand what they’re asking just because youfeel embarrassed to call it out.

7. Get follow up contact information. You’ll want to send a thank you note, so be sure you havean email address of whoever you spoke with.

For additional interview tips, check out Bright Green Talent'sInterview Guide.

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http://www.brightgreentalent.com/jobseekers/greenhouse#3



Green Inroads: Thoughts on

Going Green and Particular Career Paths

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Getting Oriented to Go GreenStarting from the Basics

Our first piece of advice is always to be informed — legitimacy is extremely important in the greenspace, which has battled greenwashing over the past several years. I know there are an overwhelming

number of websites out there that provide information and guidance in the sustainability realm so Iwould like to point out some of our favorites to begin and/or continue your research and networkingefforts:

• greenbiz.com

• makower.typepad.com

• treehugger.com

• dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

• grist.orgFor basic education on topics of the environment and sustainability, this site is often useful (and a personal favorite): gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

The Top 30 Green NewslettersIn the “green” space, credibility is crucial, and things are changing rapidly as investment washes in andout of the sector, companies make big eco-commitments, or they slink away from their environmentalgoals. A great way to stay up to date is to sign yourself up for a few newsletters in the space you’reinterested in moving into. Being well-read is also a networking tool — you can know who’s growing,who’s been bought out, who’s making headlines. Use these developments as opportunities to reach outto the companies or people involved and start a meaningful dialogue.Here are our 30 favorite green newsletters - our criteria included quality of news/writing, relevance,up-to-date information, and lack of spammy-ness.

General Green News:

GreenBiz & the other Greener World MedianewslettersMother Nature Network SustainLaneTreehugger Climate Change Business JournalGreen OptionsEnvironmental Leader Grist

Clean Tech/Renewable Energy:

CleanEdge “Clean Watch”Rocky Mountain InstituteRenewable Energy WeeklyGreenTech Media

CleanTechies

Activism/Policy:

Sierra Club RAWSierra Club Insider 350.orgWe CampaignGreen for AllWWF

Green Business/CSR:CeresSeventh GenerationGreen America (formerly Co-op America)TerrapassCSR Wire

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http://makower.typepad.com/


http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/

http://www.grist.org/

http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

http://www.greenbiz.com/enewsletter/signup

http://www.mnn.com/

http://www.sustainlane.com/

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/10/sign_up_for_one.php?dcitc=th_nav_top_news

http://www.climatechangebusiness.com/climate_change_consulting_industry_edition

http://greenoptions.com/

http://www.environmentalleader.com/

http://www.grist.org/member/email-subscriptions/

http://www.cleanedge.com/

http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid121.php

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/assets/newsletter/

http://www.greentechmedia.com/

http://cleantechies.com/subscriptions/

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Signup_RAW

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ArchiveInsider

http://www.350.org/dia.php

http://www.wecansolveit.org/

http://www.greenforall.org/

http://www.worldwildlife.org/

https://www.ceres.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=690&tab=1

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/

http://www.coopamerica.org/tools/email/subscribe.cfm

http://www.terrapass.com/

http://www.csrwire.com/


http://makower.typepad.com/


http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/

http://www.grist.org/

http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

http://www.greenbiz.com/enewsletter/signup

http://www.mnn.com/


http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/10/sign_up_for_one.php?dcitc=th_nav_top_news

http://www.climatechangebusiness.com/climate_change_consulting_industry_edition

http://greenoptions.com/

http://www.environmentalleader.com/

http://www.grist.org/member/email-subscriptions/

http://www.cleanedge.com/

http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid121.php

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/assets/newsletter/

http://www.greentechmedia.com/

http://cleantechies.com/subscriptions/

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Signup_RAW

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ArchiveInsider

http://www.350.org/dia.php

http://www.wecansolveit.org/

http://www.greenforall.org/

http://www.worldwildlife.org/

https://www.ceres.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=690&tab=1

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/

http://www.coopamerica.org/tools/email/subscribe.cfm

http://www.terrapass.com/

http://www.csrwire.com/



Reuters Carbon

Jobs:

Bright Green TalentGreen Job List

CleanLoop CleanTechGreen Career Central

Feel Good:

Daily Ray of Hope (Sierra Club)

Green Career PathwaysHere are a couple thoughts on career paths you can pursue. There are many in the green space - do your research and figure out what gets you excited and leverages your skill set.

Non-profitsThere are thousands of environmentally-minded non-profits doing amazing work around the country.They need all kinds of help, but the most common roles you'll see are in fundraising/development,communications, and grassroots organizing.

My first tip - check out Green Corps. It's a year-long training program for environmental organizers(like Teach for America but for organizing). You get classroom training and support as well as hands-onexperience running campaigns for non-profits around the country. Their alumni network is fairly pervasive in the environmental non-profits, and their job placement is really strong - one graduateworking at Sierra Club told me that doing Green Corps was "like skipping 5 years of work experience"in terms of the job she landed through connections at the end.

The big non-profits are based almost exclusively between DC, New York and San Francisco, thoughmany have field offices in other parts of the country. These organizations include:

• Sierra Club

• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

• The Nature Conservancy (TNC)

• World Wildlife Fund

• Rainforest Alliance

• Greenpeace

• Earthjustice

For jobs in these organizations, keep an eye on Idealist.org, Treehugger, Stopdodo and other job boards(see below). You should also figure out what the local non-profits are in your area - they often need themost help and you might be able to start out volunteering to prove your worth and commitment.

Start-upsGiven that the "green economy" is fairly new and there's a lot of attention around it right now, there area lot of entrepreneurs jumping in. These organizations can be small and agile, and also need the help of generalists like you (recent grads who are willing to work on a broad range of projects for relativelycheap).

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http://communities.thomsonreuters.com/Carbon/pages/login/?gid=1149c953-8d07-4d17-a2f0-50d2007daae2&ReturnUrl=%2FCarbon%2F


http://www.greenjoblist.com/

http://www.cleanloop.com/careers_home.php

http://www.greencareercentral.com/

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Signup_DailyRayOfHope

http://www.sierraclub.org/

http://www.nrdc.org/

http://www.edf.org/

http://www.tnc.org/

http://www.wwf.org/

http://www.rainforestalliance.org/

http://www.greenpeace.org/

http://www.earthjustice.org/

http://communities.thomsonreuters.com/Carbon/pages/login/?gid=1149c953-8d07-4d17-a2f0-50d2007daae2&ReturnUrl=%2FCarbon%2F


http://www.greenjoblist.com/

http://www.cleanloop.com/careers_home.php


http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Signup_DailyRayOfHope

http://www.sierraclub.org/

http://www.nrdc.org/

http://www.edf.org/

http://www.tnc.org/

http://www.wwf.org/

http://www.rainforestalliance.org/

http://www.greenpeace.org/

http://www.earthjustice.org/



Start-ups can give you a lot of responsibility quickly, which can be daunting but also much more funthat working your way up from the bottom of a big bureaucracy in an established organization.However, they can be rockier financially, have more potential to fold, and might not be able to offer asgood benefits. (That said, they can also have big pay-offs if they succeed!)

However, these organizations are hard to get into because they often hire people they know (for better or worse). They are also usually cash-strapped (unless they're already funded) and thus will be hesitantabout bringing someone on full-time. If you come across an organization you're really excited about,find a way to meet them, get to know them, volunteer or do contract work for them - you'll likely needa foot in the door before you get hired.

Alumni networks are a great place to start if you're interested in getting into start ups. You can alsocheck out Startuply (http://startuply.com/) or JobNob (jobnob.com).

Getting Technical: Solar Inroads for EngineersEvery day, engineers wonder how they can translate their traditional backgrounds into the renewableenergy field. Here are some thoughts for engineers looking to move into solar technology companies.

Anyone who has done research in the solar area knows that there are different kinds of solar technologies. Companies are working on solar PV, solar thermal, or concentrated PV. Companies provide services within these fields, such as building inverters, installation design, and solar as aservice.

The first battle is to understand how these different technologies work. Don’t be embarrassed to check out Wikipedia’s article on solar energy or poke around the American Solar Energy Society’s site to get

oriented. (If you have other informative general articles on solar energy, feel free to share them here soother jobseekers can explore them).

Second, you should start to understand who’s out there. We always come back to this map of 100Cleantech Start-ups that we found on Earth2tech, which has links to a number of different solar companies. Another good place to find information is through the exhibitor lists for some of the bigsolar conferences that happen every year, such as Intersolar North America.

In the renewable energy space, there is room for every kind of engineer - mechanical, civil, structural,electrical, chemical, and beyond. So you need to figure out where your individual skill set is mostrelevant.

Luckily for you, lots of job openings are available for engineers in all types of solar companies. TheAmerican Solar Energy Society’s site will tell you which solar companies are hiring.

Click through a couple job descriptions and look at their core requirements — ignoring for now if theyrequire a couple years or more of industry experience.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy

http://www.ases.org/

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=1&msa=0&msid=100024416568883817560.0004456fd4dd7d86d3b19&ll=40.313043,-95.800781&spn=46.472152,74.707031&z=3&source=embed


http://earth2tech.com/

http://www.intersolar.us/

http://ases.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=33

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy

http://www.ases.org/



http://earth2tech.com/

http://www.intersolar.us/

http://ases.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=33



Which positions fit your academic background and degrees? Where do the skills you’ve gathered intraditional engineering roles seem to line up with what the solar company is looking for? Start to makea list of these parallels. Where you see shortcomings in your own knowledge of the areas, do researchto fill in the gaps — this will help you build your familiarity with the solar space in a very targeted,time-efficient manner. Most importantly, understand that when an employer calls a skillset “required,”they mean it–don’t ignore the position requirements.

This exercise alone will help you get a feel for where you might eventually fit in to a solar company,and give you some short and medium-term goals to aim towards in terms of improving your skillset.

Generally speaking, we’ve seen folks transfer from solar thermal into photovoltaic, and vice-versa.Larger concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) positions draw on industrial project backgrounds. If you’refamiliar with the public permitting process for a large refinery, for example, you can easily transfer your skills to a renewable energy firm looking to build a large commercial project in the deserts of California (or Dubai for that matter!).

Last but not least, know your audience. Engineers, in particular, make fact-based decisions. If you don’thave the 5+ years experience required, or never worked in power electronics, then don’t apply for the position if those are core requirements. The concept of a “performance profile” reigns supreme in theworld of engineering. If you haven’t done it before, an employer’s not going to risk their business onallowing you to learn on their dime.

Be practical, stay focused, and think laterally–it’s a clear path towards your next solar engineering job.

Solar Classes and CertificationsAfter having decided solar is right for you, it’s time to start realigning your skill set.

There are lots of programs that you can go through to get solar credentials on your resume. TheAmerican Solar Energy Society suggests a couple organizations that host workshops: Solar EnergyInternational, the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, the U.S. Green Building Council, and theSolar Living Institute here in the Bay Area. You’ll find a range of classes for whatever your skill set is — for instance, Solar Living Institute is currently hosting “Solar Careers and Industry Opportunities,”“Intro to Photovoltaics,” “PV Design and Installation Intensive” and more. Not only will you gainskills and knowledge, but courses are a good opportunity to network with people in the solar space.

You can also go through a community college or local university — for example, UC Berkeley’sExtension school offers a whole set of courses in Environmental and Sustainability Management,including some solar specific classes: “Investment Grade Solar System Feasibility Studies,” “Solar

Industry Orientation” and others. Check out schools around you.

Last, you can go get your hands dirty — GRID Alternatives is a great organization that gives you basicsolar panel installation training and you’ll help install panels on low-income housing.

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http://www.ases.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107&Itemid=16

http://the-mrea.org/

http://usgbc.org/

http://solarliving.org/

http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/




http://www.ases.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107&Itemid=16

http://the-mrea.org/

http://usgbc.org/

http://solarliving.org/






Sustainability Consulting: What is it, and am Iqualified?“Don’t think of climate change as an environmental issue; think of it as a market issue. In fact, you

can remain agnostic about the science of climate change but still recognize its importance as a

business issue.”*

As individuals from all kinds of backgrounds and industries push into the field of sustainabilityconsulting, it can become murky as to what that work even entails. This is especially true whenconsidering the different perspectives and methodologies that are employed and adding even morecomplexity is the variability among clients and their needs. Thus, this quote sums up for me whatsustainability consultants are trying to do - they help businesses address and redress the way in whichthey operate so that they will be better positioned for the market of the future a la decreasing their negative impact on the natural environment. Some argue that like the trends of international businessand e-commerce, sustainability will at some point cease to be its own discipline and assume its rightful place within all of business practices. (At which time sustainability consultants will become just

“consultants” and we can never have enough of those!)

I am often asked to rattle off sustainability consulting firms so I decided to do just that right here (notan exhaustive list!):

Large Firms with a Growing Sustainability Practice

- Deloitte- Accenture- BCG- McKinsey & Company

Well-Established, Boutique Firms- Business for Social Responsibility- Blu Skye Consulting- Green Order - SustainAbility- Natural Capitalism, Inc.- Natural Logic- Ecosecurities

Lesser-Known, Boutique Firms

- InterfaceRAISE (offshoot from well-known sustainability pioneer Interface, Inc.)

- Domani- Strategic Sustainability Consulting- Business Evolution Consulting- Green Squad (Waste Management endeavour)- Garretson Group (now Pinyon Partners LLC)- Five Winds International- Cameron-Cole

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http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/section_node/0,1042,sid%253D44045,00.html

http://www.accenture.com/Global/Consulting/Strategy/Sustainability/default.htm


http://www.bcg.com/impact_expertise/practice_area.jsp?practice=34

http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/ccsi/

http://www.bsr.org/

http://www.bluskye.com/

http://www.greenorder.com/

http://www.sustainability.com/

http://www.natcapinc.com/

http://www.natlogic.com/

http://www.ecosecurities.com/

http://www.interfaceraise.com/

http://www.domani.com/

http://www.sustainabilityconsulting.com/

http://www.businessevolutionconsulting.com/

http://www.wmgreensquad.com/

http://www.garretsongroup.com/

http://www.fivewinds.com/

http://www.cameron-cole.com/

http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/section_node/0,1042,sid%253D44045,00.html


http://www.bcg.com/impact_expertise/practice_area.jsp?practice=34

http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/ccsi/

http://www.bsr.org/

http://www.bluskye.com/

http://www.greenorder.com/

http://www.sustainability.com/

http://www.natcapinc.com/

http://www.natlogic.com/

http://www.ecosecurities.com/

http://www.interfaceraise.com/

http://www.domani.com/

http://www.sustainabilityconsulting.com/

http://www.businessevolutionconsulting.com/

http://www.wmgreensquad.com/

http://www.garretsongroup.com/

http://www.fivewinds.com/

http://www.cameron-cole.com/



There are countless others - not to mention many firms that have traditionally focused in environmentalconsulting (more on the compliance and regulatory side), marketing, law, PR, etc. that are building outsustainability practices and showing up at events such as the Sustainable Brands Conference or NetImpact’s National Conference. If you have friends or a network rooted in a “traditional” field, youshould reach out to them to talk with them about what those plans might be. At best, it positions you for

the future and at worst, you further educate yourself on where this field is and is NOT going by givingyou a sense of the ubiquity of these ideas from an industry and geographical perspective.

Finally, the lack of a specific definition for what sustainability consulting IS also probably adds to itsattraction — it’s easy to think, “Hey, I can help a company turn off its lights more or use fewer plasticwater bottles.” Next week, I’ll talk more about the specific skills that are important if this is indeed thetype of work you want to do. Through outlining those skills, you should be able to evaluate whether sustainability consulting is really where you fit best or whether there is a different space where your skill set and background is a better fit AND you can still have the impact you want.

* “Climate Change: What’s Your Business Strategy?” by Andrew J. Hoffman and John G. Woody. Irecommend this book as it serves as a crash course highlighting the major issues that companies should be considering to be better positioned for the future. It’s a quick read as it is a part of the Memo to theCEO series. (In the interest of full disclosure, one of the authors was my adviser at the University of Michigan and The Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise.)

Okay, I'm still serious about pursuing sustainability consulting:

If you put a concerted effort into determining where it is that you and your skills best fit, you should beable to evaluate whether sustainability consulting is where you belong or perhaps whether there is adifferent space where you fit even better AND you can still have the impact you so desire.Is sustainability consulting right for you? Ask yourself the following questions (and coming up withsome answers helps too):

Do I have sustainability consulting skills already?

Generally for consulting, be it of the sustainability variety or otherwise, a strong analytical backgroundis helpful (I know, shocking) whether it comes in the form of engineering, financial modeling,operations analysis or a specific certification such as Six Sigma. Sustainability consulting firms oftenlook to bring on experienced individuals from traditional backgrounds to be able drive value to thegood ‘ole bottom line. Also, depending on a specific firm’s methodologies and client base, experiencewithin a specific sector such as government or utilities could be highly valued. (To see where “climatechange consulting” demand currently stands, peruse this.)

Where are the connections?

Look at your resume and consider: where are the logical connections to sustainability here? Also, isthere a better way to make those connections obvious? For example, if you compared two projects todetermine which is the better investment, make explicit the metrics utilized and the benefits that wererealized based on your fantastic recommendations. If environmental concerns were part of the equation, be sure to call that out.

Is my passion clearly displayed?

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http://www.sustainablebrands08.com/

http://www.netimpact.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=2029


http://www.amazon.com/Climate-Change-Whats-Business-Strategy/dp/1422121054

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma


http://www.climatechangebusiness.com/climate_change_consulting_industry


http://www.sustainablebrands08.com/



http://www.amazon.com/Climate-Change-Whats-Business-Strategy/dp/1422121054






Credibility is paramount in the green space. Is your interest/passion clearly displayed on your resume?This is more important than ever since lots of talented, impressive people are on-the-hunt and so itneeds to be obvious that this career choice isn’t because you have heard that “green is the future andhey, no one else is hiring!” Make sure your resume reflects thoughtful involvement or dedication to themovement through volunteering, memberships, and green projects (not just “I recycle”) - obviouslyyou can continue to develop this over time.

Finally, as I am sure you are well aware, sustainability consulting is very *hot* right now - a large percentage of the jobseekers that come to us say that’s where they want to find their next job. When itcomes down to it, you are likely competing against a large and rockstar pool of candidates, many of whom have the requisite skill set and experience. If you don’t happen to have a background thatdovetails quite so nicely into sustainability consulting, fear not! There are other ways to be able to gainthat experience or take a different path that could allow you to have the impact you are looking tomake.

When it comes down to it, we need passionate people from all areas tapping into their passions andabilities to enact change everywhere!

Getting Radically Tempered: Creating change from theinsideOkay, so you couldn't find a "green job" but you did land a job with a non-green company. Don't fret -you can make your job green - and when you do go to apply to a green job in the future, hiringmanagers may be even more impressed to see the initiative you took and the success you foundworking from within.

If you haven’t done this already, take a step back and consider where is it that you can have the greatestimpact. The book Tempered Radicals: How Everyday Leaders Inspire Change at Work by DeborahMeyerson focuses on individuals creating change “from the inside” by successfully balancing a passionfor radical change with an ability to conform to the norms of an organization. I have met a number of people from organizations such as The Gap, Whole Foods and Ford that have told me stories about how being a “tempered radical” in those organizations allowed them to bring about significant sustainabilitychanges and initiatives.

1. If you are currently employed, look around and take action! Whatever organization you’re in,whether it’s 5 people or 5,000, there are likely countless ways for you to carve out asustainability-oriented project. Look for inefficiencies — people leaving the lights on, nocomposting, excessive airplane travel… and think about constructive, cost-effective ways tochange these practices in your company. Sure, these projects might have to be done on your own time (ie, you’re not paid for them), but that’s worth it because it gets things moving in theright direction at the organization and it provides you with a project to talk about in the future -if you think about it, creating change from within a non-green organization is actually muchharder than working on sustainability initiatives from within a green company. (Not to mention,“displaying initiative” is always a good thing…) And if things go really well who knows…that

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http://www.amazon.com/Tempered-Radicals-Everyday-Leaders-Inspire/dp/1591393256







side project could grow into a full-time position! (It has happened.)2. If you do have experience in a traditional discipline such as accounting or marketing, you may

be able to impact a company, whether it is the one you currently work for you or another, byfiguring out where you can infuse sustainability principles. (For example if you are anaccountant, volunteering to help with your company’s CSR report or GRI initiative will get you plenty of exposure to a growing field.) This can be very effective but certainly requires you to

do some homework to determine how to make that happen.3. Whether you’re employed or not, it’s a great time to (strategically) volunteer. Look atorganizations that are aligned with your dream job and start networking to get in there as avolunteer. Non-profits need a lot of help, given recent cuts in donations and funding. Andremember, this is not limited to non-profit organizations. You should pitch a project proposalrather than just offer you time since this benefits you in two ways:

• You are more likely to be selected (since many organizations are being inundated by offersto work for free.)

• You are more likely to get a substantive project that you can utilize later in your job search.Check out the Taproot Foundation, a great organization that matches folks with non-profit volunteer opportunities.

To School or Not to School? That is the question.A lot of recent grads struggle with whether they should pursue another degree - a Master's, PhD or MBA. We deal with the following questions pretty frequently from folks who want to find a green job:“Should I go back to school to do a sustainable MBA program?”

People are not just wondering about sustainable MBA programs but also whether they should enroll ina part-time program, certification class or just enroll in classes on a one-off basis in areas such asrenewable energy, green/social marketing, engineering or environmental science. If you are findingyourself in this position, remember that making educated decisions about educating yourself are made

by educating yourself! In other words, arm yourself with as much information as possible to make the best decision based on YOUR situation.For example, if you are interested in pursuing some sort of management or MBA program, consider:

Are you interested and in a position to pursue a full- or part-time program?

a) If you are interested in doing a full-time program, do some research and get on the email lists of programs you find interesting so you at least start receiving their announcements. The Aspen Institute’sBeyond Grey Pinstripes Global 100 rankings is a great place to begin. b) If you feel that you are more inclined to pursue a part-time program, you need to look around andfind out what’s available in your area. Here at BGT, we were very excited to see UC BerkeleyExtension’s spring schedule that included a number of classes within the Environmental and

Sustainability Management program.

Do you NEED to go to school or not?

Hard to say. The best way to determine this is to talk to as many people as you can who currently work in what you want to do and ask them what they think. The more of them you talk to you, the better overall picture you should be able to paint to determine how necessary schooling is for you.It’s also important to talk to people who are in the programs you are looking at. (The administrative or

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http://www.taprootfoundation.org/


http://www.beyondgreypinstripes.org/rankings/index.cfm





http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/environment/












admissions offices should be able to connect you to those people.) Why did they choose that program?How do they feel now that they are in it? What are they going to do when they are done? Do they feelthat they couldn’t have done that without enrolling?

Finally, if you were to go back to school, will you be motivated, excited and capable to get the

most out of the experience?

No matter what type of class or program you enter, you will get out what you put in. Will you beexcited to be there or will you just be “going through the motions?” As a good friend of mine who nowworks at GE within Ecomagination recently told me, going back to do the dual MBA/MS program at Uof Michigan was the, “best decision of my life. I never thought more clearly…the program gave me asecond chance at life…though it is only what you make of it.”I understand that answering these questions could potentially confuse you even more, but I also knowthat avoiding them will certainly not put you in a better position!

Other Resources

With all the buzz about green jobs, it seems like a new green job board pops up every 7 seconds. It'shard to wade through all the content and advice that's out there. Here are a couple additional resourcesthat we've directed folks to in the past:

• The Green Jobs Network, organized by Leonard Adler, has a great set of resourceshttp://greenjobs.net/

• Job Fairs

• Green job email list

• Books on green jobs

• Job board

• Green Career Central is a paid subscription service with a lot of information:

http://www.greencareercentral.com/• SustainLane has some resources around finding a green job: http://www.sustainlane.com

Our favorite job boards:

• GreenBiz

• Treehugger

• Idealist

• Justmeans

• Sustainablebusiness.com

• NetImpact (members only - but worth it!)

•

SustainLane• Stopdodo

Also, join relevant LinkedIn groups - recruiters like to post there because it's free and very targeted.

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http://greenjobs.net/




http://www.treehugger.org/


http://www.justmeans.com/

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/




http://greenjobs.net/




http://www.treehugger.org/


http://www.justmeans.com/

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/






A Lazy College Kid's Guide to Going Green: 10 Ways toClean Up your ActOkay, so the WHOLE WORLD is warming up: polar bears are drowning off their melting icebergs, our kids will never know what a glacier is, and Florida (Disney World!) is going to disappear completely

underwater. But these huge issues beg the question: what am I, as an open-minded but admittedly lazycollege kid, supposed to do about it?

Luckily, there are a lot of little ways that we can change our habits, without having to chain ourselvesto ancient redwoods or eat granola for every meal. Here’s a list of ten easy things you can do this EarthDay to make a little bit of difference- and if enough of us get on board, we might just save a few polar bears along the way.

1. Let’s start easy: turn your lights off when you’re leaving a room for more than 15 minutes.

Most college dorms still use incandescent lightbulbs – which have not significantly advancedtechnologically since they were invented 125 years ago (around the same time as the telegraph

and the steam locomotive.) If you don’t want to install CFL bulbs (which are 75% moreefficient than traditional incandescents), turn your lights off when you’re not going to bearound. During the day, use windows and natural lighting instead of electricity.Your computer also uses an absurd amount of energy, which you can cut down on by settingyour computer to go to sleep automatically during short breaks. And as sweet as those flyingtoasters might be, don’t use a screen saver: they use almost ten times as much energy as acomputer in sleep mode. When you go to sleep, turn your computer off—it is an urban legend propagated by evil tree-haters that turning your computer on and off repeatedly hurts themachine.

2. Bring your own coffee mug.

In 2005, Americans used and discarded 14.4 billion disposable paper cups for hot beverages. If

put end-to-end, those cups would circle the earth 55 times. Based on anticipated growth of specialty coffees, that number will grow to 23 billion by 2010- enough to circle the globe 88times. Plus, those coffee cups are lined with petrochemicals in order to keep them from leaking.Based on hot cup usage in 2005, the petrochemicals used in the manufacture of those cupscould have heated 8,300 homes for one year. If you bring your own to-go mug, most places willoffer you a 15 or 25 cent discount. Or save that embarrassingly exorbitant $4 you’d spend on alatte, and just make a drink at home before you go.

3. Take a shorter shower.

Every 4 minutes in the shower, you use up 10 gallons of precious fresh water. Plus, heatingwater accounts for up to 25% of the total energy used in a single-family home – that’s moreenergy, on average, than is needed to drive a medium-sized car 12,000 miles. Shorten your

shower and spend less time standing in all that gross fungi. Or, alternatively, shower with afriend – more good incentive to economize.4. Only do your laundry when you have a full load (as if you needed encouragement on this).

It takes 40 gallons of water to do an average load of laundry with a top-loading washingmachine, and 86% of energy consumed by washing goes into heating the water. How to cutdown? Wash only your really disgustingly dirty clothes in hot water. Most clothes can safely bewashed in cold, and this alone could eliminate up to 1,600 pounds of yearly CO2 emissions in

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the average household (just think about how much more a dorm emits). As for the dryer, the lintfilter on your dryer can decrease the energy used per load by up to 30 percent, so make sure toclean it before you start a load. Finally, you have an excuse for your girlfriend for why youhaven’t done your laundry in a month.

5. Unplug stuff.

Think about how many things are plugged in but not in use in your room right now: speakers,

printer, computer, lights, hairdryers, cell phone chargers, your new Wii… “Vampire power” (asus eco-alarmists like to call it) is actually draining a lot of energy and money without you ever noticing. Cost estimates for this wasted electricity range from $1 billion to $3.5 billion annually.The biggest energy wasters are audio equipment, DVD players, and cordless phones. If you usea power strip, it’s easy to fight back—just switch off the strip when you’re not using it. Andwhen you’re not using your fridge (i.e., when it contains only half-eaten sandwiches you boughtthree months ago), unplug it, and you’ll also save yourself from that annoying buzzing sound italways makes when you’re trying to fall asleep.

6. Print double-sided, or on old scrap paper.

Here’s the whirlwind of statistics:Over 40% of the world wood harvest ends up as paper. Last year, the United States threw out20% of all the paper made in the world. One fifth of all the tropical rainforests in the worlddisappeared between 1960 and 1990. It takes about 31 million BTU’s to make a ton of paper:enough energy to power a U.S. home for 2 months. The average cost of a wasted piece of paper is $.06.Borderline overwhelming, I know. So what can you do to save all those cute jungle monkeysand thousand-year-old trees? When you’re buying printer paper, buy recycled. Set your printer to print double-sided, or feed it scrap paper that you don’t need anymore. And think twice about printing things: are you one of those compulsive hi-lighter kids, or could you just read or store iton your computer instead? Once again, not too hard.

7. The environmentalist broken record: recycle.

It is some poorly-paid environmentalist’s job to come up with statistics like this one: “Did youknow that the nearly 50 billion aluminum cans trashed in 2005 could have saved enough energyto power 1.3 million American homes if they had been recycled?” Because aluminum is one of the most energy-intensive industries in the world, each can you toss in the trash wastes as muchenergy as pouring out half a can of gasoline. A lot of energy and landfill space also goes into plastic, glass, paper, Styrofoam, and cardboard, and these are all widely recycled. Recyclingsaves 95% of the energy in aluminum production and 60% of the energy needed to make paper.Recycling is usually located right next to your trash dumpster, or you can cash in by bringing bottles back for the deposit at your local grocery store or dump. Given how much Coke you probably drink, 5 cents a can in returns can add up quickly.

8. Take one trip a week that you’d normally take by car on your bike or walking instead.

Come on, that’s not asking that much. Figuring just a 2.5-mile round trip commute, you ridingyour bike to class 50 times a year (that’s once a week, or a little more) saves 125 pounds of carbon. Think about it next time you run to the grocery store or the post office. Enjoy the freshair and the exercise, save money on gas, and spend less time sitting in your dirty dilapidated car.

9. Use a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottled water.

First of all, bottled water is ridiculously expensive: you’re paying up to 2,000 times the price of tap water, when often, the water they’re selling you is just tap water. As if that weren’tembarrassing enough, Good Morning America did a blind taste test of snobby bottled water

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versus tap water in New York City, and tap water solidly beat out all the other varieties for taste.So where are all your crumpled dollars going when you buy bottled? To over-pumping of springs, habitat disturbance, and packaging that, if not recycled, creates a big waste problem. Infact, more than 8 billion gallons of bottled water are consumed annually in the U.S. – that’s 25 billion plastic water bottles, 90% of which get thrown away.Cheaper, cleaner, easier. No college kid can argue with that.

10. Paper or plastic? Neither, thanks.Try this for shock factor: the world consumes 1 million plastic bags per minute. Plasticdeteriorates, but never fully decomposes – this means it will sit in a landfill forever, taking upspace. If the plastic doesn’t end up in the landfills, it becomes a huge litter problem. In everysquare mile of ocean, there are 1 million pieces of plastic, which cause the deaths of 100,000marine animals per year, including CUTE BABY SEALS. Plus, plastic is made from fossilfuels, and requires a lot of energy to process.As for paper, paper bags use high amounts of wood, petroleum, and coal for production and processing. In 1999, U.S. use of 10 billion paper grocery bags resulted in the felling of 14million trees.So bring your own bag to the grocery store, or if you’re not buying too much, just carry it out by hand. Not doing so is the equivalent of being a baby-seal-clubber – let’s leave that to theCanadians.

Unfortunately, global warming is a lot like the pile of dirty laundry in the corner of your closet: if wedon’t deal with it now, it’s just going to keep piling up, until the rotting stench is so unbearable that wehave to just give up and throw it out. And that’s the catch – we’ve only got one planet to work with, sowe’ve got to deal with these issues now. Plus, I tricked you. This list got rid of all your excuses aboutsaving the environment being too hard – it could actually be pretty easy. So get on it: it’s time to cleanup our act.

PS: Oh, and one last one: look for a green job! Depending on how many years you’ve been inschool, your brain’s worth somewhere in the hundreds of thousands of dollars by this point. Put all thatvalue and know-how to work for the planet!

The BIG Bright Green Guide to Green Jobs

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