Considering the green industry for your next great gig? Maybe you’re looking to transition out of your waning niche to a more promising green job?
First step is researching who to connect with and where to find them.
A great starting point for your research is Job-Hunt’s brand new, ever-growing list of Green Industry Professional Associations and Societies.
Last I checked the page had links to over 130 groups within the following categories:
Air & Climate
Biofuels
Building & Construction
Ecology
Education
Energy Efficiency & Conservation
Engineers & Engineering
Environmental Business & Industry
Forestry & Plants
Health, Medicine & Toxicology
Hospitality & Tourism
Hydropower
Recycling
Regulations, Law & Management
Renewable Energy
Solar Energy
Solid Waste
Sustainability & Permaculture
Wind Power
What can you do with this list?
♦ Connect with people in the know in this thriving industry and get a feel for whether you may be a good fit, too. Become familiar with the lingo and culture.
♦ Check out the membership directories to source potential employers.
♦ Once you find companies of interest to you, you’ll want to conduct due diligence and prepare yourself to intelligently communicate with decision makers at each company.
♦ When you join a professional association, be sure to add it to your online career marketing communications (VisualCV, LinkedIn profile, online career portfolio, etc.). Recruiters and hiring decision makers searching those key words when vetting candidates will likely be led to your online materials.
Augment your research with Job-Hunt’s also-new Green Industry Job Search Resources page.
Here you’ll find several green job boards and links to the careers pages for over 40 green industry employers, including powerhouses like BP Solar, Duke Energy, Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, and SunEdison Solar Energy Services.
How will these resources be of value to you?
♦ Determine who the top decision makers are and start connecting with them through LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and other online and offline networking groups.
♦ On company websites you’ll find a wealth of information, such as Boards of Directors, C-suite company leadership, and news and press releases. These resources will help you in due diligence and arm you with plenty of background information before stepping into the arena.
A green job not your thing? I frequently direct my C-suite executive clients to Job-Hunt’s extensive list (over 900) of Professional Associations.
Current industry categories include:
Computers & Technology
Education
Engineering
Finance, Accounting & Banking
Government (Federal, State, Local)
Human Resources
Journalism
Law & Law Enforcement
Marketing, Sales
Medicine & Healthcare
Women’s Associations
Your takeaway?
By far one of the best ways to get your next job, networking your way into companies allows you to tap into the “hidden” job market, circumvent the gatekeepers, and deal directly with decision makers.
Related posts:
Top 10 Tactics to Build a Vibrant Executive Network
Tap Into the Hidden C-Level Executive Job Market with Top 10 Lists of Best Companies
Get the Best Out of LinkedIn for Your Personal Brand, Networking, and Executive Job Search
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The environmental or “green” industry especially is one that is really burgeoning, and offers many more opportunities than can typically be found in more traditional industries. Note, of course, that environmental jobs are nothing new – it’s just that there is a renewed emphasis there, as well as a wide variety of new technologies and research that make this a “hot” industry, even for entry-level folks who can work as technicians and in the field. LEED certification is a great way that almost anyone with a bit of academic aptitude can break into the industry as well.
Thanks for commenting.
The green industry is one that c-suite / senior-level job-seeking executives should consider transitioning to if they’re not having luck finding gigs in their own industries, or if they want to move into a new arena.
Opportunities exist and, with an executive resume and other career marketing tools that showcase their transferrable promise of value and target the green industry, they can begin making inroads.
-Meg