Green Collar Blog

If you are interested in pursuing a green career or looking for a company that espouses green practices, you've hit on a growing demand cycle. To properly leverage all the new opportunities out there, you not only need to have the required skills, but the right attitude and "brand". Employers are looking for professionals who not only bring high energy, but a real devotion to green philosophies. This shouldn't come as a surprise as companies who pursue a green business model are concerned not just about the bottom line, but how their activities contribute to a better future.

How To Build A Personal Brand

In essence, your job seeking "brand" is a reflection of who you are and should be focused on what an employer will value.

1. Keep your message consistent. It is no longer possible to separate your business persona from your personal life. Employers are hyper-sensitive to any appearance of subterfuge or dishonesty. This means your message includes not just your education and work history, but what you do with your free time. Are you active in charities or causes that support the environment? Do you pay attention to your own carbon footprint?

   Walking the walk is reflected in many simple ways, from your power settings on your computer to being connected with what's happening in your community. You should be conversant in any initiatives in your area and the green movement in general. Industry specific advances are an expected part of what you bring to the table. You can take a Green Quiz here to get in the mood, and read about green living all over the Internet. Remember, this isn't an adversarial relationship; employers are looking for you precisely because you bring the right conservation attitude to the mix.

2. Your online image.This is a perilous trap you can avoid simply by investigating yourself as if you were a potential employer (or ask a computer savvy friend to do it). You may, in your heart of hearts, be the most concerned and caring person on the planet, but if your Facebook page has pictures of your unmuffled Harley and a recipe for your famous "knock you on your butt" cocktail - this can be discovered and will end up working against you; even if it never gets mentioned.

   What forums do you post on? What does your LinkedIn page say? Let your online persona reflect your best and brightest self. What you post in blogs and elsewhere will be counted as part of your brand, if only because employers think this is a clearer reflection of your true self. You can improve your brand by adding industry specific links and articles that have an eco-centric bent. Just tap into what you are already interested in and share it with others in a natural way online.

3. Understand the realities.This is the obverse of the above. Sometimes, in our anxiety to impress, we come off as too critical of the current state of affairs. Understanding the realities of a business you are applying to means a willingness to start from wherever a company or community happens to be.

   You may be asked to make an off-the-cuff assessment, but criticisms have to be combined with suggested solutions or ideas. Without this pairing, it is better to be graceful about what you feel are poor practices. A businessman will understand there are improvements to be made, but if you are over-critical, it is just insulting. Hiring is hugely biased by personality. Don't be so aggressive in your drive toward eco-friendly that you become an irritant.

4. Understand your future employer's concerns. It should be a part of your investigation of any company - what are their policies and vision on the ecological front? How will current trends feed into this? Are they hoping for a push toward solar? Do they envision a combination of wind farms and free-range as the best use of available land?

   Companies that will interest you will be upfront on their website and promotional materials about initiatives they have in the works. You should be familiar ongoing projects and be familiar with the challenges as they relate to your own area of expertise.

5. Don't overplay your hand. There are two realities at play here. The first is whether you have the background and skills for the job. The second is your "brand" when it comes to dedication and your own sense of "best practices." However, if you overplay your hand and attempt to be Mother Earth's Own Prophet, you risk coming off as, well - a bit nutty. Passion is one thing, extremism is another. The green revolution came, not from the rabble, but from honest people who addressed real problems in a mature manner - that's the proper tone.

   Don't rely on your environmental IQ overcoming a lack of necessary education or work history. Think of your brand as augmenting your demonstrated skills, not a way to oversell yourself.

Final Tip

Examine your resume with an eye toward your brand. If I had never met you, could I tell from your resume that you are involved with environmental trends?

One tactic is to leave some of the things that give you your best credibility less than fully developed. Mention them, but don't put in details - give some natural openings for questions at an interview. This works wonderfully when you've had previous employment in the sector or are active in environmental causes. One line in a resume can lead to a ten minute chat about something you know well and care about.

Brendan Cruickshank (Vice President of Client Services) - Brendan is a veteran of the online job search and recruiting industry, having spent the past 8 years in senior client services roles with major sites like Juju.com and JobsInTheMoney.com. These sites cover employment searches on everything from jobs to North Carolina Jobs.

In this interview with Karen Biscoe, founder and President of Green Search Partner, we discuss what's really happening in the Green Economy when it comes to hiring.  Where is the action, what types of people are being brought on board, who is getting funding, how is the economy and the (lack of ) government support impacting the green sector.

Listen to the whole interview:

Here is a summary of most of the Q & A.  If you are a green company and looking to bring the right people on board, or if you are a company planning on hiring the right person to spearhead sustainability in your organization, give Karen a call. 

Q: As a recruitment specialist in the green space, how do you feel the green economy is doing in the face of this recession? T

A:  The green industry, like many others with respect to job creation, is moving very slowly. Over the past several years there has been a tremendous amount of innovation and development of new technologies, both from the commercial and academic sectors. But for many of these entrepreneurs, the struggle continues for capital and resources required to get these technologies past the proof of concept stage, and out into the marketplace. You can't create jobs if you don't have the funding to get your product to the market. 

Q:  What sectors of the green economy are gaining traction?

A:   Small Hydro-Electric seems to be gaining more traction here in the northeast. There has also been an increase in development of new polysilicon technologies, bio fuels, and waste treatment/management. 

Q:  How does your firm define a ‘Green' business?

A:  This is what I call the gray/green area. There are several definitions of a green business. In my mind, the primary definition is a business that focuses on the direct development of technologies or systems that make a positive impact on the environment and decrease our dependence upon traditional fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Another definition is a company that utilizes eco-friendly resources in the development of products that allow people to enjoy a higher quality, sustainable lifestyle without compromising environmental integrity. Additionally, a green business can be defined as one that, while not directly involved in the design and manufacturing of a green technology, they are employing the dynamic use of new or existing technologies designed to increase awareness and ultimately allow the user to manage and reduce our overall CO2 emissions. Examples of this are demand-response control solutions, or consulting firms that retrofit buildings to increase energy efficiency and decrease water usage. Some may define a green business as one that employs and maintains sustainability policies relative to how they run the operations of their company, such as a robust reduce/reuse/recycle policy. From my perspective, sustainability is something all companies should be practicing consistently. Having a sustainability policy doesn't necessarily qualify a company as a "green" business.

Q:  What types of employees and executives are green companies looking for?

A:  Great question, I get that one a lot. The answer is pretty subjective based on where a particular company is in its development. The initial need is usually on the R&D side, so civil, environmental, chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineers are in high demand in the early days of development. As a company moves from research and development to commercialization, a GM with good project management experience, a project finance person and market research expert is likely to find a role within a clean tech company before a salesperson would. But, I would also venture to say that if you are a business development expert with strong relationships within the public utilities this is a good time for you to be getting your resume out there.

Q:  Does your firm specialize in a particular type of hire, or do you fill all hiring needs for green businesses?

A:  Typically, a founder or CEO will call upon me to help build out their management team or to hire several key staff people for the organization. Considering the average size of a client company is between 2 and 50 employees, being nimble and highly adaptable as a recruiter can make the critical difference for them. However, there are certain roles best handled by a recruiter with specific technical expertise, such as IT. In this case, it's best to say "I can't help you with this, but I know someone who can". 

Q:  Are large, traditionally non-green businesses looking to bring green expertise on-board? For what reasons.

A:  Yes, but the roles they are hiring for depends upon the business model in question. Those organizations that have put sustainability on the top of their priority list may hire at the corporate level to put sustainability policies in place. I've had several clients adjust or add titles to their org charts such as "Chief Sustainability Officer" In some cases, companies have hired or brought in and marketing and branding consultants to "green up" the company's identity and public profile. In companies with very complex manufacturing and distribution operations, hiring a senior person to implement a green approach absolutely makes sense and should be the company's top priority. That's not to say there is no need for other talented professionals in their R&D, operations, sales or even IT departments. But many companies are still very hesitant to hire on the basis of a green agenda alone, they will need to see the market stabilize before hiring the "nice to have" green collars among us.

Q:  What makes recruitment in the green sector unique?

A:  It's incredibly dynamic, educational, and exciting. The green movement has really captured both the analytical left brainers and enterprising right brainers throughout this nation. The competitive collaboration of our brilliant academics paired with the creative energy of business leaders has once again harnessed the entrepreneurial spirit of US. I hope the new technologies coming from countries like China and Israel serve to inspire our government leaders. We need more commercial and government support to provide the necessary funding and resources to launch these worthy start-ups.