Building Your Green Career Strategy
One of the top questions I hear from Green Leaders who I coach about career development is, “What goes into a Green Career Strategy?”
I’ve developed this quick and easy infographic to guide you in thinking about this question. We focus on building out this strategy in my online Designing Your Green Career Strategy workshop.
I use the word “TREES” as a framework. Here’s a bit more about each element of “TREES” and how it applies to your Green Career.
Timely -- Having a working knowledge of trends and current challenges or opportunities in the field you want to work in is essential for your Green Career Strategy. A few questions to consider are:
What are the big issues that employers are looking for help with?
What’s “in” and what’s “on the way out,” in terms of expertise and experience that’s needed?
Where is the market going?
Relationships -- Being able to effectively connect with and work with people in your chosen part of the Green Economy is a second important element. A few questions to consider are:
What shape is your network currently in?
Where could it use more focus?
What steps do you take, and how regularly, do you stay in touch with people?
How effective are you in connecting with new people, with recruiters and HR professionals, and with prospective employers when you’re on the phone or interviewing with them?
Where are you strong, and where are the gaps you want to work on?
Expertise -- As a Green Leader, you bring specialized knowledge about the “Green” or sustainability dimension of the field to a potential employer. A few questions to consider are:
What form does that expertise take -- certifications, classes, professional memberships, etc?
What ways is that expertise valuable to a potential employer?
What expertise do others in the field have right now?
How are you able to translate your expertise into market advantage?
What ways can you grow your expertise?
Experience -- Whether you are new to the Green industry or have experience in the field, your experience in most cases is relevant to what employers need. For example, have a background in Information Technology? Green organizations need that expertise. Same with communications or other career paths that are not technically “green.”
And if you do have technical expertise in energy management, natural resources management, green buildings, environmental engineering, etc etc -- you of course have experience that Green organizations are looking for too. A few questions to consider are:
What core area does my experience focus on?
How is that core experience relevant to a Green organization?
What keywords does the industry use to describe my kind of experience right now?
What additional experience could give me a market edge?
What experience do others in the field have right now?
How competitive am I?
Strategic -- Being strategic is where it’s at for career planning. You have a plan, and you work that plan. A few questions to consider are:
What’s the big picture or vision for the kind of work you want to do?
How does your Green Career Strategy incorporate all the other elements included above?
What’s working well as you move out to implement your plan?
What’s your “critical path”?
What do you need to re-tool?
How are you preparing for the next step on you Green Career Strategy?
Please reach out to me for help with preparing your Green Career Strategy. I offer workshops and one-on-one Green Career Strategy sessions.
Are you thinking forward to 2020 about your career goals? Join me at my Design Your Green Career Strategy for 2020 Online Workshop on Sat., December 28.
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