Читать книгу Global Environmental Careers - Justin Taberham - Страница 107

Green Job Searching Tips:

1 Create your own structure and goals for active job searching. Without this, it can feel overwhelming and very difficult to quantify your success. It’s helpful to adopt a simple mantra of ‘one seed a day’. Importantly, this ‘seed’ needs to be an action in the outside world: time spent polishing your resume, updating your LinkedIn profile, or researching jobs don’t count as seeds (though all those things are still part of your search).A seed might be an informational interview, a job application, an interview, an email to someone requesting a phone call, a message to your network asking for introductions to particular types of professionals. Once your seed has been planted, you’ve done all you can do and can move onto the next seed. Of course, you can plant more than one a day, but one is your minimum.

2 Don’t mistake quantity for quality. I’ve met many people who tell me they’ve applied for ‘hundreds’ of jobs online and haven’t heard back from any of them. The reality, however, is that sites like Indeed and LinkedIn – while allowing us to technically ‘apply’ via one click – can be black holes for resumes. And if your resume isn’t optimised for their algorithm, it might never even be seen by a human. Instead, focus on good quality networking (below). One solid informational interview is worth innumerable one‐click ‘applications’. Don’t chase the numbers.

3 Be proactive in 1–1 networking. Surveys indicate that between 60 and 85% of jobs are found through relationships, not job boards. Research organisations you’re interested in working with and follow them online so that you’re up to date with their news. Read environmental blogs and magazines to learn who the main players are in fields that interest you. Actively start finding out who you already know in those organisations, or who might be contacts of people you know already.Start inviting these people for 30‐minute informational interviews where you can learn about their jobs and whether you can see yourself growing into them. Always ask them for a referral to someone else, too! Often, they’ll introduce you to a couple of people, each of whom you can then interview too. Your network of quality contacts will steadily grow. Stay in touch with everyone you meet – but don’t be pushy or try to sell yourself. Aim to help them. Be friendly. This will help you stay on their radar.

4 Always over‐prepare for interviews. Never make the mistake of ‘winging it’. An interview is the fruit of many hours of research, networking and hard work. This is not the time to finally relax. This is the time to bring your best game!Find good 25–30 sample interview questions online and take the time to actually write out your responses to these. You don’t have to remember your answers word‐for‐word but writing them will help you know exactly what you want to say. Then rehearse them repeatedly in front of a mirror and with a friend. Get feedback about your responses (and whether you’re waffling) and tweak your responses until you sound fluid and are answering exactly what the questioner is asking.

5 Lastly: if you’re drawn towards part‐ or full‐time entrepreneurship, remember that even purpose‐driven organisations need to be business literate. It’s not enough to be passionate about solving a problem. Often social innovators are so driven to fix something, they neglect the need to plan for revenue streams. And at times, the problem they’re trying to solve (like climate change) is so huge that they don’t think strategically enough about how to tackle just one particular part of it.In your planning, always put the customer (or user) first. If they don’t see value in what you provide, there’s no business. The Strategyzer tools, available online for free, help you map out your value proposition and potential business models and will give you lots of additional tools to grow your ideas.

Source: Megan Fraser, Certified Coach, UK. www.meganfraser.org www.linkedin.com/in/meganclarefraser. © John Wiley & Sons.