Tag Archives: CSR

Top 5 Places to Look For Green, Environmental & Infrastructure Jobs

This post is a continuation of my rant from last week about the availability of green, environmental and infrastructure jobs. I want to make sure that people know that green jobs are more than green/clean energy technology and that more jobs are opening everyday.  Here is a list of the top places to look for these jobs.

  1. Linked In Groups: Recruiters post jobs in the career discussion tabs of Linked In daily. It is one of the best places to connect directly with corporate and executive recruiters.
  2. Twitter: It is a little harder to use Twitter to find a job because you have to follow the right people. However, there are many recruiters and companies who auto tweet their positions daily. Follow me @hintons and you will see some jobs.
  3. Face Book: Just because Face Book has a reputation for being more social does not mean that serious job opportunities do not exist. Look for the groups and pages that post green jobs.
  4. Specialty and Professional Society Job Boards: There are many specialty job boards like ASCE.org,  Civil Engineering Central, NSPE.org and MyWaterPlantjobs.com which carry strong job opportunities.
  5. Environmental Expert: This is one of my favorite sites because they list companies products, services and jobs from all over the world. They also have a list of conferences that are ripe with networking opportunities.

What You Need To Do To Get Noticed

If you are looking for one of these types of jobs here are some tips to increase your chances of getting an interview:

  1. Connect and converse with the recruiters on social media: There is always more information beyond the job posting you need to know. If you build a relationship with recruiter, it will increase your chances of getting noticed.
  2. Do not let your frustration get the best of you:  I know from experience that it is frustrating when you get multiple rejections from a recruiter or employer but do not read into them as a personal vendetta. Learn from them. Venting your frustration on a recruiter or employer only burns bridges.
  3.  Make sure your resume and social media profile match:Employers and recruiters do take look at social media profiles when considering a candidate. Errant and inappropriate information can haunt you.

Thanks for reading.

More Sites to Watch

JobHunt.org

Hinton Human Capital Careers

Green Economy Post

 

3 Reasons Why Many Green, Environmental & Infrastructure Jobs Will Go Unfilled

The NBC news channels are doing special reports called “Education Nation” which are focusing on education in America. Those who know me know that I am a huge supporter of science education and I thought this would be a perfect time to shed some light on how education will affect the jobs in the Green, Environmental and Infrastructure career fields. There is a CNBC video interview with US Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan which shares some eye-opening statistics about our education system (Watch it Here). I would like to build on this information and share ” 3 reasons why many Green, Environmental and Infrastructure jobs will go unfilled”.

 Reason #1 – American Students are falling behind in math and science education: This is not only a primary and secondary school issue. It is also a college and adult education issue. The stats reported in the video the US being ranked 24th and 25th in math and science education are haunting but make my point. Many of the well paying green, environmental and infrastructure jobs require a science and math based college degree or advanced training . Yet student enrollment in programs which provide these requirements are declining.  Adults do not want to return to school for certain reasons  and college students are choosing “easier” degrees with little or no science classes.

Reason #2 – The demand for Green, Environmental and Infrastructure workers will out grow supply:  We will have more jobs than people qualified to fill them. You do the math: The numbers of american graduates with science and math based degrees are declining. The number of baby boomers retiring from these fields are increasing every year. Here are some stats from The Center for Energy Workforce Development which covers the energy industry. Retirement and lack of new workers is set to decimate their workforce:

  • 40 to 60% of the workforce will be retirement eligible by 2012
  • 49% of skilled technicians may need to replaced
  • 45% of engineering jobs in all disciplines will become vacant

Read the Center For Energy Workforce Development Report Here

Reason #3- Science + Math + Entrepreneurship = Opportunity + New Technology:  This is a formula is not discussed openly by big company CEOs, government officials,  community leaders, educators and parents. People need to know real career and entrepreneurial opportunities exist in green, environmental and infrastructure companies. Science and math are big business!  Yet this formula is the basis for many of the most successful companies and consumer products of today. Here are some great companies you have never heard:  AUTODESK AXIUM, Bentley Systems, ERM, Planteco, Eagle SWS, PBS&J, Jacobs Engineering, Ch2M Hill, Enablon and Intelex  Who will be the next person to develop the next “killer” app in green technology? (See the big list of companies here)

Your Action Plan

  1. Find a green, environmental or infrastructure career field that interests you
  2. Subscribe to this blog and buy “Is it Worth The Green”
  3. Research the potential business and job opportunities
  4. Seek out  an accredited, well vetted and quality education and training program that focuses on your field
  5. Take it and don’t give up
  6. Write a new resume
  7. Create a list of target companies who need your new skills
  8. Network with the professional society or industry association
  9. Don’t let people talk you out of your goals
  10. Support science and math education in your local area

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