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Welcome to the Green Career Tip of the Week
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Online Version of this Issue Green Career Tips Archive
A big welcome to all of our recent subscribers who have met us through our GreenWeek workshop, the Green Festival, and the International Career Development Conference.
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Are you having a green career crisis? This week's tip describes some common problems in going after your green career, and ways to move beyond them.
Read on to find out more.
Did you get a f.r.e.e month on the Green Career Central site this week? Scroll down to see if the beginning of your email is next to the treasure chest. We do this every week!
Highlighted Announcement
Are You Ready to Discover Your Green Career?
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We are hearing more and more indications that the green economy is among the top issues President Elect Barack Obama is thinking about and planning for during this transition time.
Even though we don’t know all of the specifics, now is the right time to start your discovery journey. Be ready to jump into the green economy when the time is right!
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Tip of the Week: Are You Having a Green Career Crisis?
At my talks this week I’ve had a number of people approach me to talk about their confusion about their green career. One young woman told me she was having a green career crisis!
I know she’s not the only one! Stepping into a new future is often an uncomfortable process.
Do any of the following scenarios sound familiar to you? Find the one that best fits your situation. Then read the practical next steps I’ve provided to help move you beyond your green career crisis.
1) You are anxious to get a green job, but you don’t have time to figure out your focus.
Can you state in a simple statement the kind of job you are looking for? If so, you are in great shape. You are ready to launch your job search. If not, you are sabotaging your own success by searching for a job at this point.
Imagine being an employer who is ready to hire. Then imagine being introduced to someone who wants to work, but can’t describe the kind of position they are well suited to fill. Does it leave you with a feeling of confidence about the job seeker? Are you jumping at the chance to hire this person who exhibits a mix of confusion, overwhelm, and neediness? Of course not!
An employer wants to hire people who display confidence, clarity, and the ability to articulate their skills, experience, and ability to solve the company’s problems.
Although taking some time to figure out the best way to describe your target job may feel like a detour, your clarity will actually shorten your path to employment. (The What’s Your Green Niche ebook walks you through the process of creating a clear statement of your career goals. If you commit the time, you can work through this ebook in a weekend…so what’s stopping you?)
2) You have so many interests you don’t know how to create a focus.
Having a lot of interests isn’t a bad thing. The key is to explore how you can weave those interests together in a way that sets you apart from everyone else. Some of the most innovative jobs are those that are created by people whose past experience allows them to cross traditional boundaries between different industries and professions.
Celebrate your expansive interests. Embrace your versatility. Rather than trying to narrow your lists of interests, explore ways you might categorize them. If you are working with three categories of interests, rather than 20 individual interests, you may feel your diverse ideas are a bit more workable.
As you explore your interests, play with the idea that your combination of interests allows you to have a unique perspective on a problem that only you are well suited to solve. Focus on identifying the solutions you can offer to an employer or business.
3) You are second guessing the green direction you’ve selected.
You are getting clearer and clearer about your direction. Pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into place. It’s exciting…and uncomfortable.
It’s like you are on a trapeze, letting go of one bar and reaching for the next bar. For a moment you are hovering with nothing solid to hold on to. You must have faith that the next bar will be there when you reach for it. It may take a little practice to become comfortable and excited about the process!
You may get to a point in your discovery process where you can’t seem to finalize your direction. That’s normal! Your next step is to go with what you know right now. Take the next obvious step. Do you need to talk with someone in the field to learn more? Would it help you to take a course? How might your situation improve if you strengthened your network?
You don’t have to have your ultimate goal completely nailed down before you take your next steps. In fact, the steps you take next may actually help you refine your vision of your future. As you talk with people, be as articulate as you can about where you are and what you are investigating about your idea. Don’t say you are completely confused, because you aren’t. You are in the process of discovering and refining your visions which is very different from having no idea what you want to do.
Claim what you know, get out there, and build experiences in the area you are most interested in. Allow the rest of your vision and plan to evolve from there.
4) You have a green direction, but don’t know how to find job openings.
If you have identified your green direction, but you still aren’t sure where to go to find job openings, you aren’t quite ready for your job search.
Your first step is to immerse yourself in your field of interest. Read all you can. Connect with others in the field. The more you learn about your field in general and in your geographic area, the more prepared you will be to launch your job search.
Although it’s tempting to rely on websites and career counselors to show you where to go to find positions, the people in your target field are going to be your best source of insights about the profession. Any time you can invest in building your green network will benefit you far into the future.
5) I need to find a job. I’d like it to be in the green economy.
This is where reality and our dreams can collide. You need a job and you want a green job. That’s great, but realize that you may not have the time on this job search to figure out the new, evolving economy.
You may need to find your next job first and then explore your green options.
As you focus on finding your next job, try to build off of your current job experience, education, and industry knowledge. Generally speaking it’s easier to find a job that has a direct connection with your previous work history. You may want to focus on finding such a job in a company that is green/sustainable/socially responsible.
When your income situation has stabilized then you can take more of a long term view of your green career. You won’t be panicked due to financial stress. You’ll be able to take the time to explore, learn, and volunteer now so you’ll be well positioned when you are ready to make your next job change.
If you already know what you want to do in the green economy, but you aren’t finding any open doors, that area of the economy may not be ready for your skills yet. Look for a contract or an interim job that gives you the opportunity to strengthen one of the skills you’ll eventually need to enter your target profession.
Copyright © 2008 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.
"GCC's process was incredibly helpful in getting me started in a new career direction. The worksheets and brainstorming exercises in the What's Your Green Niche ebook helped me realize I already had the skills to launch a new green career. Today, less that four months later, I have a terrific salary doing business development for energy and environmental projects. Thanks to Green Career Central, my dream of merging my personal conviction with professional life came true."
-- Kelly Fergusson
Menlo Park Councilmember (Mayor, 2007) turned Business Development Manager of Energy & Environmental Solutions |
Are You Searching for Your Green Niche?
You know you want a green career, but do you know what you want to do in the green economy?
The key to discovering your green niche is pinpointing how to leverage your skills, passions, talents and experience to plug into the green economy.
When you know what part of the economy you want to target, you’ll have an entirely new level of clarity. With that new clarity, your current level of overwhelm and confusion will decrease.
The What’s Your Green Niche eBook eBook takes you through a step-by-step process to determine your green niche. Here's a list of some of the things you'll gain as you work through this eBook. You'll:
- Create your personal definition of success.
- Discover how you know what you are drawn to.
- Develop a list of your 40 favorite skills and interests with the help of checklists.
- Brainstorm over 40 career ideas based on your favorite skills and interests in an hour or so.
- Narrow your career ideas to your top two ideas.
- Develop a plan to achieve your green career goals whether you want to return to school, launch your job search, or start your business.
Members - Download (part of membership)
Non-Members - $55.00 |
Upcoming Events: Green Career Conference
If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and you are interested in finding your green career, you don’t want to miss Solar Living Institute’s Green Career Conference on Nov 22, 2008 at UC Berkeley.
During this full day event you’ll gain a number of insights and ideas to help you clarify your green career goal. There are panel discussions, break out sessions, and a few key note speakers.
I’m excited to say that I will be speaking at this conference again this year. I’ll be giving a presentation about finding your green niche and facilitating a break out session on brainstorming solutions to your green job search frustrations.
If you attend, please come introduce yourself to me!
Green Career Central Blog:
Green Career Trends: This week we share three trends in the alternative energy arena. Learn about developments in yeast based biofuels, the needs of the electrical grid, and a company investing big in the US wind industry.
Green Career Central’s Global Photo Tour: On our photo tour this week, we are visiting a country in South America that holds several interesting photo surprises. Come along for the tour!
Membership Has Its Advantages!
The discussion forum topic, audios, ebook, and articles listed below are available to members of GreenCareerCentral.com as a part of their membership. If you're not a member and would like to have immediate access, we'd love to have you join us now!
Green Career Central is a membership site with a comprehensive set of easy-to-use programs, resources, and events to help people achieve their green career dreams whether they want to find a green job, start a green business, or get a green education.
  
"Carol, thanks for your first Tip of the Week. Connecting with what I'm drawn to brought tears to my eyes and made me feel happy and excited. I now know what I'm looking for in my green career. I will continue to look to you and yours for support as I make my way forward. Thank you." -- Cheryl, Chicago, IL
Read what other members are saying about Green Career Central here....
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This Week's Drawing for a
30-Day Trial Membership: jschen
If this is the beginning of your email address, contact us with a subject line of "Trial Membership" and we'll tell you how to get signed up for your 30-day trial membership to GreenCareerCentral.com. You must reply within 2 weeks of the date of this newsletter.
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What's New at GreenCareerCentral.com
New Article on Green Job Search
We’ve just added the second part of our series on how to find local green jobs on job boards. In this article we go into detail about ways find green jobs on non-green job boards. If you are relying on local job boards to find green jobs, you’ll be glad you have these tricks at your finger tips.
How to Find Green Jobs on Non-Green Job Boards
Store
The Green Career Central Store provides you with ebooks and resources to support you in your quest to make a difference and prosper.
View the great resources in the Store.
Green Companies
One important part of searching for a green careers is finding out which companies fall in the green category.
Click here for a list of Green Companies.
Did You Know...
...if you missed a Tip of the Week, you can read the archived publications?
Green Career Tips Archive
About Us
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Green Career CentralTM is a virtual career center for motivated professionals who are ready to find a green career that fully expresses their passions, skills, values, and talents.
Carol McClelland, PhD, founder and Executive Director of Green Career Central, has helped thousands of people discover their dream career through her book Your Dream Career For Dummies and her work with individuals, groups, and students. Together with her team of experts, researchers and writers, Carol has pulled together sixteen years of experience into a broad collection of how-to articles, resources, support, and teleclasses to help you find your way to make a difference and prosper.
Why not have the green career you've been dreaming of? You can struggle on your own or gain support throughout your journey. The decision is obvious ... Join Us Now!
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Copyright (c) 2007-2008. Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Green Career CentralTM is a trademark of Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc
PO Box 354, Menlo Park, CA 94026
650 322 8661 | Contact
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