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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
Interested in the Clean Tech sector? Read the Highlighted Event section for information about a great conference and your discount.
Want to see the master plan for getting a green job? Read this week's tip for the overall guide to landing your dream green job.
Did you get a f.r.e.e month on the Green Career Central site this week? Believe it or not we only gave away two of these free months last year. If you aren't scrolling down to see if the beginning of your email is next to the treasure chest, you may be missing your opportunity for a free month on the site! We do this every week!
Highlighted Event
 If you have identified Clean Tech as a sector you would like to know more about, you may be interested in attending the "State of the Clean Green Industry" Conference sponsored by SDForum on January 30th from 8:30am until 2pm in Santa Clara, CA.
This event brings together policy makers, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and investors to discuss the current state of green technology, the business environment and the impact of policy on the growth of this growing industry.
If you are a Green Career Central member, head to our member calendar to pick up a discount code for the event. Using the code for registration will save you $10.00.
Tip of the Week: Six Things You Must Know to Land a Professional Job in the Green Economy
Overwhelmed with your quest for a green job? Not sure where to start?
You are not alone. Based on the questions we hear on a daily basis, we know it’s hard to figure out where to put your energy and attention when you are searching for a green career.
Given that you may have made a New Year’s goal to land your green career this year, we thought it would be a good opportunity to take a look at the overall process. Although we’ve written about a number of these topics in the past (and you’ll find the links to those previous articles below), we haven’t given an overview of the process in a while.
1) Nail Down Your Green Niche
The green economy is evolving and shifting at the moment. The incoming administration will likely make decisions that will shift (and hopefully enhance) the green economy in a number of ways.
It’s nearly impossible for one person to keep track of all the changes that are taking place. Scanning the entire universe of green careers on an ongoing basis is a good recipe for overwhelm and frustration.
Instead the key to success is to identify your green niche so that you can focus your job search, gain traction, and land a position.
If you’d like to learn more about the process of finding your niche and how your niche will speed up your job search, read the linked articles.
2) Immerse Yourself in Your Target Green Industry
When you’ve identified your top few niches, it’s time to immerse yourself in one or two industries/professions/fields to learn all you can about them.
Before you can identify the job title that will suit you and your skills best, you need to understand the industry/profession/field first.
- What problems is the industry facing?
- What opportunities does the industry have?
- What is the industry missing to be able to solve problems and capitalize on opportunities?
- What unique terminology is used within the industry?
- Who are the key players in the industry?
When you speak with members of your network, ask questions to gain insights about these questions.
3) Consider Who Will Hire You and Why
Remember that the reason you will get hired has little to do with your skills, experience or network. The reason you will get hired - regardless of your industry, profession, or job title - is that you meet the following four conditions:
- You are talking to a decision-maker
- The decision-maker has a problem
- The decision-maker believes you can solve the problem
- You cost less than the problem costs
How will having this information change the way you think about your job search? Learn more about this job search strategy.
4) Hone in on YOUR Competitive Advantage
Your competitive advantage is the reason an employer hires you, and not someone else. When you realize that the decision maker who will hire you is looking for answers to his/her problems, you can begin looking at the solutions you are qualified to provide based on your training, education, and experience.
How will you help the business:
- Make money?
- Save money?
- Become more efficient?
When you can answer that question with a clear, concise answer, you will be a step ahead of most job seekers who are scanning job boards and hoping for a job.
5) Engage in Your Local Green Community
One of the most important steps to finding local green jobs is to connect with the local green community.
- Remember to keep your passion in mind as you look for opportunities to get involved.
- Volunteer
- Meet in person - Green drinks, EcoTuesday, classes
- Connect with people virtually - Facebook, LinkedIn, NetImpact, JustMeans
- Talk to individuals who can help you understand your target profession/industry/field.
Gain some additional ideas to demonstrate your commitment to the green economy in this article.
6) State Your Job Search Goals with Clarity, Confidence, and Conviction
From an employer’s or colleague’s point of view, one of the best indicators of your readiness to be hired is how you talk about your employment goals.
- Are you able to state your employment goals clearly and concisely in one or two sentences?
- Do you state your employment goals with confidence and enthusiasm?
- Does your sense of conviction and passion come through as you talk about your employment goals?
If you are confused about your goals, be strategic about the questions you ask your network.
- If you say something like “I’m interested in green building, what can I do in that field based on my skills?” it will be clear to your network that you have not done your homework.
- If you ramble for 20 minutes about your skills and interests, you will confuse your network.
In the early stages of your quest for information, begin each conversation with a short concise statement about what you know about your future direction. Take the time to create a list of questions you want to ask your contacts that will help you discover your next step. Avoid asking questions that can be answered through a quick search on the internet, which again demonstrates you haven’t done your homework.
Taking these steps in order will help you build a strong, sustainable foundation for your future green career. Think of it as a journey that will have its ups and downs as you strive to reach your goal destination. The green economy is going to evolve in ways we can’t predict in this moment. Join the journey for the long haul.
If you need a job now, I recommend you focus on an interim position that taps the skills you’ve used in previous jobs. If possible, choose an interim job that helps you take one step closer to your green career goal. Then when your target green industry is ready to pop, you’ll be ready to act on the opportunity.
Copyright © 2009 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.
Our New Look and Feel
If you’ve been on our site over the last week you’ve no doubt noticed that there have been some changes.
We’ve widened the website in preparation for the new job board we are adding to the site in the next few weeks.
In addition we are in the process of adding new graphics to make navigation on the site a bit easier.
We’ll keep you posted as we make more progress.
(If you pull up the site and you see vertical lines or mismatched colors, you have old files in your cache. Just hold down your control key and then hit the refresh button on your browser. Doing this will clear your cache and allow you to see the site as it is meant to be seen.)
Green Career Central Blog:
Green Career Trends: In this week’s trends we highlight Obama’s call for green projects, ways a smart grid could create green jobs, and possible opportunities in recycled waste.
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.
  
"I want to thank you for your service, it was helpful to me in my job search. The regular, cheerful, hopeful messages gave me courage every week to keep looking and doing what I believed in. Your very specific advice also made it clearer and clearer in my mind what I needed to do. Even though I generally understood the basic principals prior to subscribing, the regular reminder, and repeated messaging and refining each detail in more and more clarity was very helpful.
I've accepted a position that is really my dream green job. In my new role, I am part of a small group working to build The Nature Conservancy's capabilities to leverage conservation know-how across and beyond The Nature Conservancy's programs to achieve conservation results at an unprecedented scale. I love doing this work, and I thank you for giving me the courage to keep finding a place I believed in to share my skills.
Thank you!"
~ Anne, El Cerrito, CA
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: cidckim
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.
Current Members...you didn't think we'd leave you out, did you? If you see the beginning of your email address, we'll add one more month to your membership.
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What's New at GreenCareerCentral.com
Green Energy Industry Profiles
We’ve just added a new section to our industry profiles – Energy Industries. This week we’ve added wind and geothermal. More to come.
Job Listing
We've just listed a new group of job opportunities. If you have a technical/engineering background, you may find a match. Job locations range from Washington state to Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Click here to browse these great new jobs.
Cool Green Career Interview
One of the best ways to learn what's possible in the Green Economy is to hear from people who have green careers.
Check out these great interviews here.
Tips To Get You Moving Again
As you work through the steps on Green Career Central™, you are likely to feel stuck once in a while. When you feel stuck, you are on the edge of making a breakthrough-as long as you find a new way to look at your situation. The articles in this career step show you how to do just that.
Gain a different perspective by clicking here.
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) 2007-2009. Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Green Career CentralTM is a trademark of Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc
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