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Tip of the Week | Blog | Upcoming Events | What's New | About | Subscription
Welcome to the Green Career Tip of the Week
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Online Version of this Issue Green Career Tips Archive
The Green Career Central Job Board is live! Read today the Highlight section for all the incredible details.
Are you losing steam in your green job search as the economy slows down? Read this week's tip to learn how motivation pays off.
Are you ready for help finding your green niche? Sign up for this great workshop on March 7th with Carol: Finding Your Green Niche Workshop.
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!
Highlight
We are so excited to announce that the Green Career Central Job Board is live!
What does this mean for you as a Job Seeker?
Your job skills will be visible to Green employers currently looking to fill vacant positions!
With our robust job board system, you can
- Post your resume anonymously--at no charge.
- Search the job postings.
- Bookmark job postings that are of interest to you.
- Create personalized job alerts that are e-mailed to you when positions that match your skills are added to the Job Board.
- Manage multiple versions of your resume and cover letter.
- Receive, review and respond to the inquiries from potential employers.
To Get Started: Follow the step-by-step instructions below to create your account. (Green Career Central members, be sure to log in to the GCC site first and then click over to the Job Board so that you will get all your member benefits!)
Once you are there, set up your personal profile and post your resume. Green employers will then be able to scan your information (without knowing your identity or contact information) to look for matches to their open positions. If they like what they see, you'll receive a message. You then choose to communicate with them or not.
Instructions to access the Job Board:
Green Career Central Member:
- Log in to the Green Career Central site as usual and click through to the Job Board using the button on the right side of the home page.
- You will be automatically logged in as a GCC member on the Job Board.
- As a GCC member, your resume will be marked with a small Green Career Central icon to show employers you are committed to finding a green job.
- Member resumes will be listed ahead of non-member resumes.
Green Career Central Visitor:
- You need not be a member of Green Career Central to post your resume on the Job Board. If you are not a member of Green Career Central, you may still access the Job Board through our site, create an account on the Job Board and log in there each time you visit.
- The Job Board is free and open to the public.
Tip of the Week: Green Job Search Tactics for Recessionary Times
If you listen to the news much you know the outlook on the economy and the employment situation isn’t the greatest. Week after week the numbers seem to look worse and worse. More bailouts, more crises, and more layoffs.
When it comes to pursuing your green career, you may be tempted to crawl into bed, pull the covers up, and stay there until the economy picks up.
It’s easy to sink into a spiral of doom and gloom when faced with the scenario we are facing as a nation. This is even truer if you’ve been laid off or you fear you are about to. New graduates are also feeling the pressure.
Think Green
Rather than solely studying the traditional economic news, turn your attention to information about the green economy. Although it’s not all good news, there is more cause for hope and optimism on the green side of the fence.
Many people, including President Obama and his Administration, believe that the green economy will be the driver that brings the US economy back. The stimulus package demonstrates that they are putting their money where their mouth is. Over the next few weeks and months we’ll be able to follow the money to see which industries are beginning to grow as a result of the stimulus money.
The US economy will come back. It may take awhile. It may be rough going for many. The question is…
Do you want to be on the front edge of the recovery OR do you want to wait until you are sure it’s happening to put yourself into position to jump when opportunities strike?
As the green economy gains traction again, you have a golden opportunity to prepare yourself for your next position. The ideas below are appropriate for professionals who are out of work at the moment, new grads, and employed professionals. Your actions will depend on the time you have available. Do what you can, given your situation.
If you are currently out of work, your path is tough. There is no doubt about that. You may need to relax your vision of the kind of job you want. Consider contract work, temp work, a side business, and work outside your profession as ways to bring some income in the door. Your goal is to stretch the funds you do have until the economy picks up again. Working will have other benefits as well. You will be active in your community, developing items for your resume of the future.
Steps You Can Take
One of your best tactics is to become the employee you’d want to hire if you were the manager. This goal ripples through all of your job search activities.
Manage Your Mindset
Would you hire someone who is depressed, negative, and fed up with life? NO!
So…work actively to manage the emotions you feel about your situation.
- Remember, you need only one job. Companies of all shapes and sizes are hiring.
- Keep the faith that there is an answer out there for you. I realize it’s hard sometimes, but keeping the faith may be the thing that allows you to shine above other depressed job seekers.
- Be creative. If you need a second job to make ends meet or a job that allows you to go to school and work, be clear about your needs and then look for a solution to meet those needs.
- Surround yourself with people who see the opportunity before us. Hanging out with people who harp on the negative will only lower your spirits. Identify at least one friend who will support your efforts to enter the green economy. Perhaps they are trying to achieve the same goal!
Stay Active
Would you hire someone who was stuck on the couch watching reruns or playing video games? NO!
You’d want to find someone who was active and striving to make a difference in their community.
- Attend events. Search out green networking events or green community groups.
- Reach out to meet with others. When you attend the events listen to what other people are doing. When someone catches your attention follow up. Invite them to lunch or ask for a ten minute informational phone call.
- Help others with leads. Keep your new contacts in mind and pass leads to them as you run across articles, opportunities, or contacts they should know. Hopefully they’ll remember you when they see something that would be of interest to you. Even if they don’t send you leads…they will most likely remember you as someone who helped them out.
- Start your own job search team. If you connect with a few other people who are striving to get into the green economy, take the initiative to create a job search group. Meet on a regular basis and support each other in the job search journey
Stay Alert
Would you hire someone who was out of touch with the green economy or your industry? NO!
You’d want to hire someone who was plugged into what was happening in the green movement, the green economy, and the industry.
- Understand your target industry. Invest the time in reading about and studying your chosen industry. This information will be priceless in an interview setting because it will be clear you know the stuff.
- Scan for industries/companies that are hiring. As you study your target industry, pay particular --attention to companies who are hiring—even if they aren’t in your neighborhood or region. Look for trends in terms of the kinds of companies that are growing right now. What does that tell you about the industry? What does that tell you about who might be hiring in your area?
- Explore how your skills are a fit. As you learn more about your chosen industry, take a look at where your skills and experience give you an edge. Capitalize on how your skills create a win for the company and for you.
Use Your Time Wisely While You Wait
Would you hire someone who had made no investment in their own future? NO!
You’d hire someone who made a concerted effort to learn, explore, and practiced their skills during the downturn.
- Put your skills to work in whatever way you can
- Volunteer at a green Non Profit
- Help a friend who has a green business
- Start a green business of your own (check out this week’s new audio interview)
- Land a consulting gig
- Find or create an internship for yourself
- Create a green project at home or within your community
- Increase your knowledge
- Take a course
- Get a certificate
- Go back to school
Although your job search may not produce your desired result as quickly as you’d like, you can make progress toward your goal. As long as you are enriching your mind, learning new skills, gaining relevant experience, and building a network, you are making great progress!
When the economy starts rebounding, you’ll be right there to jump at the opportunities that come your way.
Copyright © 2009 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.
Green Career Central Blog:
Green Career Trends: This week's trends discuss clean tech jobs in Silicon Valley, BP getting started in cellulosic ethanol and product stewardship between Wal-Mart and HP.
See Amazing Photos of Energy Inefficiency and Energy Efficiency: It’s not every day that you get to see how inefficient our daily habits our. Take a look at this photo essay on Energy Conservation by National Geographic. Check out the image of the cars on the freeway!
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.
  
"My New Business Startup: It's a hard to find an investment these days that pays for itself many times over but the annual fee for joining Green Career Central is certainly worth every penny. The process laid out is structured and easy to follow. It takes you through the steps to get a truer understanding what your interests and skills are and makes you excited about researching your career options, while giving you a sense of progress and accomplishment. The weekly tips and "how to" resources on the website are time saving and are in of themselves an invaluable resource. Thanks Carol."
~WG Becoming an Energy Systems Consultant
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: cathruben
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
Interview with Dave Arthur – Green Business Expert
Have any interest in starting a green business? We’ve just interviewed Dave Arthur, a green business expert on his thoughts about small green businesses in these economic times. You may be surprised to hear some good news in the mix. We’ve posted an audio and a transcript of the interview.
New Industry Profile
We’ve just posted the Atmospheric Science Industry profile with details about climatology, meteorology, hydrometeorology. If you are interested in climate from a scientific point of view, take a look at the resources and professions included in this profile.
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.
Articles
Thinking of owning your own green business or greening a business you already own?
Check out the articles to help you Go Green!
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
PO Box 354, Menlo Park, CA 94026
650 322 8661 | Contact
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