We’ve recently had a couple of marketing/sales positions come up in solar, and were amazed by how many candidates came in. For one of the positions, we had nearly 200 people apply within 72 hours of posting the position.
Clearly, differentiation in this space is really important. Having experience in and expertise in solar will automatically bump you up to the top of the bunch when so many people are applying.
A first step in that direction: Check out the website of Intersolar, “the most diverse international business-to-business trade show in the United States for the global solar industry.” Intersolar happened a few weeks ago here in San Francisco, and featured 444 different exhibitors, 17,000 trade visitors, and 170 speakers.
If you want to get oriented in the solar space, exploring the conference’s website is a great place to start. They’ve posted video from the event, an event directory and there’s event a job board.
From the site, create a list of target companies that interested you in some way. Find them on LinkedIn. Who’s working in the role that you’d want to be in? What’s their educational and work background? Which associations are they part of? Are you connected to anyone who’s there? Start to create a profile of who’s currently in these jobs … and then start working towards getting those qualifications yourself!
Tags: career transition, education, linkedin, recruitment, solar