Penned by Carolyn

There’s been a fair amount of news and public service announcements recently about kids and cyber-bullying – the basic concept being that kids will say things online that they would never say to a friend or peer in person.

This phenomenon unfortunately sometimes applies to adults as well. In your jobsearch especially, e-mail etiquette is just as important as phone etiquette, the way you’d speak to someone in person, or how you’d present yourself in a cover letter.

We’ve had several cases recently of finding people we were excited about putting forward for a job… and then we received an email from them that was rude, out of line, or just so strange that we had to reconsider whether we really wanted to support that candidate.

A golden rule of online jobsearching and interaction: you’re still dealing with PEOPLE. There is a real person – with feelings, and an ego, and their own personality – on the other end of the communications you send out.

Think to yourself – If you met the recruiter or hiring manager in person, would you still communicate in the same way as you do on email? Make the same claims? Use the same tone? Be as pushy?

There is a thin line between assertiveness and aggressiveness that is even harder to walk in the online space. While we’re not telling you to be too meek or passive, it’s better to err on the side of politeness than rub someone the wrong way and get blackballed altogether by the company.

Some thoughts from our founder, Paul Hannam, on why people are so intrigued and inspired by the idea of a green job.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ2Ruox3jlM&hl=en&fs=1]

Penned by Carolyn

We always encourage students and grads (and everyone else!) to volunteer with environmentally-focused organizations/initiatives in order to network, get some green experience on their resume and do good as they’re jobsearching.

So, you ask: What opportunities are there to dive into a green career through volunteering?

Non-profits: Given the state of the economy, non-profits need a lot of help right now and could really value your volunteer time. Find a non-profit in your area that works on issues you’re interested in – policy, water issues, international development, etc. Do keep in mind that it’s better to focus on a specific project that you are willing to help with or spearhead. Idealist.org has an extensive list of volunteer opportunities that you can sort by interest and location to get a sense for what’s out there. Find your local Sierra Club chapter; Green for All has resources on how to support green jobs growth in your local community.

Get down and dirty: Add some manpower to a green building project and get industry exposure at the same time. GRID Alternatives is popular in the Bay Area, where volunteers help install solar panels on low-income housing. Habitat for Humanity has some green building related projects as well. Friends of the Urban Forest in San Francisco asks for volunteers to help with tree-planting. Find your local community garden project or farmer’s market and offer to help out. Join AmeriCorps for a year of service. Go help clean up your local park, or find a summer or seasonal job in a National Park through The Student Conservation Association.

Get political: Find your state PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) and help them canvass and push green legislation in your state (we’ve got Environment California here in the Bay Area). Apply to spend a year working with GreenCorps, a year-long hands-on training program around the U.S. that breeds the country’s top environmental organizers (and has a really strong job placement program and alumni network to take advantage of at the end).

Go abroad! Foundation for Sustainable Development places students and recent grads in internships in developing countries around the world. You are placed in a domestic non-profit there depending on your development-related interests and can design your own project, seek funding, and get some great hands-on experience… all while experiencing a new culture. Ecoteer.com connects you with green volunteer opportunities around the world. Join Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF) and spend some time trading your work for room and board in one of many countries around the world that hosts a WWOOF network.

Take a “pay the bills job” and volunteer for a company you’re interested in. Make sure you have a specific project suggestion to put in front of them, rather than just willingness to work. For example, a 2007 graduate named Ajay sent us this note about his efforts to get “green” experience. He works for a utility, and offers a few days a week for free to a solar company in the area, who he reached through a contact there (go network!). As he says, “The more I work with this solar manufacturer, the more people I meet and the more people know my name.” Troll green job boards such as Treehugger and GreenBiz for unpaid internships or volunteering; use contacts at these organizations and others to find out whether you can lend a hand.

Network: Another example is helping to organize green networking events in your city. Green Drinks is a great monthly meet-up that has chapters in many cities. Contact your local chapter to help organize; if none exists, start one up! We’re working with an amazing team of Green Drinks volunteers here in San Francisco that are helping set up a “Green Careers Connections” event – by doing so, they’re networking with eachother and getting to reach out to lots of companies that they might be interested in working for themselves. We’re also big fans of Net Impact – lend a hand with your local chapter and get connected to passionate professionals.

Conferences need volunteers. When you hear a green conference is coming to town, find out ways to volunteer with the organization and actual conference. Green Festivals needs lots of hands on deck; keep an eye on GreenBiz‘s list of events for whether anything’s being planned for near you.

If you’re already out there volunteering, send us a success story of how it’s helped you in the job search process!

Penned by Carolyn

As impersonal, anonymous and frustrating as it feels to apply for jobs online, most companies can only process resumes that come in this way.

Hence, here are three reasons your resume might be getting passed over, and how to fight back:

1. The mistake: Your cover letter is an attachment. The remedy: If you’re applying by email, copy and paste your cover letter into the body of an email rather than having it as a separate document. Not only is it more likely to be read, but some automated resume systems will just grab the first attachment on your email and parse that — so you want to make sure it’s your resume that’s making it into the system. Check out our Greenhouse for “Do’s and Don’ts of Cover Letters” as well as some samples to work from.
2. The mistake: Your email address is ridiculous. It’s cool if your email address that you use with friends is “sk8rrrgurl1331″ or “babysealclubber” (and yes, we’ve seen that username), but when we receive applications from these types of addresses, it’s hard to take the person seriously as a candidate. The remedy: If you need to, create a more serious email address to use for job applications.
3. The mistake: the title of your resume or cover letter document is ridiculous or irrelevant, a la “MansfieldResume_EDITEDVERSION4 5-5-09.doc,” “BEST CANDIDATE FOR THE JOB MANSFIELD RESUME.doc,” or worse, “Mansfield Generic Resume.doc.” As for your cover letter, make sure it’s not “Mansfield Generic Cover Letter.doc”… you might as well title it “I took less than 2 minutes to consider and apply for this job.” If you obviously don’t care about the position, the hiring manager isn’t going to waste their time reading your resume. The remedy: You ARE tailoring your resume and cover letter to each position you’re applying to, right? Make sure the title reflects that – such as “Mansfield Bright Green Resume” or “Mansfield Cover Letter – Bright Green Talent.” Getting your name in there is important, too, so people can pull your resume back up easily.

Penned by Nick

We’re 5 people at BGT, working with over 10,000 green jobseekers. For those who want to do the math, it means we’re averaging ~2,000 relationships per person. The majority of these relationships are our source of inspiration–new ideas from new people wanting to find new careers.

However, every once in a while we cross a candidate who has a different view on who BGT is, and what we should be doing.

Last week we received the following note from a candidate:

We believe in honest dialogue and transparency at BGT. Instead of hiding this comment in the dark, it’s worth airing out.
We receive more demand for our services than we’re able to meet. We’re doing our best to scale to meet demand, but it takes time. When folks are unemployed and looking for a new green career, it can seem like an eternity. We get it.

More importantly, it means a lot to us that folks are holding us accountable and looking to us for guidance. But at times, it feels like our candidate lose perspective and think that they’re the only one who’s unemployed, or that their skillset is so strong that they deserve a job.

The hard reality is that we can’t place everyone (though it’s our goal!). It’s not that we don’t want to help–quite to the contrary, that’s our driving motivation. We’re insanely service-oriented–check out Christina’s feedback for a few examples of the praise we’ve received.

We can’t be all things to all people. That’s obvious. In the cases where it’s not, trust that we’re taking the long-view, that we value every relationship, and that where we can, we’re helping folks in a variety of ways: career counseling, job placement, industry information, etc.

This is a collective movement towards a brighter, greener future. It will take time–for those willing to join us for the long haul, we look forward to an opportunity to work together to realize our common vision.

Penned by Nick

The question of ethics for environmental employers is a landmine issue that few people explore. In Wendy Jedlicka’s recent article, she suggests that getting a job at a firm with “eco-ethics” is both difficult and desirable. Though true, this misses the more pressing questions about how ethics apply to environmental organizations.

Finding employment with any employer right now — green or otherwise — is difficult. However, this insight doesn’t cut to the core of the question of ethics. Ethics aren’t constrained to “eco” companies alone. As business schools teach the world over, ethics are universal — both in business and in life.

What’s interesting in the domain of environmental companies is that these companies rely on their “ethical business models” to attract employees more than do traditional “brown” employers. The dirty little secret is that employers — from solar companies to sustainability consultancies and the like — rely on jobseekers’ assumption that they are ethical more than other firms because of their “eco” business models.

Having worked with employers worldwide to find and secure the top green talent, its become clear that not everyone embraces the same level of business ethics. Indeed, many businesses fail to highlight their ethics at all when we ask them what separates them from other employers.

Ethics in the environmental business are — at present — largely taken for granted. Yes, most employees at these firms believe they have a more ethical occupation, but the business practices themselves often don’t exude ethics. Quite to the contrary, many of these businesses fail to push their ethical practices as far as their products or services.

At a time when the very value of long-standing business models has been called into question (read: investment banking, insurance, etc), it strikes me that more employers should be focusing on their ethics.

More importantly, both employees and jobseekers of green companies should be challenging these firms to “walk the walk” and create a truly triple bottom line enterprise that embraces sound ethical practices, sound environmental practices and sound business practices.

Jedlicka’s article is right to raise the question about ethics, but readers should examine a company’s purpose/service to determine who’s ethical and who’s not.

Use the interview itself as a place to ask questions about how an employer’s environmental practices translate into more ethical business practices. Questions like these leave little room for maneuvering, but if a jobseeker’s goal is to find an ethical employer, those that are truly ethical will jump at the chance to respond to such a question. If they don’t, you may have found a case where an organization doesn’t truly “walk the walk.”

Continually pushing employers to keep ethics at the center of their businesses — green or otherwise — is the best way to ensure that your values align with your employers’.

[Originally published on GreenBiz.com]

Penned by Christina

Stick to your routine. Do you usually work-out in the mornings or wear a suit to work?! If so, keep doing it! The NYT agrees with this one.

Set-up an ASG* (Accountability Support Group.) If you have friends or acquaintances also looking for a job, set up a “check-in group” to bring structure and accountability into the process. You’d be surprised how motivating it is to have a friend ask you, “So did you call those 3 people you said you would?”

Stay positive. I know you have heard this about 1000 times but for the 1001st time, I’d like to add that you should find something that is uplifting that you can come back to as needed. That could mean joining a soccer league that gets you out running around on grass and really feeling the “team spirit” again. But it can be even simpler that that… My own personal choice for a 5 minute pick-me-up is listening to a story or two from This I Believe on NPR.  Hearing others share stories of dealing with obstacles much more harrowing than your own can put your own situation in perspective, help you feel grateful for all that you DO have and restore your energy to keep on keepin’ on!  Try a few and see how you feel!  (Send me your favorites!)

* Don’t worry, this is a made-up acronym…you aren’t behind on some fancy new lingo or anything.

Penned by Tom

At Bright Green Talent, we’re always concocting new ways to help out our community. We’re not your typical recruiting company — we want to build lasting relationships with both clients and candidates and help you in the years to come as you settle into your green career.

Here are some ways you can engage with us today and tomorrow:

1. If you haven’t yet, register your resume:

• You’ll be the first to know as new opportunities arise that are relevant to your skill set.
• You’ll receive our monthly newsletter, with advice, information on green career events we’re hosting and/or attending, and up-to-date information on the green job market.
• Sometimes we work on positions that we don’t post on our site – you’ll be eligible for consideration in those special cases.
• As you apply for jobs, we will be your advocate. If you’re qualified for a position, we work hard to get you an interview and negotiate for the best possible compensation package

2. Sign up for career coaching.

• If you’re new to the green space, you might be disoriented by all the resources, job boards, and advice swirling around out there. Spend some time with Christina, our Career Coach Extraordinaire, to gain our unique perspective on who’s hiring right now, and create a smart strategy for finding your ideal green job.
• Check out the amazing feedback Christina’s gotten on her coaching so far.

3. Follow our blog and twitter!

• We offer daily tips, insight and advice from our unique perspective. Find resources for transitioning into a new space, hear what clients are thinking, learn how not to be a jobseeker horror story, and more.

4. Sign up for our new weekly tips, and register to enter the Greenhouse, our jobseeker resource center.

• You spend enough time job-seeking. Why not let the advice come to you once a week?

5. Refer a friend or fellow jobseeker to Bright Green Talent!

• We believe in “paying it forward” — no one gets a job all by themselves. Help out a friend and the good deed will come back around when you’re in need in the future.
• Give the gift of guidance! You can now opt to gift a career coaching session to someone who needs a nudge in the right direction.
• And to speed up those karmic returns on helping a friend find a job, we offer a $750 referral reward if we place someone you recommend for a position.

During my career coaching meetings, the topic of networking comes up pretty much every time because people:

1. Know they need to be doing it.
2. Are not doing it enough.
3. Have an averse reaction to it.

Let’s address #3 since that’s the most critical to deal with #1 and #2.  I tell people that it would be helpful to re-frame what networking means to them.  Rather than walking into an event assuming you are ‘on the prowl’ for a job and/or for someone who can give it to them, Why not just think of it as an opportunity to meet some interesting people, hear what they’re up to and perhaps talk a little about what gets you excited in the world? Huh.  That sounds a little more like a party than a networking event doesn’t it?  That’s the point.

I don’t want to make it sound quite so easy.  A true “re-framing” is difficult to achieve but the benefits to both your job search and sanity are endless. 

Also look for fun, interesting events that seem to be less stressful.  For one such example, join us when we host a rock-climbing event with Net Impact on April 21st – maybe I’ll see you there?!  We can network if you are.

We’re also out and about at GreenDrinks in San Francisco (which is moving to the first Tuesday of the month at 111 Minna), and will keep you posted with more details about a career fair/cocktail hour we’re sponsoring with them in late May.

Penned by Carolyn

This week I’m launching a To-Do list for students and grads who are getting into the job search.

LinkedIn is basically the cheap & easy way to start virtually networking. Here’s some homework for the uninitiated:

Step 1: Create a profile. Fill out your profile with the internships you’ve had, positions held.  My general resume tips apply — but you can be more concise on LinkedIn. Just the most relevant and impressive things you’ve done.

Step 2: Find folks. The genius little robots behind LinkedIn can get into your Gmail/Yahoo/AOL contact list and find folks you already know that are on LinkedIn. As you invite people to connect, take the chance to include a friendly hello — and, if you like, politely mention you’re jobseeking.

Step 3: Join groups! Find alumni organizations, interest groups, and, especially, Bright Green Talent‘s group. Groups are a great way to find interesting discussions, job postings, and links, and to connect with folks who share communities and interests.

More next week on how to get set up and start using these tools to find yourself a job. We’ll also be hosting a webinar with our friend George Kao in the coming weeks on more tactics for leveraging LinkedIn in your job search. Stay tuned!

Oh, and if you don’t believe me that LinkedIn is the way to go, check out what Guy Kawasaki has to say on the matter.