How to Transition to a Climate Job

Our #Sustainability Program Coordinator position received ~100 applicants in ~48 hours. This incredible response is a great sign for the sustainability field, and a good moment to offer #advice for those trying to get in. Some of what follows is drawn from recent hiring experience, and some is advice I would give my younger self, if I could. (The picture below is from 2015, just before I made my own pivot into sustainability). 1. Find a focus area. “Sustainability” is an incredibly broad field. Saying you want a job in “sustainability” is like saying you want to work in “business.” Decide what piece of sustainability interests you most. I work in #sustainableagriculture because I like working with farmers; I’m inspired by the impact potential of more sustainable supply chains. On my team, we have people that focus on environmental sustainability which includes emissions, renewable energy, #biodiversity, and packaging. We also have folks working on community engagement, including our non-profit partnerships and employee engagement. And let’s not forget about human rights. Beyond our team, there’s an industry need for people who do sustainability communications and marketing. There are career paths in sustainability advocacy and policy. Sustainability reporting is a rapidly growing field. The list goes on. 2. Network. Once you’ve chosen your focus area, reach out to people who work there. Ask them about their day to day. Reassess: Is this something you actually want to do? If so, ask them for advice. What skills are most important? How did they land their current role? What does the future of this area look like? LinkedIn is critical, use it daily. Follow people in your focus area. Comment on posts. Look for #opendoorclimate. If you can afford it, go to conferences. Introduce yourself to the panelists/ speakers. Ask good questions. ❤️ I landed a screening interview for my current role because someone in my network referred me. 3. Tailor your resume. Read the job description carefully and make sure your resume clearly hits the main points. For example, if you’re applying for a role that lists “data analytics” and “advanced Excel,” make sure your resume contains the words “data analytics” and “Excel.” Bonus points if you can work them into your most recent position. Don’t assume anyone can infer your skills. You may know that your role as “Program Specialist” involves a lot of data analysis, but if you don’t say that explicitly, you may be passed over. 4. Get clear on “why.” At some point in the interview process, someone will ask: “Why are you interested in this position?” Your answer should be compelling. Showcase your passion AND show you did your research. Speak to something specific that matters to the interviewer. Candidates that seem genuinely excited to work with us/our company always standout. 🌱Sustainability professionals: what advice would you give your younger self?

Starting a Career in Climate feels like being lost in the desert. To find water, you must first ignore everyone telling you this 👇 We all know the people who tell you. → If you try hard enough, it’ll work. → Just apply for more jobs → It’s a numbers game. → Next week is better. Ignore all those words. Here’s what you do instead 👇 1️⃣ Fundamentals first Look at the entire climate economy. Pick two sub-sectors. → Start with the solutions map from Climate Drift. → Use the Project Drawdown solution library to drill deeper. Learn everything you can about your 2 sectors. 2️⃣ Find your Transferable Skills Most people completely underestimate their professional skills. Write down the answer to: “What am I really good at and why?” Then find your current job within a climate company. And map your skills to that job. 👉 Share “what you’re really good at” in the comments. I will give feedback + it will inspire others + it will help you become better 💪 3️⃣ Find your Pitch Find somebody doing your “future” job in a climate company. Ask them how they do their job. Pay attention to: → How they describe their work. → What tools do they use. → What KPIs matter. Focus on their words. Learn the language of a climate company in your target sector. And then use that intel to refine your pitch. 👉 Find people to talk to here: → #OpenDoorClimate climate by Daniel Hill has many climate tech execs.  → MCJ Collective by Jason Jacobs, Yin Lu, Leone Baron is one of the best. → Work on Climate by Eugene Kirpichov, Eva Marina, Nicole Sturzenberger is equally great. 4️⃣ Think Skills-Sector Fit. Not Impact. Everyone wants to work on something with a huge CO2 impact. That’s great. BUT Don’t re-invent yourself so you can work in a “big impact” sector. Go where your skills fit best. Where you can actually move the needle. Because the best impact is the impact that happens. Not the impact you keep chasing but never materializes. Use this list to find water in the desert. And make yourself successful 🙌 —— PS. In case you’re wondering ❓Why trust my advice❓ Maybe this helps (slightly blushing as I write this 😳) → I taught 100s of students at the best universities (Harvard, etc.) → Personally helped 1,000s of people transition careers. → Built a 6-figure, 7-figure, and a 8-figure business. → Advising 10+ early stage impact companies. PPS. 👉 If you want help with your career transition? 👈  Here are two options: 👉I’m offering 50 Free 1on1 Career Mentorship sessions (I have 200+ people on the waitlist 🤯) 👉I’m running a 1-day Climate Career Transition Workshop (Links in first comment).

The majority of people want to participate in climate solutions, but don't know how.   Yesterday's post about #opendoorclimate brought a lot of interest and I wanted to share what I have been doing to learn about working on climate change. I always thought you needed a PhD in environmental science to work in climate until I ran across a TikTok last year from Climate People. It turns out that there is a wide variety of jobs and it's very possible to make your existing job a climate job.   Network within your current company to find out if there is anyone doing climate work and ask them if they are willing to speak to you briefly about their job. You can find them on Linkedin by searching your company, toggling for people, then searching terms such as: ESG, climate, & environment.   If you work at a smaller company that might not have an ESG division, you can also do this for companies you are interested in. I find that most people are willing to talk if you ask nicely and make it easy for them.   Join communities for climate work. Some I personally like: 🌍 Work on Climate 🌍 Climate Action Tech - I especially like their networking roulette. It is so motivating to know how many people care about this problem and it gives me amazing perspective on the different types of jobs in climate   Check out what types of jobs exist in the space: 🌍 Climatebase 🌍 Terra.do   Lastly, these job boards also offer immersive fellowships for those seriously interested in climate work. I might be posting more about that later :) That's all I got for now, but if you found this post helpful, head to the comments for links to all of the above resources and more. #myclimatejourney #climate #environment