Categories ESG/Sustainability

You're looking for a job in sustainability...

by Sondra Tosky

This page is for you!

To support job seekers looking to begin their careers or transition into the sustainability industry, I have compiled this resource guide to help get you started.  These resources are also helpful for industry professionals looking for their next role.

Figuring out what you want

The first thing to do when you look for a job is: figure out what you want.  Of course, that's much easier said than done. The following resources provide helpful frameworks to assist you in narrowing down what you want and what you don't want in your next position and your long-term career.

If you're actively job searching, thinking about looking for a new job, or want a promotion at your current job, then start by reading Never Search Alone.  There's a reason I'm likely the tenth person this week who has told you to read it.  It is revolutionary in the way it approaches job searching using classic product management techniques.  A key aspect is defining your candidate-market fit, which is the intersection where your interests, skills, and market demand meet.  If you don't currently have all the needed skills for your dream job, which is very likely if you're starting out or transitioning into sustainability, then your candidate-market fit may mean choosing a less ideal near-term job that will set you on the path to a long-term career.  Never Search Alone will walk you step-by-step with templates and action items for how to define your candidate-market fit all the way through to negotiating an offer.  And best of all, you don't have to go through it alone.  You're strongly encouraged to join a Job Search Council (JSC) to support you in your journey.  You can learn about the process and sign up to join a free JSC on the Never Search Alone website.

GreenBiz has some great articles for both industry professionals and those entering the field on how to navigate the current sustainability job market.

JR Siegel's Bright Spots post provides an insightful framework for accessing if a job role will fit you personally as well as professionally.

This Harvard Business Review article explores finding what you're looking for using the 3Ps: Purpose, People, and Pace.

Transitioning into climate

Most people don't have a background in sustainability because it's only recently that sustainability has become a mainstream commercial business topic.  If you're transitioning into the sustainability field from a different industry, you'll want to do research and interviews to decide which particular part of sustainability you want to focus on.  Sustainability covers everything from highly technical engineering aspects like building direct air capture facilities to social aspects like employee labor rights.  You'll need to decide which particular sustainability problem you want to solve in order to determine the skills you need to gain, as well as how to position your past experience and focus your job search.

Once you've narrowed down the role you're interested in, look at job postings to see what skills you'll need to acquire.  Keep in mind that if the job requires a lot of new skills or experience, then you might need to start out with a more junior role that will get you to that longer-term goal.

For more information on increasing your sustainability skills, check out:

Updating your LinkedIn profile

After you've used the above resources to determine what specific role you're searching for, you'll want to update your LinkedIn profile skills and keywords to match the desired role.  Never Search Alone has a section on how to update your resume and LinkedIn profile.  I also found this webinar from Georgetown University Alumni Career Services to be helpful.

Automating your job search

You don't have time to search every message board every day.  Instead let the bots do it for you.  After you've determined your ideal role, look on LinkedIn to find some example job postings.  Find the keywords that are the same across the job postings. Then set up your job searches on LinkedIn and Google.  Many of the job boards I list at the end of this page also have alert features you can set up.

Use LinkedIn's job search alert feature to set up notifications to let you know when jobs that fit your keyword and filter criteria are posted.  I also follow any companies where I'm particularly interested in getting a job one day.  Remember that even if you aren't a fit for a dream role today, starting to follow your ideal companies and roles now, will show you what skills you need to get there one day.

Google also has a job alert feature.  I haven't found the Google alerts to be as relevant as LinkedIn, but they have helped me to discover companies that I might not have thought to follow.  To set up Google Job Alerts, first begin on a browser where you are logged into your google account.  Then simply type a search term into the Google search bar like "sustainability jobs."  A Jobs search filter will automatically pop up on Google giving you options to refine your search. When you've tweaked the filters to match your criteria, you can toggle on the 'New Job Alerts' option in the bottom left of the screen.  For example, I have a simple alert set that sends me daily results for: 'sustainability' 'product manager' 'remote'.

Serendipity

You'll notice by now that each of these sections begins with, 'if you defined what your ideal role is...'.  That definition is key, because of serendipity, the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.  There is often an aspect of good luck or random chance in any endeavor, and you want to put the odds in your favor.   I read this short blog article by Jason Roberts years ago and made it my mantra to guide me whenever I'm looking to reach a goal.  If you know what you want, and you tell lots of people what you want and ask for their help, then you vastly increase the chance of a serendipitous opportunity that will make your goal a reality.

Networking

Increasing your serendipity is the key to one of the most important parts of the job search and your long-term career--networking. As you network, don't be afraid to let people know what you want and ask for their help; often they'll help you if they can or put you in touch with someone else who can help you. And remember, helping out also applies to you!  If you have a chance to help someone reach their goals, do what you can within your boundaries.  People can tell helpers from takers--you want to be a helper. We all have to work together to make the world a better place!

Broken record here--go read Never Search Alone to learn the logistics of how to network respectfully, authentically, and effectively. Networking does not mean sending cold LinkedIn messages to strangers asking to 'chat' in an attempt to skip to the front of the resume queue or ask for a job.  To give you perspective from the hiring manager's viewpoint, every time my company posted a job opening, I would get a couple of these LinkedIn messages from strangers a day for weeks even if the job was in a different department.  That's spamming, not networking.

The GreenBiz article, in the Getting Started section, says it best: 'build connection, not contacts.' Go out and connect with people on topics you find interesting and build up your knowledge and skillsets and authentically grow your network to make yourself qualified for a job, instead of focus on connecting with the sole purpose of getting a particular position. As you talk to people, keep the concept of serendipity in mind, and be specific about letting people know what you're looking to do.  For example, if you genuinely want to get career advice from someone in the field, be specific about what you're hoping to learn from them and demonstrate that you have put thought and time into your request. The person you reached out to then knows exactly what you need and can determine if they're in a position to help you.

And remember that careers aren't only about 'your next job;' they're a 30+ year long game, and you should approach your networking with that long-term view in mind.  The people you help and connect with today, may be the hiring manager five or ten years from now.

You got an offer!

Once you get a job offer, make sure to read this article from Forbes that gives you a list of criteria for accessing the offer.  And read Never Search Alone to learn how to negotiate not just salary, but also the resources you'll need to be successful in your new role.

Sustainability Job Websites

Following is a list of sustainability job posting websites and communities:

Communities with job search resources

  • Nicole Kelner's substack post includes a link to a google spreadsheet with a huge list of climate job resources.  Sign up for her substack and check out her website to see her amazing climate artwork.  She also has a new clean energy coloring book!
  • jobs.greenbiz.com
  • workonclimate.org
  • My Climate Journey has a slack for members that includes a job channel.  I've found this very active community to also be useful for networking.
  • CleanTechnies is a substack where Silas Mähner, a sustainability recruiter with NextWave Partners talks to climate leaders.
  • terra.do
  • New Energy Nexus
  • If you're looking to network specifically in the carbon removal space, then check out RMI's Third Derivative, Airminers, and Carbon180.  Since carbon removal technology isn't fully commercialized, these groups are focused on supporting early-stage founders.  However, seeing what is in beta now will give you a sense of what jobs will be coming in the future as the technologies mature.
  • Lunchclub I haven't ever found a job through Lunchclub, but I do find the conversations to be informative.  Job searching can be lonely and Lunchclub is a great way to keep yourself engaged and interacting with other people.

Climate job boards

LinkedIn is the place where I see the most jobs posted--focus your job search on there.  If you want to take a look at some specific job boards I've compiled a list below.  Always be careful about entering your personal information into any website, particularly ones like job boards, since they could be selling your data.

Let's connect!

Subscribe to my blog to be notified of new content.  If you have questions, comments, or resources you'd like me to add, please reach out and I'll do my best to respond.  I'd love to hear what you find helpful on this page, what is less useful, and what's missing.

LinkedIn  LinkedIn                       Email Email: sondra at toskyconsulting.com