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Finding a green job: Tips for breaking into the industry


Resume and resource ideas for getting green work.

Green jobs are hotter than ever. If you've never worked in a green industry or you're trying to reinvent your skillset to woo prospective employers, check out these tips from Juju.com, a specialized job search engine that empowers job seekers to search jobs from a variety of job boards, including CareerBuilder and HotJobs, plus listings from virtually every employer and recruiter on the web.

How to Find a Green Job
 
There’s a lot of talk about “green jobs” these days, but no broadly accepted definition of exactly what the term means or which industries and job functions it applies to. So, if you’ve decided that you want to use it to describe the job you’re looking for, the first step may be to answer the question, “what does 'green' mean to you?” Does it involve wildlife protection, climate policy, energy efficient technology, or something else? Which aspects of those issues/industries have the most personal appeal? Which can you apply your existing skill sets to?
 
Once you’ve established a personal definition of “green jobs”, check your work by looking at what others consider to be “green” employment. For instance, the Environmental Defense Fund have put together a Green Jobs Guidebook. The guide has a stated emphasis on climate change, but seeks to treat the topic broadly and offers lots of detail and many specific job titles/categories it considers to be green, like forestry and conservation jobs. Use it, and other resources, to help you enhance your personal definition of “green” and to ensure that you’ve covered all the areas you might be interested in.
 
Once you’ve figured out what you’re looking for and how it relates to your existing skills, you’ll need to update your resume to reflect that focus. Professional skills should definitely be front and center, but you may also want to consider beefing up material related to your personal interests and activities. If you’ve spent lots of time volunteering for organizations that are related to your chosen green field, then you should definitely highlight that experience. If you haven’t, and it’s relevant, then you might want to seek out those opportunities to bolster your resume and demonstrate your personal commitment to the issue in question.
For more info: Check out Juju.com.
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Comments

  • Michael Dayan 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    For great information on green jobs in renewable energy, green buildings, clean transportation, water management, waste management,and land management check out the Greencollar Association website at www.greencollar.org.

  • Mark Gragg, Dallas Green Jobs Examiner 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Nice article.

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