How to Make your Dream Jobs in Sustainability a Reality

According to LinkedIn, about 10% of job postings in the last few years required one green skill, at least, even for roles outside the environmental sector. For example, renewable energy skills showed up in job postings for business engineers and financial analysts, as organizations across industries are presently launching sustainable initiatives and goals. This is to let you know your ambition to find dream jobs in sustainability is valuable.

On the other hand, workers with the skills and knowledge required to support environmental sustainability now and in the near future rose from 9.6% in 2015 to 13.3% in 2022; that is a 38.5% increase, as stated by LinkedIn’s new Global Green Skills Report 2022.

From the above, we can deduce that whether you are in the environmental sector or not, your dreams of landing a sustainable job are achievable. Therefore, the following steps will help you easily transform your dream of working in Sustainability into reality. 

Clarify Your Main Areas of Interest

Job seekers often assume they will eliminate many job prospects when they narrow their interests. However, to progress in your career development, you have to take time to discover clarity and a sufficiently particular focus. To do this, search for some topics and choose three that you are most interested in. Some examples are energy efficiency, environmental protection, environmental health, habitat restoration, sustainable buildings and development, water and material management, corporate social responsibility, and environmental and ecological studies.

Many of these are inter-connected, but it’s still valuable to identify some that are of top-most interest to help you focus and be more specific

Get Familiarized with The Sectors of The Economy

The three sectors of the economy offer job opportunities to work in the field of sustainability. Get to learn more about these sectors:

• Private
• Public
• Third sector–non-profit, non-governmental, and value-driven organizations.

For each of these sectors, there are specialized job boards and job sites for researching organizations and opportunities.

Focus On Your Strength

When you reflect on your strengths, skills, and the kind of work you enjoy, you will gain clarity about potential sustainability-related types of roles to go in pursuit. Some examples include data analyst, community organizer, communication coordinator, specialist or director, policy analyst or associate, research director or assistant, and sustainability director or coordinator.

If you are unsure of your strengths and skills, visit O*NET OnLine to access interest profilers. You will learn about resources that will help you gain insights regarding your values, interests, and skills.

Transferable Skills

This is necessary if you are already experienced but not in the specific industry, role, or topic you want to shift to. In this kind of situation, you need to focus on transferable skills. What necessary skills and traits do you possess that will be useful for advancing the mission of your targeted organization?

While Researching, Use Job Descriptions

Going through various job descriptions on a site like LinkedIn should help you narrow the kind of roles you might have an interest in and recognize potential roles you will be interested in

Identify The Target Organizations

Spend time on research and make a list of twenty to forty target organizations. Here is what to do

• Identify organizations you have an interest in that are in the target markets.
• Research these organizations and their critical players (for example, board members, funders, partner organizations, community partners, sponsors, etc.)
• Begin to create connections by online engagement (connect via social media, subscribing to email lists, reading content on their websites)

Gain Experience Through Projects and Volunteering

It would be best if you didn’t wait till you secure a job for you to gain experience with your interest issues and organization. Volunteering is a great way to build your skills while contributing to a cause you care for. Also, some organizations seek volunteers when they are looking to hire because there’s already familiarity.

Build Relationships

Strong relationships are essential to leading a fulfilling life and career. Keep the following in mind:

• People will likely hire and recommend someone they like, know and trust.
• You have an entire network you may not realize. For instance, LinkedIn plus a spreadsheet can be a great combination to help you engage with appropriate organizations.
• What do you have to lose when you reach out?
• Connect with new people by attending online events and webinars, then follow up to get more familiar with them.
• Do not reach out only when there’s a request. Learn to provide value, as well. Understand the goals and needs of others and explore your options to offer support.
• The relationships we cultivate and form offer opportunities for broadening our worldview, enriching and diversifying our network, and being actively engaged and supportive towards organizations and individuals working to achieve healthy equitable communities.

Final Thoughts

As an individual, if you follow through with the above steps and procedures, you will get to your expected end – which is to land your dream job in sustainability. Religiously follow these steps and watch yourself emerge as a sustainable worker.