Presentation at 2016 Massachusetts Sustainable Campuses and Communities Conference

1. College to Career Transition
Sharon Hanna
Director, Career Development
International Development, Community and Environment, (IDCE)
Clark University, Worcester, MA

2. Where are the jobs?
 Bureau of Labor Statistics defines “green jobs” as:
those that produce goods or provide services that
benefit the environment or use fewer natural
resources.
 Sustainability jobs span all types of organizations
in the for-profit, non-profit sectors and
government with many pathways to improve
quality of life, economy and eco-systems.

3. Just to name a few…
 Biomass Plant Designer, Manager, Technician…
 Heating and Air Conditioning/ Building Automation
Technician Controls Specialist
 Refuse & Recycling Worker
 Sustainable Agriculture: farmer, distributor, marketer…
 Risk Property Assessor
 Building Codes Inspector
 City/Community/Operations Manager
 Energy Storage Specialists (e.g. Smart grid, hydrogen,
batteries, and compressed air)
 Water Reservoir and Watershed Engineer/Technician
 Green Building Designers, Distributor, Installer …
 Energy Statistician
 Recycling Director
 Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Products
 • Energy/Sustainability Policy Analysts and Advocacy
Specialists
 • Non-Profit Sustainability Related Educator/Program
Manager
 Greenhouse Gas Analyst/Broker
 Brownfields Real Estate Developer
 Environmental Economist
 Socially Responsible Investment Advisor
 Sustainability Related Social Media Specialist
 Sustainable Neighborhoods Community Organizer
 Permaculture Designer/Contractor or Sustainable
Landscape Architect
 • Climate Change Risk Assessor and Mitigation Expert
 • Sustainable Transportation Planner
 • Federal, state and Local Energy and Other Sustainability
Related Staff (e.g. economic development, workforce
development)
 • Corporate Social Responsibility Staff
 • Corporate Sustainability Staff
 • Energy Manager
 • Facilities Director/Maintenance Staff

4. Clark University, Career Development
prepares students to:
 Assess transferable skills and be able to communicate them effectively to
potential employers.
 Prepare a response to: “Why do you want to work in this field?” “…For this
organization?”
 Articulate impact of professional and academic background, interests and
abilities.
 Perform informational interviews with people doing the work, learn from
them and build your professional network. Instill that networking
relationships are reciprocal.
 Establish a vision of career trajectory, and communicate strengths effectively.

5. Preparation
 Orientation includes required session: Career Development Overview
 While one foot is in, the other is out the door
 Establish a plan, take ownership
 Be Flexible and think broadly
 No, it’s not too early
 Apply research skills to the job search
 Tap into hidden job market; get comfortable, being uncomfortable
 Speak with alumni, professionals in your field
 Be interested, take notes, show gratitude
 Help people…… help you

6. NetWORKing leads to WORK
 Networking is sharing insight, wisdom, ideas
 Reciprocal
 Talk less, listen more
 Long term
 If done correctly, it’s not disingenuous

7. Practice the pitch
 Identify skills pertaining to positions
 Articulate outcomes/achievements
 Become comfortable speaking about what you want to do and why
 PAR’s Model (S.Hanna, 2010)
 PROJECT: specific tasks, responsibilities, expectations
 ACTION: approach, methodology, application, analysis, problem solving
 RESULTS: outcome, impact, value added, recommendations

8. Think about it differently,
It’s not about you…..
 It’s about the organization: their goals/needs and what
you can do for them
 Reframe approach: Consider yourself a problem-solver,
not a job seeker
 Present professional, accomplished image vs. new grad
 Anticipate need and provide solutions

9. Core competencies for effective delivery
 Delivery-related: interpret, take initiative, seek best
practice, work with a team, resolve conflict
 Strategic: awareness of impact, understand goals,
provide/receive constructive feedback, think critically
 Interpersonal: client/consumer focus, anticipate needs,
negotiate, influence

10. Employers seek…
 Entrepreneurial Spirit – ability to forecast new opportunities and methods
 Relationship Driven – cultivate and maintain business relationships and lead
 Detail Oriented - Meet Deadlines, receptive to clients and colleagues
 Systems-Thinking – Develop reporting systems that position the team to excel
on project reporting
 Self-Directed and Self-Motivated - work independently while still supporting
the efforts of the team.
 Mission Driven – Connection to business, systems and stakeholders and
passion for mission

11. Clark University
Environmental Science and Policy
 Creative, critical thinking and problem solving – framing and understanding issues in
diverse ways; crafting creative, strategic responses to complex problems by factoring
in a rich set of criteria, informed by sustainability principles.
 Scientific/technical literacy –command of technical and scientific languages and
theory to describe problems/issues, draw from natural sciences, engineering, social
sciences and humanities.
 Integrative analysis/synthesis - ability to use systems modeling to understand dynamic
human-environment systems, explore policy implications, and integrate across
sectors/topics/issues.
 Critical policy perspective –well-developed understanding of policy implications and
relevance of scientific knowledge, social, economic and cultural contexts of policy,
and the politics/power dynamics that influence public policy.

12. Clark University
Environmental Science and Policy
 Quantitative, qualitative and narrative research and data analysis skills - command of
mixed-methods approaches consistent with our integrative signature.
 GIS and Information & Communication Technologies –working knowledge of GIS, core
competency with Excel®, SPSS® other stats software, and databases.
 Practical Field and/or Lab Experience –working knowledge to design environmental
field studies -- sampling techniques and field measurement.
 Knowledge of Partnership Approaches –working knowledge to collaborate with multiple
stakeholders – stakeholder engagement and dialogue, conflict mediation.
 Communication Competency - writing skills, oral skills (incl. presentations and running
meetings)
 Motivation, Initiative, Resilience & Drive –nurture and develop, research projects and
mentoring/advising.

13. Recommended resources
 www.ecojobs.com
 www.greendreamjobs.com
 www.greenjobs.net
 www.renewableenergyjobs.com
 www.jobs.treehugger.com
 www.idealist.org
 http://www.onetcenter.org/green.
html
LinkedIn Groups to consider:
 Green Jobs and Career Network
 Jobs 2.0: Green Renewable Energy,
Clean Tech, CSR Environment,
Climate Change, RD
 Green Energy & Sustainability
Careers and Jobs
 Alumni groups