Career Reinvention and
Personal Brand Strategist
rbussin@AspireForSuccess.com
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By: Randi Bussin-Career Coach, Personal Branding Specialist
Since Carol McClelland will be joining us on the blog on March 18th, I thought I would share my opinion of her recent book Green Careers for Dummies. When Carol sent me book, I was really eager to review it, not only to increase my own knowledge, but to also provide information and tools to my clients.
In the book, Carol does an excellent job setting the reader’s expectations about employment within this sector. She reminds readers that the sector is in its infancy, that it is growing quickly and that job titles, job descriptions and career resources are still in flux. I found this expectation setting to be very helpful.
For individuals just starting out their exploration in this green economy, Carol provides numerous exercises and assessment tools to help the job seeker narrow down their green focus and interest in the green economy. (Check out the related article on our blog http://bit.ly/bsKChq.
The book has a vast overview of the sub sectors within the green economy, including environmental science, natural resources, alternative energy, green building, green manufacturing, smart grid, transportation etc. For each sub industry, she includes industry trends, websites, and resources for further exploration. Even though there is a lot of information, it is well organized so it can serve as your “green encyclopedia” for future reference.
At the end of the book, Carol offers advice on how to move forward with your job search once your green goal has been narrowed down. This section includes information on training and education, networking and volunteer opportunities.
In summary, this book provides one-stop shopping on how to explore a green career and is a must have for anyone considering a career in this sector.
Career Coach Articles > Industries to Watch
Use the following address when linking to this page: http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog/182
By: Randi Bussin-Career Coach, Personal Branding Specialist
Todays post is the second of four posts this month by guest author Carol McClelland on green careers. Carol will also appear live on our blog on March 18th to answer your questions about green careers. Stay tuned!!
In my last post, I helped you expand how you think about the green economy. Now that you have a better sense of what industries and sectors are taking actions to become greener, cleaner, and more sustainable, it’s time to identify where you will focus your intentions and attentions.
Your green niche is the place in the green economy where you are perfectly suited to thrive based on your unique combination of skills, interests, talents, education, and experience.
To identify your green niche, it’s important to take a broad look at your skills and interests. Take some time to brainstorm your favorite skills and interests from your professional life as well as your personal life. Then see how your favorites weave together to give you a unique competitive advantage within an industry or sector within the green economy. If you are drawn to two or three career ideas, carry them all forward in the process I’ll describe in my next post.
As you explore your options, avoid the temptation to latch onto the current hot industry or just one of your signature skills or interests. Either strategy limits your options and keeps you from seeing how you can leverage your uniqueness during your job search.
It takes focus, commitment, and perseverance to take yourself through the process of identifying your green niche, but the payoff is worth the effort! When you know where you are heading, you’ll have a much easier time determining which resources to explore, what meetings to attend, who to talk to, and what training programs to pursue.
As special note to those who need to find a job right now: You may be tempted to skip this step because it feels like it will take too much time. In reality, however, the time you invest getting clear on your green career focus will pay off in making your job search activities more focused, productive, and effective. Rather than going after any and every job that sounds possible, having a clear green focus will allow you to pursue the positions that are the best fit for you and your goals.
In my next post I’ll share how important it is to understand your target green industry to determine where your skills are most important.
Career Coach Articles > Industries to Watch
Use the following address when linking to this page: http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog/181
By: Randi Bussin-Career Coach, Personal Branding Specialist
By Carol McClelland, Author of "Green Careers for Dummies" and Founder of www.greencareercentral.com.
Todays post is the first of four posts this month by guest author Carol McClelland on green careers. Carol will also appear live on our blog on March 18th to answer your questions about green careers. Stay tuned!!
Before you can decide on your green career, you must take a little time to get a sense of the green economy from a big picture point of view.
Just relying on what you hear in the mainstream media isn’t enough because the media tends to focus on a subset of emerging green industries. Furthermore, the media is trying to highlight immediate opportunities, while missing some of the larger opportunities out on the horizon.
Use these key points to get a sense of how the green economy is evolving.
- In researching my book, Green Careers For Dummies, I discovered over 50 industries and sectors that are rethinking and reworking their business practices to reduce their impact on the environment and enhance their impact on their community.
- The green economy is not static. It’s constantly evolving, being shaped by a complex combination of a number of factors including policy, funding, partnerships, rebates and tax credits, innovation, and science.
- Significant, game changing announcements are being made in many of these industries on a regular basis. Watch for announcements through industry/trade associations can keep you up to date.
- Although it’s important to be realistic about short-term opportunities in this emerging economy, keep an eye on projections for long term growth as well. This new economy will be unfolding over time. Don’t turn away from an interesting career direction because the short-term opportunities are limited. Use this time to prepare yourself to be ready to jump into your target career when that industry is ready to open up.
- Industries and sectors going green fall into several distinct categories.
- Traditionally focused on environmental issues-environmental sciences, natural resource management.
- Traditional industries going green-building, transportation, manufacturing.
- Emerging industries that are creating new jobs-smart grid, information technology, clean tech industries.
- Functions that focus on stimulating demand for greener actions, purchases, and decisions. Think policy, finance, environmental education, marketing and sales.
In my next post, I’ll talk about how identifying your green focus speeds up your search for a green career.
Career Coach Articles > Industries to Watch
Use the following address when linking to this page: http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog/180
By: Randi Bussin-Career Coach, Personal Branding Specialist
This month on my blog, I am going to be focusing on the green sector, including posting numerous articles that have been written by Carol McClelland, author of Green Careers for Dummies. As I was thinking about content for this month, I thought it would be a good idea to begin the month, with an overview of the investment flows into this sector.
My preferred resource for venture capital investments is the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Money Tree Survey, which I have monitored for years. The survey is a vast resource of investment dollars, by region and also by industry sector. Another good resource to monitor for the green sector is the Cleantech Group.
Regardless of the resource you visit, it is clear that cleantech or the green sector is receiving a good portion of venture capital investment. In Q3 of 2009, clean energy received 19% of the total investments, just behind the biotech sector. In Q4, the sector was in fourth place, behind biotech and medical devices (Pwc Money Tree Survey). The two largest regions receiving investments are Silicon Valley and New England.
The green sector or economy is huge, so where is the money going? The hot deals and subsectors are the following:
§ Energy Efficiency-any firms that have products or technologies that reduce energy consumption.
§ Smart Grid-firms seeking to improve outmoded electricity delivery systems and firms providing equipment to enable smart meters to communicate with utilities.
§ Green Transportation-makers of more efficient cars.
§ Renewable Energies- such as wind and solar.
Career Coach Articles > Industries to Watch
Use the following address when linking to this page: http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog/179
By: Randi Bussin-Career Coach, Personal Branding Specialist
The Conference Board, a Washington D.C. research group just recently released some very alarming data on job satisfaction in the U.S. The survey reveals that only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their work, down from 49% in 2008.
One would automatically jump to the conclusion that job dissatisfaction is directly related to the recession and current economic climate. This economy certainly contributes to unhappiness at work, but the survey points to bigger issues:
§ Workers do not consider their work interesting.
§ Incomes have not kept up with inflation.
§ Rising costs of health insurance eat into take home pay.
So is this a bad thing, if workers are unhappy? Well actually it is for corporations.
Unhappy workers are less creative and they stifle innovation. They are also less likely to foster a team environment at work and mentor younger works, who really need their support and guidance.
To read the complete article, go to:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34691428/ns/business-careers/
Career Coach Articles > Employment Trends
Use the following address when linking to this page: http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog/178
By: Randi Bussin-Career Coach, Personal Branding Specialist
In this month’s issue of the Harvard Business Review, there was a very interesting article on the mistakes that seasoned C-level executives make when changing jobs. The article was done following research with executive search consultants, HR Executives and C-level executives and points to five major blunders these seasoned executives make:
Mistake 1-Executives Did Not Do Their Homework
The researchers found that despite executives strong backgrounds in their disciplines, when it comes to job change, they did not do their due diligence in the following areas:
§ They did not research the industry or job function to understand the job-market realities of where they were heading.
§ They did not research the financial stability of the potential employer.
§ They did not research the cultural fit between themselves and the firm.
§ They did not explore the alignment between the job title and their actual job duties or functions.
§ They did not ask how performance in the new role would be measured.
Mistake 2-Leaving For Money
Although C-level executives stated that money/income was not their top “reward” they were seeking with new employment, when it came to decision-making, they always put money first. They forgot to consider other rewards that might be possible with their current employer such as opportunity for advancement, professional development and mentoring.
Mistake 3-Running From The pain
These executives became so unhappy in their current roles that they tended to lurch from one place to another with “artificial urgency”. They were NOT strategic about their choices nor did they evaluate if there were other opportunities for them in their existing firm.
Mistake 4-Unrealistic Self Awareness
The executives who were interviewed tended to have an unrealistic view of their skills, strengths and opportunities available to them. They were not strong in self-analysis and tended to blame their organization for their woes.
They also had very unrealistic expectations regarding how long it would take to find a job and what they could make in the new role.
Mistake 5-Short-Term Thinking
Even though short-term thinking feeds into the other mistakes, this was also cited as a major career misstep on it own.
Recommendations:
The article listed several recommendations to overcome these mistakes, to which I have added in my own comments.
§ Be self-aware and evaluate your strengths, skills and unique differentiators. Also understand your weaknesses, especially if they are blocking you from reaching your goals. (Yes, this is a big part of the work that goes into extracting your Personal Brand!)
§ Do your homework and ask alot of questions before you join a new company. Use social media tools such LinkedIn to find people whom you can speak with to get the inside scoop.
§ Have a back up plan for your career-don’t just think short-term.
§ Try to salvage your current situation by either moving to another role in your firm, if possible, or having an open dialogue with your manager about what is not working for you.
§ If you do leave and make a mistake, don’t jump from the frying pan to the fire.
To read more, visit:
Career Coach Articles > Job Search
Use the following address when linking to this page: http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog/177
By: Randi Bussin-Career Coach, Personal Branding Specialist
January’s Recruiter Confidence Index from Execunet shows that a growing number of companies are adding executive jobs and that fewer firms are eliminating them The monthly study confirms that the economic recovery is beginning to take hold. In January, 64% of companies said they are “confident” or “very confident” that the executive job market will improve in the next six months.
This Index, which is published monthly by Execunet, survey’s executive search firms and is a key indicator in the executive job market.
To learn more about Exeunet or to read about the survey, go to www.execunet.com
Career Coach Articles > Employment Trends
Use the following address when linking to this page: http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog/176
Showing page 1 of 26 pages [Next] [Last Page]
- Book Review-Green Careers for Dummies
- Finding Your Green Niche: Claiming Your Piece of the Green Economy
- Creating a Green Focus: Understanding the Full Scope of the Green Economy
- Investment Dollars are Flowing into the Green Sector
- Job satisfaction in the U.S. falls to an all time low
- Are you Planning Your Job Change Carefully? C-Level Executives Makes Mistakes When Changing Roles
- Recruiter Confidence Points to Executive Job Growth
