July 20, 2005
Our thanks to Andy Padian and Sharon Griffith for their presentation on July 20, 2005. See pictures of the event
here.
Is your parachute green? If you are committed to green and sustainable causes, and you want to work or change jobs in that field, where do you go? There are many local and regional firms that are looking for intro, mid-level, and advanced staff, and are having trouble hiring. Learn who hires, what experience is needed, and how to present your resume and credentials to get the job you are looking for.
FORUM NOTES
Job Search Sites, Organizations, Networking, and Tips:
www.energycentral.com — Energy and power industry website with numerous job listings under
www.energycentraljobs.com
www.energyusernews.com — More dedicated to industrial/commercial, with job listings
www.sustainablebusiness.com — Seems to have a fairly extensive job listing
http://www.buildinggreen.com — Publishers of Environmental Building News, Building Green and GreenSpec, all industry bibles.
http://www.usajobs.gov — listing of all federal job listings
http://www.nyrag.org — NY Regional Association of Grantmakers has links to philanthropic orgs
The New York Times Sunday Classified — Spend the 4 bucks, read it cover to cover for a few weeks; you’ll be surprised how many sustainable jobs are not listed in the categories you would look in. Just Google “sustainable jobs†and you’ll get buried.
www.GreenHomeNYC.org — You’re here tonight, aren’t you?
www.usgbc.org — US Green Building Council
www.nesea.org — The Northeast sustainable Energy Association (GreenHomeNYC is the New York City
chapter) has at least one great networking conference a year.
www.affordablecomfort.org — great for small residential building science practitioners who want to learn a lot in a week’s time. At least one conference a year.
www.greendrinks.org NYC and Brooklyn divisions that offer good networking
www.nyserda.org They have more programs than you can shake a stick at. Learn them. Use them.
www.energystar.gov Really good appliance and electric efficiency site
www.buildingamerica.gov Research from Department of Energy and Building America Teams
www.huduser.org Amazing amount of info on HUD and Housing research undertaken by HUD
www.pathnet.org HUD and National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) website on housing innovation and technology
www.nyc.gov With a little navigating, you’ll find the NYC government job listings
www.aceee.org American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
www.need.org National Energy Education Development Project
Resume/Job Hunting General Tips:
Your resume is an advertisement for you; make it interesting and to the point
Resumes: Small margins, reduced white space, bullet or paragraph information
Tailor your resume to each job listing
Open your resume with what your experience or employment objective is
Describe your relevant experience first, even if it’s volunteer work
Show responsible jobs, like making money through college to pay bills
We know you went to a good school, but it and your GPA are not the most important things
Relevant school jobs/activities that show interest and responsibility are important
Use active verbs in each job description to denote what you did: managed, supervised, etc.
Five page resumes are for Nobel laureates and pompous a-holes; 1 to 2 pager is plenty
Get a mentor, or a few of them, in different fields of your interest
Cover letter is as key as resume; describe your interests and knowledge of the company
Research the company before you apply and/or interview
Know the company before you apply; display your knowledge in cover letter and interview
Volunteer for good organizations, like GreenHomeNYC!
Read all of the trade rags, particularly industry-wide ones that do not interest you
Become proficient in a niche or two, and have a good understanding of associated niches
Be assertive if you want a job, the squeaky wheel DOES get the grease
Don’t pester — there are plenty of pests but not dedicated employees
If you want to work for a specific company and you have some skills but not all, try to create a niche by multitasking for the company to start
If you are interviewing, ask what the company dress code/style is; overdressing or underdressing
Use spell check and have someone (or two) proof your resume; an error on YOUR RESUME shows lack of attention to detail and disinterest in writing quality
Offer references and writing samples; don’t include them unless they are asked for
Have good writing samples at your fingertips if asked: small, medium, detailed
Ask people you want to work for/with — “What do you do?â€
Volunteer to write for publications — they always need writers, and you’re published.
Don’t be intimidated by “experts†— Like all people there are good and bad ones
Join professional organizations that are associated with the field you’re in: AIA, AEE, ASHRAE, APA…
Good technical, practical experience and knowledge in your field always impresses
Writing, math, reading comprehension, conversational and LISTENING skills are all important.
Did I say Listening skills are important? Guys, don’t over-demonstrate your gender.
Presentation skills/public speaking skills can be very important.
Are you interested about expanding your knowledge? Demonstrate it.
SPEAKER BIOS
F.L. Andrew Padian,
Steven Winter Associates (SWA).
Andy has 25 years experience in the for-profit, non-profit, government, and acedemic fields in energy efficiency, policy, engineering, and program mangement aspects of high performance buildings. He has been with SWA for over 6 years; SWA is a leading high perfomance building engineering and architecture firm with 33 years in business.
Sharon Griffith,
NYSERDA.
Sharon is a Project Manager with NYSERDA’s NYC office, and is responsible for local and regional residential energy efficiency programs. Prior to working for NYSERDA, Ms. Griffith was a field inspector for the NYS Weatherization Assistance Program. She is a nationally known speaker on energy efficiency and high performance buildings.
When: Wednesday, July 20th, 6:30-8pm
Where: Kimball Lounge, NYU – 246 Greene Street
