ENVIROlocity™

If you feel like the career search is one of the most stressful times you’ve ever experienced, you’re not alone. Whether you’ve suddenly become unemployed and are racing against your savings running out, or you don’t want your crappy 9-to-5 finding out that you’ve been poking around LinkedIn from 5-to-9, there’s a general sense of fear and uncertainty that looms over the job hunt. 

It is a monumental challenge to stay positive during this period of not knowing. How you manage your mindset, however, is one of the most important factors in getting you through this time and landing your dream job. Defeatist attitudes stemming from pessimistic thoughts can be a hidden factor that’s keeping you from securing your next role.

Don’t Let the Rejections Get You Down

The first lesson every job seeker has to learn is how to overcome rejection. It can be heart-wrenching to apply for a job at your dream company, painstakingly edit your resume,...

You’re excited — but also nervous. 

You got the interview, now it’s time to get ready.

13 quick tips to help you prepare for your upcoming job interview.

Before the Interview Tips:

1. Research the company

Awaken your inner stalker. Do some research into the company you’re interviewing for. 

Look at the company’s website, check out their LinkedIn, Google them, Bing them, read news articles, and keep researching until you have a thorough understanding of the company’s culture, mission, and values.

2. Dress for success

Making a good first impression is EVERYTHING.  

Research the company’s dress code and make sure you dress accordingly. You don’t wanna be wearing basketball shorts when everyone else is in suits. 

3. Prepare a few relevant short stories

Don’t just regurgitate what’s on your resume.  

Instead — highlight your skills with short stories explaining how you got them, why you...

Does anyone want to give me a job? Anybody? Hello?

Does asking for an informational interview feel a little like begging to you?  Experts keep saying that informational interviews are getting harder to get yet those same experts are encouraging career seekers to keep asking for them. Let’s put an end to the informational interview, shall we? Or, at least, let’s define them better.

The most difficult aspects of asking for an informational interview are:

• Being unsure who to invite
• Being unsure what to say in the invite
• It just feels awkward 

I believe a lot of that comes from the use of the term “interview”. My suggestion is that we stop calling these things informational interviews as they have come to be known - attempts to cheat the systems and get hired without waiting for a job to be posted. It is for that reason, people are becoming less and less likely to accept your invitation. 

Instead of asking the VP of the environmental firm...

You had it! For one shining moment you were so sure the next position you applied for was yours! Then you didn’t get that one. Ok, that wasn’t “the one” but this next one this is it! I’m perfect, this is so right for me. And then you don’t get that one either. This can put you head first into a downward spiral very fast. You must have systems in place to intercede and keep you on track. How do you keep carrying that confidence, courage, and momentum forward when you keep getting punched in the guts?

“You can’t fail if you don’t quit” - Grant Cardone, Be Obsessed or Be Average

There is a huge drop out rate for STEM careers. Especially for women. It’s still a male-dominated industry and it’s tough to balance life and work in a STEM or environmental position. There are many reasons people leave before they reach their full potential in these roles. One reason is that it’s hard to get the exact job you want...

No one wants to hire someone who isn’t capable of getting the job done or who needs their hand held all day. Although this is generally true in any market, it is particularly evident in the environmental industry. Environmental jobs come with hefty responsibility. It isn’t ok to drop the ball or wait for someone else to pick up after you because the environmental - habitat, conservation, or other - mission is at stake. Field days are hard to reschedule, scientific data can’t be recouped if it was missed or messed up, and sometimes things just don’t go as planned. Environmental jobs require people who can improvise and think on their feet.

There are three key characteristics wrapped up in self-reliance including:

1. Resourcefulness - the ability to find a way around obstacles and create or find solutions
2. Reliability - the ability to show up and follow through when expected
3. Resilience - the ability to bounce back when things do not go your way or...

Are you the type of person who is constantly going back and forth when trying to make a decision? Especially when it comes to spending money or making long term choices? Do you second guess decisions or purchases after you’ve made them? I am here to tell you the flip-flopper affliction is not going to get better on its own and it can be very self-defeating in your job search.

The job search is all about making decisions. Big decisions that will affect every aspect of your future. How much money you’ll make, who you’ll spend most of your time with, and how satisfied you’ll be in life in general. The key is that its the little choices you make now that will ultimately affect those larger decisions. Which companies should you apply to? What training should you take? Where should you spend your time networking?

If you can’t seem to nail any of these down, take a look in the mirror and a look down the road. Who are you? What is important to...

Picture a banker, a baker, a pet shop owner, and an engineer. You could create a particular avatar for each one. Now picture an environmental engineer. Did the picture change?

The reason for this is not stereotyping; it’s a reality that there are commonalities among the professions. Each of the persons in these professions got there because of a core set of values that they each have in common. These values then show outwardly.

The same is valid for environmental professionals. Environmental professionals’ values include things like a love of the outdoors, caring for animals, or caring about animal use as it pertains to sustainability, meeting new people, exploring, etc.  

There is more to your brand than just your general appearance. It is also your character, how you represent yourself, how you treat others, which all make up your reputation. This is the part that you want to be sure to take part in developing for these three reasons:

 Self-awareness

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