Some hope (and tips) for sustainability job seekers during COVID-19

Like many of you, I have family, friends, colleagues, and clients that have been, and continue to be, deeply affected by the coronavirus.  Some have gotten sick, several have lost their jobs, and all are dealing with the mental health implications of either social isolation or providing an essential service to the public during a pandemic. 

After spending too much time reading record-breaking bad news, I desperately needed to find some hope.  So, I did what I always do when I need help – I reached out to my friends and colleagues who work in sustainability.  Those of you already in this field know that there is no better group of problem solvers, analytical thinkers, or optimists out there and I was fortunate to have some great conversations that gave me the hope I was looking for.  Please don’t get me wrong: things are very, very bad right now on a number of different levels.  But I was able to uncover a lot of signs pointing to the fact that things will, eventually, get better, at least from an economic and jobs perspective. 

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For starters, there are several incredibly smart people who think things will get consistently better once people can move freely again.  Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO at BlackRock, wrote in an article on March 30^th that while there are significant risks and challenges ahead, he believes that the economy will recover steadily.  His position is based on the fact that the global markets aren’t fighting against the same structural challenges as they were during the 2008 financial crisis coupled with the fact that central banks and governments are moving quickly to respond.

So that’s some good news for the economy overall.  How about sustainability in particular?  There was a lot of speculation in 2008 that companies would simply dump their sustainability programs the moment the economy and profits shrank.  And while some did, many did not, and I think that corporate sustainability programs will fare even better during this crisis.  John Davies, Vice President and Senior Analyst at GreenBiz Group, sat down on April 6^th with Cynthia Curtis, SVP of Sustainability at JLL, and Jeff Senne, Responsible Business Leader at PwC, to chat about how the pandemic is affecting the profession of sustainability.  The entire article is worth a read as the guests discuss their beliefs that the “Social” component of ESG will emerge as an important topic for sustainability leaders going forward and we should all be prepared for that professionally.  For me, the most encouraging part of that article was that they all seemed to agree that companies that have been investing in embedding sustainability practices across their businesses are likely to survive or even emerge stronger once this pandemic is over.  That’s reassuring if you’re a job seeker who wants to work in corporate sustainability since it tells me there are many companies out there who are likely to continue to invest in those efforts even in a recession. 

The graduate sustainability programs I spoke with indicated that Davies’ intuition is correct.  While several students have seen internships cancelled and some employers have decided not to move forward with the hiring process, those stories appear to be the exception and not the rule, at least for the time being.  Generally, the larger, well-established companies that come to graduate programs for sustainability talent have been honoring their commitments to both students and their sustainability initiatives.  Understandably, most, if not all, of these roles will be remote at least to start. 

One theory as to why this might be is that companies that invest in sustainability tend to be better managed and therefore have stronger balance sheets that can support continued hiring.  It could also be that companies with a strong focus on ESG performance are generally better at managing non-financial operating risks such as employee relations, consumer accommodations, and supply chain resilience.  These companies truly understand that how they treat their people during a crisis can have major implications for both brand reputation and their ability to attract and retain employees in the future.  

I continue to see about the average number of new jobs posted every day across corporate sustainability, sustainability consulting, circular economy, and climate related nonprofits by Katie Kross, Managing Director of the Center for Energy, Development, and Global Environment (EDGE) at Duke University and Ellen Weinreb, Managing Director of the executive search firm Weinreb Group.  It’s encouraging to see so many new job openings being created even as some cities are in the thick of their projected peak infection weeks.      

A quick look at Ed’s Clean Energy and Sustainability Jobs List from March 29^th and April 5^th was also filled with promise.  Many state energy agencies and national labs are still actively hiring.  I asked a friend who works at the intersection of energy and policy his thoughts as to why this is happening.  He said that because the budgeting cycle is so long for federal and state positions, many of these jobs are still funded and fairly secure.  And that’s generally true for most energy and sustainability related policy jobs in government; I’ve only heard of a handful of cities that have had to furlough employees in the sustainability office.  The cities that have done this had to do so because they get most of their funding from sales tax which has been badly impacted by businesses being closed.   

There is the possibility that some great energy jobs could be created out of the upcoming stimulus package that lawmakers are hoping to pass in April.  The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) included over $20 billion for renewable energy tax cuts and weatherization.  Now, even more than a decade later, there is still huge potential in this country for additional investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy infrastructure such as EV charging stations.  The World Resources Institute (WRI) hosted a webinar on April 3^rd explaining the benefits of including something similar to ARRA in future stimulus packages in order to create jobs and further decarbonize our economy. 

The recruiters I spoke with had also noticed an encouraging trend.  While there was a dip in overall open positions in March, there was a significant increase in the number of banking and finance roles related to ESG, risk management, and climate change.  Continued investor demand is pushing more and more companies to look for leaders with experience analyzing and addressing the risks associated with climate change, engaging with impact investors, and ensuring that portfolio companies are complying with the ever-increasing number of regulations around energy management and other issues.  That’s fantastic news for folks who want to work in ESG and risk functions from reporting to analysis to program management.   

The main point I’d like you to take away from all this is:  if you are a job seeker right now, don’t worry, things will get better.  Yes, hiring for many roles in the sustainability space has slowed, a lot, but it hasn’t stopped entirely and there are several areas like finance, policy, and (possibly) clean energy that are still actively hiring or will be very soon.  There are many indicators that once people can go back to work, we’ll start to see hiring pick back up, and there will still be corporate sustainability teams left to join.  

So now what?

Now that you know that hiring for work in sustainability is still happening (hooray!), what does that mean for you as a job seeker? 

1. It’s time to double down on your networking – with some minor adjustments

If you’ve ever read any of my articles or heard my interview on the Sustainability Defined podcast, you already know that I’m a big believer in the power of networking.  Now more than ever, is when your investments in relationship building and putting yourself out there are going to pay off.  Keep working on your strategic networking plan as much as possible.  As you reach out to both new and established connections, try to keep a few things in mind:

• Be sensitive to the fact that the other person’s life may be a bit upside down at the moment.  While some people are home with nothing but free time on their hands, others may be trying to juggle adjusting to full time remote work with homeschooling their kids, caring for elderly relatives, or ensuring they have enough food in the pantry to get through the week.  When asking for a few moments of someone’s time to chat, be sure to include an acknowledgement that now might not be a good time.  Be patient and offer flexibility to connect sometime in the future if that’s the case.
• Now is a great time to lend a hand, if you can.  Some professional networks are struggling to find ways to keep members connected and engaged, and many nonprofits aren’t able to host fundraising events that are critical to keeping their programs running.  If there’s an organization you have a relationship with or want to get involved with, reach out to a few board members and offer to help them with organizing an online event, conducting membership outreach, or anything else you could bring to the table. 
• Get involved in a political campaign.  Eban Goodstein, Director of Graduate Education in Sustainability at Bard College in New York, encouraged everyone during the Solve Climate by 2030 event to find a candidate that they believe in and get involved in their 2020 campaign.  It’s a great way to expand your network, learn a lot about the issues, and build communication, persuasion, and other important skills.  This is also an incredibly exciting time get involved since canvassers are unlikely to be knocking on doors anytime soon and campaigns will need help with coming up with new ways to do effective outreach. 

2. Prepare yourself and your space for remote interviewing

Those companies that are continuing to hire have moved to totally remote interviewing, and now is not the time to wing it with new technologies or techniques.  Acre, a sustainability recruiting firm with offices in New York and the UK, came up with some great tips on how to prepare yourself and your home work space for a successful remote interview.  Need more preparation?  Inc. and Fast Company have some good ideas too.   

3. Consider skill building jobs

You may have your heart set on a job working in corporate sustainability, or the circular economy, or impact investing.  But we need to acknowledge that there is a possibility that you might not be able to connect with that exact job right now.   It’s important to remember that skill building jobs can be important stepping stones to that ultimate dream job too. 

Maybe you want to want to work in communications for a sustainability focused nonprofit but you can’t find any nonprofits that are hiring right now.  Consider taking a role at a for-profit company that would give you experience in running social media campaigns or writing press releases even if it’s not focused on the issues that you want to work on.  The important thing is to start building or strengthening the skills that will be valuable in your target role eventually. 

4. Pick up some skills

If you have the luxury of free time these days, a great way to spend some of it (besides networking) is to pick up some new skills.  I wrote an article last year about sustainability learning you can do from home and there are many more resources listed on the education page.  Spend some time getting familiar with the options and try to think strategically about which subjects or certifications will be relevant to your target position.  If you’re not sure what might be relevant, that’s a great question for all those new connections you’ll be reaching out to as part of your networking plan. 

5. Be patient and flexible

100% remote hiring is new to a lot of companies and many of them are still trying to figure it out.  Combine that with the fact that hiring managers are probably still adjusting to fully remote working situations and you have a recipe for a much longer recruiting process.  Be patient and understanding with everyone involved.  Follow up diligently and respectfully, but realize things just might take a lot longer than you were planning for.  And remember to be kind if your interviewer’s four-year-old bursts in on your conversation or if their dog chooses that exact moment to start barking for no reason. 

Many companies are also concerned about the future right now, and hiring a new full-time employee can be an expensive risk to take.  If you find your potential employer is a bit skittish about committing to a full-time situation, consider offering to do a trial period or starting part-time to make sure you’re a good match.  This shouldn’t be your starting point, but keep this option in your back pocket in case it looks like they like you but aren’t ready to move forward with a full-time position right now. 

6. It’s OK to take a job that makes ends meet

I always encourage my clients to be strategic and to find jobs that support their long-term career goals, but let’s be real – sometimes you just need a job so you can pay rent and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, especially during a global crisis.  If you need a job right now, here are some resources for remote, full-time, part-time, permanent, or short-term jobs that are hiring now:

• We Work Remotely has a wide variety of both full time and contract remote jobs available.  They had a Business Analyst role for a solar startup on April 5^th. 
• Workew also has a good variety of remote positions.  They had a Social Impact & Career Growth Fellowship with MovingWorlds posted on March 3^rd. 
• Remotive has predominantly software, design, marketing, and customer support roles, but they do have a few data science and strategy roles available. 
• RemoteOK is very similar to Remotive in terms of the job type mix, but it looks like they have posts from different companies. 
• LinkedIn has been doing some awesome coverage of the impact of COVID-19 on the jobs market.  They update their list of companies who are hiring right now on a daily basis.  You can also search LinkedIn for the #HiringNow hashtag or visit their jobs page.    
• Biron Clark of Career Sidekick wrote a great article about jobs that can be done remotely.  It doesn’t have any links to open positions, but it’s great for generating ideas about what kind of remote work might be a good fit for you.  Biron’s site also has some great general job search advice. 

7. Do something positive, right now

If you have the time, call your representative and both senators to let them know you’d like to see more funding for clean and renewable energy in the next stimulus package.  Go to govtrack.us, enter your address, and it will list your representatives and their phone number; it takes less than five minutes per call.  If nothing else, you’ll have done at least three good deeds today, and that feels good.       

I hope that these observations and resources have given you at least a little bit of the hope that I found this week.  If you’re looking for more tools or inspiration to help you with your job search, please make sure to visit the Interviews, Job Resources, and Education pages.  If you’d like some personalized advice to help you with your job search, reach out via the Contact Us page at any time; I’d love to support you in any way that I can.