Climate-conscious networking for professionals

The recessionary economic mindset has made it riskier for employees to speak up, but many are frustrated with corporate silence on climate issues. There are groups active at Amazon and Google, to name just two. Participation is especially strong in Europe and Asia where political backlash against ESG has been less severe. “The current political climate in the U.S. is not conducive to any climate-positive action,” said Justin Lumpkin, a YouTube software engineer who’s part of an activist network called the Cross Company Alliance. The alliance's mission is to share best practices for campaigns, starting with a focus on how employees can encourage their employers to create “climate-safe” 401k fund options. It is using Google as a test case, where the work is supported by more than 1,200 employees. Many companies have “green teams” working on internally sanctioned programs such as hosting Earth Day events or advocating zero-waste initiatives. Employee climate action groups are self-organized to tackle more controversial issues, such as advocating fossil fuels-free investment options for 401k retirement plans, pushing for low-carbon procurement policies or campaigning for their employer to fire clients that perpetuate oil and gas exploration and production.  There’s no corporate playbook for integrating ideas and suggestions from employee activists, but there should be, said Alison Taylor, clinical associate professor with NYU Stern School of Business. “My classes are full of frustrated young people that want an outlet,” Taylor said. “If your company is going to discourage this, what are you putting in place? If you’re going to encourage it, what are you really going to do with these decisions?” The Employee Climate Action Network was launched in June to support corporate activists. Its first resource features more than 100 guides and case studies to help employee advocates — both those just starting out and those seeking to scale their efforts. Project Drawdown contributed tutorials covering topics such as how product designers and sales teams can add climate considerations into their work. There are step-by-step guides for organizing communities contributed by former Amazon and Microsoft employees. There is no fee to join the network. “The ultimate goal is to scale the number of employees that are actively working to create change from the inside and to build solidarity across geographies,” said Deborah McNamara, executive director of ClimateVoice, one of the founding organizations. You can read more details from my feature here: https://lnkd.in/egM88ePB

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼, 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗱. So many solutions, so many paths. I made plenty of mistakes before I found my niche. If I could go back, here’s what I wish I knew: 🔬 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀. I started with books like ‘How to Avoid a Climate Disaster’ by Bill Gates and Speed&Scale by John Doerr. These books were helpful, but were very tech and VC-centered perspectives. Project Regeneration’s Cascade of Solutions was ultimately a better, more objective, and comprehensive resource. 📕 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. Work on Climate’s #i-got-a-job channel is full of successful climate transition journeys by engineers, designers, marketers, PhD candidates, and more. 👋 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. Terra was mine, but My Climate Journey (MCJ), Work on Climate, or Job Search Councils are great options. 😡 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. What do you want to protect from climate change? Who do you want to build for? What pisses you off? Your answers can point you to your niche. ⚓ 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲. If possible, keep your role & location the same while switching to climate—it makes the transition easier. 🚗 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀: come up with 2-3 ideas for where you might fit. This could be a climate solution (residential solar), a type of organization (large environmental nonprofit), or even a way to effect change in your current role. Use networking, side projects, or small actions to validate your fit. 🤝 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲: The Open Door Climate directory is full of folks happy to chat. After many twists & turns, I focused on software product management roles at climate tech startups where business and climate incentives were aligned. This led me to organizations like food waste and renewable energy, and away from areas like carbon removal. What climate niches are you interested in? How are you finding where you fit?

Networking is crucial for job hunting, but many have fear, get stuck, and don’t know where to begin. Here’s a proven technique that works for our climate-motivated job seekers to break into the space and create real opportunities for themselves through active job listings and accessing the "hidden job market". ➡️Step 1: Narrow Your Focus Target Specific Roles: Pick 1-2 job titles. (If you’re not looking to leave your non-climate job, Drew Wilkinson has tons of resources for you) Target Specific Climate Verticals: Use resources like Work on Climate, MCJ Collective, ClimateTechList, Climate Tech Action Network, Terra.do, OnePointFive (opf.degree), Voiz Academy, Project Drawdown and Climatescape to identify the climate solutions you're most passionate about. ➡️Step 2: Identify Companies Leverage LinkedIn: Follow relevant companies and executives. Explore Accelerators: Find innovative companies through climate-focused accelerators. Use Market Maps: Identify key players in specific climate sectors (Sightline Climate (CTVC) has lots). Climate Specific Job Boards (hey ClimateTechList, Climatebase, The Green Jobs Board - greenjobsearch.org) ➡️Step 3: Connect with the Right People Search Smart: Use job titles and keywords to find contacts. Ask for Referrals: Get introduced to relevant people. Use #OpenDoorClimate: Find professionals open to networking (s/o Daniel Hill). ➡️Step 4: Build Genuine Relationships Be Prepared: Have specific questions ready. Show Authenticity: Treat networking like building friendships. Express Gratitude: Always thank and follow up with your contacts. ➡️Step 5: Enjoy Networking Engage in Fun Activities: Network in environments you enjoy. Be Yourself: Authenticity builds stronger connections (Laurie McGinley teaches this exceptionally well). ➡️Step 6: Test and Track Outreach Experiment: Try different message templates and track their success. Stay Organized: Keep records of your outreach and analyze what works (here’s a template that can help: https://lnkd.in/eSf7TiEV) ➡️Step 7: Handle Rejections Be Proactive: Keep reaching out and participating actively. Normalize Rejections: Understand that rejections and lack of responses are part of the process. ➡️Step 8: Showcase Your Value Highlight Unique Skills: Clearly articulate what sets you apart (This is Mona Johnson, MS’s specialty). Address Challenges: Understand and solve the company's pain points. ➡️Step 9: Join Climate People's Climate Career Bootcamp! Get Practical: Our 4-hour session provides templates, resources, and confidence to enhance your job search. It’s jam-packed with actionable steps and will give you access to our network. This session is geared towards highly-motivated job seekers ready to put in the work! Learn more about the Bootcamp here! https://lnkd.in/epFH3xxx Read more of this networking advice in our most recent blog:  https://lnkd.in/eG4S3sQY 

On #EarthDay2024 , are you considering changing careers or continuing with a career change into #climateaction? It’s more doable than you may realize. Here are some great resources and people to follow to help you on your journey: 🌎 There are more than 1,700 professionals willing to talk with you, no strings attached, on #opendoorclimate. Daniel Hill founded this movement when he could no longer keep up with the flood of demand generated by his own open door policy (he directs innovation at Environmental Defense Fund). So he began recruiting others happy to offer informational interviews to jobseekers. To say this network has grown quickly is to say the space shuttle takes a leisurely ride into the atmosphere. Search the hashtag or visit the directory 👉 opendoorclimate.com. (Professionals, add your name!) 🌍 Follow Daniel Hill. Helping more people find or create climate-saving jobs is his passion. 🌏 Follow Yesh Pavlik Slenk, director of EDF’s Climate Corps fellowship and host of Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers. A font of wisdom on climate careers. 🌍 Follow Amy Morse, also at EDF. She’s a role model for anyone interested in saving the planet and in activism for causes she believes in. 🌎 Follow Mike Hower, a top expert in sustainability communication and one of the most generous people I know. Listen to his podcast, The Sustainability Communicator, and read his newsletter by the same name 👉https://bit.ly/3w47sDm 🌏 Follow Andrea Learned 🚲 Ⓥ 🎙️ She’s a climate influencer working with local and national leaders to help them communicate more effectively about on-the-ground climate change efforts. Listen to: 🌎 Degrees, Real talk about planet-saving careers. This green careers podcast highlights people working in climate careers or who have greened their “regular” job. Hosted by Yesh Pavlik Slenk. Season 5 offers practical steps toward getting a climate job, hosted by Daniel Hill. (Full disclosure: Podcast Allies has produced this show for six seasons, with gratitude to a phenomenal team including Tina Bassir, Mia Lobel, Stephanie Wolf, Tressa Versteeg, Andrew Parrella and many more.) 👉 https://lnkd.in/gFiGT2xz 🌍 Mountain & Prairie, a delightful and informative indie podcast produced by Ed Roberson. It’s eight years old and not to be missed. 👉https://lnkd.in/gw-KmER9 Good luck on your job hunt or on greening your career! P.S. I feel about Earth Day the same way I do about Black History Month and Women’s History Month — that we shouldn’t need them, because we should be giving the same “air time” to the planet, Black history, and women’s history all year as we do for so-called “mainstream” topics. But in the meantime, here we are. (Photo taken at sunrise from a houseboat in Kerala, India, January 2024.)

I've heard from thousands of green jobseekers that feel “stuck” in their journey to work on climate, with the four most common barriers being:  🤝 Lack of personal connections in the industry 🛠 Uncertainty on transferring skills 👷♀️ Lacking direct experience in the field 🔍 Challenges finding organizations or roles that align with interests   Last year, I hosted a mini-series of the Degrees Podcast called ‘The Year of the Climate Job.’ Each episode dissects these barriers and shares ways to overcome them. Here is the full series, along with key takeaways: 🤝 Lack of personal connections in the industry Episode: How to network for a green job with purpose-driven LinkedIn expert Nick Martin - https://lnkd.in/eNP6FJ9e Takeaways: - Browse the #OpenDoorClimate Directory to find climate professionals willing to connect and chat https://lnkd.in/gSf727gi - Use LinkedIn to build relationships with people you admire and contribute content yourself 🛠 Uncertainty on transferring skills Episode: Transfer your skills to a green job with Work on Climate’s Eugene Kirpichov - https://lnkd.in/ecjggq_V Takeaways: - Try to connect with people in jobs that you want to understand what skills they use day-to-day - Take stock of your own skills and remember that climate-focused companies need traditional skills 👷♀️ Lacking direct experience in the field Episode: Learn how to build your climate experience with Terra.do founder Anshuman Bapna - https://lnkd.in/e2tKYnTQ Takeaways: - Consider courses or certification programs that incorporate case studies or capstone projects - Try pitching yourself for freelance or project-based work or volunteerism 🔍 Challenges finding organizations or roles that align with interests Episode: Taking the mystery out of finding a green job with Green Jobs Board’s Kristy Drutman - https://lnkd.in/eZbJVPwJ Takeaways: - Pair skills with what you’re passionate about when searching general or climate job boards - Follow industry news and analysis hubs to learn about companies and potential roles 🤷♂️ Unsure how to use current job for climate action Episode: How to green any job with Project Drawdown’s Jamie Beck Alexander - https://lnkd.in/eMKVEFPN Takeaways: - Understand the leverage points of existing job functions have to take climate action - Organize with other interested coworkers to brainstorm and come together on issues and action I also recommend checking out the latest season of Degrees from Yesh Pavlik Slenk featuring some incredible guests, including Katharine Hayhoe, Solitaire Townsend, Drew Wilkinson and Shannon Houde,. https://lnkd.in/eba8GBdF

There are 19 days left in the year. Here are 3 things I would do NOW to land a Climate Job in 2025 🌎 1️⃣ Figure out your niche The number one thing you can do to accelerate your Climate job hunt is to get SPECIFIC. It accelerates your pace of learning, boosts the effectiveness of your networking activities, and allows you to be 10x more credible in a job interview. Best resource for this? Climate Drift They have a plethora of content that is explicitly designed to help you think through this problem. Want to go deeper? Their career accelerator program is top notch. 2️⃣ Update your Linkedin profile. Your Linkedin is your professional avatar. For all the same reasons that you would never show up to an important meeting in stained sweatpants and flip flops, your shouldn't show up online in a way that presents anything other than the best version of yourself. Some tactical tips: 😎 Get a clean, clear headshot. Not that one picture of you at your friend's wedding. Sorry. 📰 Have a clear headline. You know your niche, now put it in your bio! There's not a "right" way to do this, but if you want an easy format to follow, you can use "Role | Industry | Who you help and how". Example: "Data Scientist | Clean Energy | I help early stage clean energy businesses leverage data to achieve scale more efficiently" 📕 Use your bio to improve your SEO ranking. Talk about your skills, the results you've driven, and what you want in your next role. Pepper in tons of language that is specific to the niche you're chasing. This has a material impact on the SEO of your profile and increases the odds that recruiters will find you. 3️⃣ Make a list of 100 people to reach out to. The list should be half people that you already know, and half folks that you WANT to know. Start with the 50 people you know and set up catch up conversations. Use these chats to practice your elevator pitch. End every conversation by asking them who you should talk to next. Then, for the 50 that you WANT to know, figure out your plan of attack for getting in front of them. Best way in is a warm intro, but if you can't get that, don't be afraid to shoot your shot on Linkedin. Best resource I can recommend for putting this list together? Daniel Hill's #opendoorclimate list. Just google it, and boom, you've got hundreds of new climate connections waiting to meet with you. Do these three things in the next 19 days, and you'll be ready to hit the ground running in 2025 🙌 -- Want more advice on how to land a job in Climate? Follow me Cameron McDonald

1.7 million new jobs in India’s renewable energy sector by 2027, but here’s the catch: only 450,000 of the existing tech talent is employable🚨😎 Looks like we have a massive skills gap on our hands! I’ve been reflecting on this as someone who’s navigated the sustainability space for over a decade and launched All Bits Count to make climate action easier and more accessible🌍 While it’s inspiring to see the renewable energy sector booming, the challenge lies in getting more professionals—both early and seasoned—to reskill and step into these roles. 💼 When I started my journey in sustainability, I had to constantly pivot and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of green skills. It wasn’t always easy, but here’s the thing: the demand for these skills is only going to keep growing, and the earlier we start, the better. 🌱🔋 Here are 3 simple ways to start today: 1️⃣ Think beyond traditional learning. No need to enrol in full-time degrees. Short courses on LinkedIn for Learning, Udemy, Coursera, Terra.do in renewable energy, carbon footprint analysis, or sustainable finance can give you an edge. 2️⃣ Use what you’ve got. Already in marketing, tech, or project management? These skills are highly transferable to the green sector. You don’t need to start from scratch—just pivot. 3️⃣ Network in the green space. Join sustainability communities like Women and Climate, Creatives for Climate Collective, Clean Creatives, and Work on Climate. Attend green energy events, and follow companies/ individuals making waves. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people opens doors. Let’s be real—this shift is happening with or without us. The difference will be made by those willing to reskill, adapt, and embrace the future. Agree? 🔖 Drop your thoughts or questions in the comments, and remember—All Bits Count (especially yours). 🔗 The Economic Times coverage: https://lnkd.in/gHWm_w6j #GreenSkills #CareerGrowth #India #Sustainability #FutureOfWork