Simply Hired Blog

To Get a Green Job, Don't Just Look for an Office Internship

According to numerous studies, the two skills most valued by employers are teamwork and trainability. This is why internships are so popular: they provide evidence for both.

But an office internship is not the only way to demonstrate these desirable qualities. You have the opportunity to try something different by getting outdoors.

Look to the Woods

After my senior year in high school, I completed a four-week summer internship with the Student Conservation Association (SCA). Six of us lived in a remote forest in northern Vermont with one adult leader. We cleared trails and did other outdoor work.

I still have wonderful memories of this experience. But more importantly, I learned about teamwork and trainability and returned with those highly prized skills clearly demonstrated. I wasn’t in an office, but I gained the experience that office executives value.

When the nearest road is a five-mile hike from your camp, it’s an absolute necessity to find ways to get along with people who end up on your team, people you wouldn’t necessarily hang out with by choice. This experience is a great preparation for a work setting where it’s necessary to get along with boss or coworker, no matter what type of person they are. In high school and college, it’s a lot easier to ignore people you don’t like.

As a team, we had to learn new skills. They were skills I’d never thought I’d need in my life, like building irrigation ditches, identifying plants, and scaring away wolves. I had to come face-to-face with the fact that I didn’t know everything (a big revelation for an 18 year-old!).

The Three Questions that Get You Hired

Internships in the woods, like my SCA adventure, can give you other distinct advantages once it’s time to look for a job. You’ll have real-life experiences that address the three questions every prospective employer wants answered successfully.

1. Can you do the job?

You were selected for an outdoor internship – a distinguishing credential in SCA’s case in particular – and you learned what was necessary to complete the task.  It proves you have the drive, flexibility, and ability to learn – a priority for many organizations that prefer to teach specialized skills. For example, you might get hired to manage a project using MS Project. Even if you’ve never done this before, the simple fact that you could be trained to build irrigation ditches makes you desirable to employers.

2. Who are you?

By the time you get back from an outdoor internship, you will have stories to tell--stories that showed how you approached challenges when faced with the unknown. These kinds of stories build character and impress colleagues and employers. If you don’t end up with some great stories on an outdoor internship, then maybe you never left your tent!

3. What motivates you?

Nothing shows personality more than taking a month out of your life for something you believe in – like caring for the environment. If there is any doubt about your commitment to a green job, your participation in an SCA internship (www.thesca.org) or the equivalent will serve you well.

Tell Your Story, Get Hired

When you come back from an internship in the woods, you’ll be able to answer questions those office-dwelling interns cannot. You’ll have stories that will make them jealous. And more importantly, your new perspective will separate you from the pack in an interview.

Organizations prefer candidates who are trainable and work well in teams. By heading for the woods, you have the opportunity to demonstrate those qualities in a unique way – with the trees as your companions, the rivers as your iTunes playlist, and a trained outdoorsman as your boss.

Search Green Jobs today with Simply Hired's Green Jobs Search Filter. 

Joshua Waldman is the author of the Jobjuice Social Media Job Search App, which is now available for download for iPad and iPhone in the App Store. 

Job Growth Continues for the Sixth Straight Month

Today, Simply Hired reported that for the eleventh time in 13 months the U.S. has experienced growth in job openings.

In May, job openings were up 3.2% month-over-month and 38.4% year-over-year. Nationwide, job competition decreased from three unemployed persons to two unemployed persons for each job opening and 15 out of 50 (30%) metro areas saw improvements in job competition. 

Job openings increased in all 50 major metros in May with Sacramento, CA (6.6%), Greensboro, NC (6.0%), Salt Lake City, UT (5.8%) and Birmingham, AL (5.8%) experienced the largest gains month-over-month. Job competition also decreased with the ratio of job seekers to job openings dropping in 15 out of 50 (30%) metro areas, including Minneapolis, Orlando, Austin and Dallas. 

Job openings increase in 16 out of 18 industries in May, with automotive (19.3%) and agriculture (13.9%) showing the largest gains, underscoring manifold opportunities in seasonal positions. Real estate and travel – industries that typically hire earlier in the year in advance of summer business – saw the largest decreases (-1.7% and -1.1%, respectively) during May.

"May showcased job growth across the country and marked the sixth straight month of job growth in the U.S.," said James Beriker, president and CEO of Simply Hired. "This latest report highlights a decrease in job competition nationwide, providing some important traction for continued job momentum. These signals are very positive for job growth as we move further into the summer months.”

These findings are part of Simply Hired’s June 2013 Employment Outlook, which highlights job industry and employer trends in national and regional U.S. markets.

How To Work With Social Media for a Successful Job Search

Having a working knowledge of social media is an important skill to have if you want to succeed in your job search.

The key word there is “working.”

A lot of us play with social media. It’s a quick, fun way to entertain and be entertained, even when it bends toward embarrassing. Posting a picture on Facebook from the Cinco De Mayo party that shows you wearing a lampshade and saluting the camera with a bottle of tequila is cute and likely to get a laugh from your friends — none of whom are hiring at the moment.

That’s playing. When you’re job hunting, it’s better to work with social media.

Working with social media means taking advantage of the great communication tools available on the Internet to help you find the right job, at the right salary, in the right place.  That could mean 1) writing blogs, 2) participating in online discussion groups or 3) posting videos that demonstrate you have a talent that an employer would want.

“If you know how to use social media, there really are no restrictions in your job search anymore,” Tom Gresosky, Executive Recruiter for FalconSearch, Inc., told Debt.org.  “It used to be that you were lucky if you knew 100 people around town, or maybe around the state, who could help you find a job. Now, you can reach two million people anywhere in the country or even in the world, if that’s what you want. All it takes is a click of a mouse.”

The encouraging news is that employers and recruiters are literally sitting by their computers, waiting to hear from you.

Gresosky says joining discussions about your field of interest, and answering or asking questions that contribute to the discussion, is the best use of these sites. For example, if you are an accountant, your Facebook page could show discussions related to filing income taxes, as well as news and other points of view from different sources.

“There are a number of ways people exchange information and collaborate on issues via social media,” Gresosky said. “Recruiters know about those sites and they go there to make lists of prospective candidates and give them a value.

Another way to make an impression is to post a video using YouTube, particularly if your skill set shows up better in video or audio form. It’s often hard to convey personality in text form, but very easy to project on video as are communication skills in dealing with people.

“I’m definitely in favor of a short video clip being part of the overall social media strategy,” Gresosky said. “But there are limits. Make sure the skills you’re showing off are appropriate to the job you’re seeking.”

In other words, make sure the form of social media you choose works for you. Keep the playing part private, or save it for another time.

Bill Fay is a writer for Debt.org, focused mainly on news stories about the spending habits of families and government. He spent 21 years in the newspaper business and eight more in television and radio, dealing with college and professional sports, then seven forgettable years writing speeches and marketing materials for a government agency.

The Top 10 Cities With Green Job Openings

Forbes recently published an article regarding the best cities to find Green jobs in the U.S. Based on Simply Hired's hiring data, the article discusses a fast-growing and dynamic Green industry.

Today, there are 83,000 Green jobs on Simply Hired, compared to 45,000 a year ago. The continuous growth of Green jobs suggests this is definitely a new career path worth pursuing.

With that in mind, here are today's top cities hiring for Green jobs. Click on the cities below to search jobs available now. Also, search for Green jobs in your area with Simply Hired's Green Job Search Filter. 

1. San Francisco, CA

2. Houston, TX

3. New York, New York

4. Washington D.C.

5. Los Angeles, CA

6. Chicago, Il

7. Boston, MA 

8. Philadelphia, PA

9. Denver, CO

10. Dallas, TX

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What Employers Want in Remote Employees

For a manager, hiring remote employees comes with a specific set of challenges.  Anyone who has been in a position of responsibility can tell you that managing employees twenty feet away is complex. Keeping atop of someone 1,000 miles away adds another level of stress.

Because different priorities create different concerns for managers of remote employees, there are specific traits hiring managers look for when interviewing remote candidates.

• Autonomy - If you’re not in the office, can the manager be confident that you can and will do the work without them overseeing every detail? 

• Experience Working Remotely - A transition from an office environment to a home-based office can be a shock to some employees.  If they've never worked from home before, it means there’s a chance they won’t like it and end up leaving the company. While nobody can be sure an employee is going to stay at a firm, the risk of an experienced home office worker leaving the job prematurely is significantly less than someone who is working from home for the first time.

• Reliability and Responsibility - While there are employee work tracking software systems that exist, utilizing them too heavily can indicate to the employee that their manager doesn't trust them, thus souring the relationship. An honor system, in which employees are given goals to achieve by a specific deadline, is often utilized, and the hiring manager needs to trust that the employee will get the job done.

You can tackle these issues by describing yourself as "reliable" and "responsive” during the interview, and highlighting your experience working independently, without supervision.

• Communicative - Managers want employees who will communicate with them on a regular basis rather than chasing employee down every time they need a piece of information.  

The most successful at-home employees are the ones who make sure that their manager is kept abreast of their progress and is always available when needed.

The moment effective communication flow stops, a manager begins to question the employee’s reliability and responsibility. If this happens, the relationship can go downhill very quickly. 

During the interview process, ask the hiring manager how often they would prefer that you contact and update them. It's a simple question and puts to rest a complex concern on the part of your future boss.

Phone and Skype vs In-Person Interviewing for Home Office Jobs 

Phone interviews might be important as in-person interviews, and potentially a final in-person interview could be replaced with a Skype meeting. While most applicants are accustomed to interviewing on the phone, many make a common mistake when interviewing via web cam and look at the computer screen during the conversation rather than at the camera. This makes it appear almost as if they are looking at themselves in a mirror and not engaged with other person or overall conversation. It’s not a deal breaker, but something to watch out for if you’re doing a video interview.

Negotiating Salary and Company Expenses

When you go to negotiate salary, negotiate in the same manner you would if you were an in-office employee.  If your job requires travel to client sites, make sure that the employer reimburses for gas mileage.  Also, since you will need a basic office setup, determine how the company pays for things like Internet, phone, and office supplies.

If you're given a corporate credit card, use it responsibly. When tax time comes, use an accountant if you plan to write off part of your rent.

Final Thoughts

When working from home, stay active and make sure you get exercise. It's very easy to gain weight and slack off.  Ensure that you have periodic changes in your environment, even if going out and sitting on a park bench. Otherwise, your productivity will decline.  Physical and mental health are even more highly correlated when working from a remote position.

Ken Sundheim is the CEO of KAS Placement Recruiters a sales and marketing executive search firm based out of New York City.  

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