Michael Applebaum’s Post

Here's a really useful list of job boards, communities, and more resources for anyone looking for a job in climate and sustainability. I particularly liked discovering this comparison of the Climatebase Fellowship and Terra.do course: https://lnkd.in/gRx43uea Bookmark it!

Getting into the climate sector is tough. Particularly right now. Part of the solution is gaining more knowledge. Michael Applebaum put together a great list of resources (see the comments for the link). My personal favorites are the following. - Communities: MCJ Collective - Job Boards: ClimateTechList - Learning Experiences: Climate Drift, Terra.do - Newsletters: Sightline Climate (CTVC), Climate Drift Good luck to everyone on this journey!! #climateaction #climatetech #climatecareers

I've sent out 50 applications so far during my career transition into climate. In my climate education, Sankey diagrams have been used everywhere to help visualize the flow of resources, electricity, green house gases, earth's materials, and more. Applying this visual tool to my job search revealed some useful thoughts and insights: ⭐ "Damn. Only 50?" was my gut reaction, telling myself I needed to work harder. However, 50 apps has been almost 3 per week, which lines up with my original goals of focusing on quality over quantity and prioritizing making human connections over blasting my resume endlessly into the digital void. ⭐ Direct individual outreach has gotten more responses than cold applications. Using platforms like #OpenDoorClimate (https://lnkd.in/eWUpbESK from Daniel Hill) and direct LinkedIn messages has allowed me to meet some helpful people. I plan to share a separate diagram illustrating this journey so far. ⭐ I'm searching for roles in marketing and communications, ideally in content and video production. Some organizations in climate aren't at the stage where they can hire with such creative specificity yet. I've also noticed very few organizations who can have fully realized the power of high-quality, optimistic, simple, human-centered storytelling, especially with video. I hope to be able to push the conversation in the right direction. ⭐ A lot of radio silence involved in the job hunt. Most organizations won't provide updates, any transparency on the process, or an automated email. For those that do take a humane approach, it speaks wonders. It's clear that there are many people who want to help you find your way. They know that its all hands on deck. Credit to David Jost for sparking this idea. For those interested in learning more. Here is a non-exhaustive list of places to learn more, meet people, and find opportunities. ⭐️ Terra.do community & jobs - https://terra.do/ ⭐️ Canary Media Inc. newsletter – https://lnkd.in/eZUJRFs5 ⭐️ RMI climate solutions https://rmi.org/ ⭐️ Project Drawdown climate solutions – https://lnkd.in/e23D33Rs ⭐️ Probable Futures climate solutions - https://lnkd.in/em92xRJN ⭐️ Rewiring America climate solutions – https://lnkd.in/efYMaXfA ⭐️ Work on Climate community & jobs - https://workonclimate.org/ ⭐️ MCJ Collective community - https://lnkd.in/e7nd-XQG ⭐️ Green Jobs Board jobs – https://lnkd.in/e46svtTu ⭐️ Climatebase jobs – https://climatebase.org/

As an active job seeker, I often browse LinkedIn for leads and sometimes, I come across a post like this one, that deeply resonates with my own experiences. Reading this, I felt inspired to share a little about the twists and turns of my own journey through the rollercoaster that is job hunting. Over the past year, I’ve sent nearly 200 job applications to various organisations, sometimes applying for multiple roles within the same organisation. Initially, I relied on my confidence and skills to apply, network and follow up. But as my application tally kept growing, it slowly started chipping away at my motivation and confidence. Consistently looking up openings, customizing the resume and cover letter for each opportunity and filling up tedious employment portals eventually began to impact my mental health and self image. The glorification of ideas like ‘hustle' and 'grind” had me questioning if what I was doing was enough. The lack of response from the hiring side didn’t help. I couldn’t agree more with Joe Kurle when he talks about the radio silence on the organisations’ part. It makes an already difficult process more frustrating as we keep holding out hope for an answer that will probably never come. After a point, it’s not only disheartening, it's almost humiliating to feel reduced to just another pdf with “action verbs.” I often wonder if those on the other side of the screen remember or even realize what it’s like to be in my position- the self doubt that creeps in, the relentless fear and anxiety, the looming visa date and, above all, the pressures of being here on the sacrifices of those back home. It’s not that I’m unaware that these are big organizations fielding hundreds of applicants each day, but I do believe that a little compassion and timely response from their end could go a long way for applicants like myself. This post is not to demotivate anyone but to share the reality of this process. If you or someone you know is in a similar position, please know that you’re not alone. Honestly, that has stopped meaning anything to me but I know how lonely and unnerving this process can be. Feel free to reach out to vent, chat, talk about anything even if not job related. Also, if I still have your attention, 1. I would really appreciate any leads or recommendations for opportunities related to corporate sustainability, specifically ESG consulting and/or GHG accounting and reduction strategy. 2. I have spent the past year also trying to upgrade myself. I have taken a couple of courses and also taught myself Python for data analytics- a personal achievement that I’m very proud of. 3. I am also on the look out for outlets that give a platform to stories and discussions around the job hunting process. This is just a glimpse of my experience and I’d love to speak to someone looking for diverse voices of international students to talk about the reality of the current job market, especially for POCs on a short visa. #opentowork

(Job news coming up!)  🤷♂️ What do you answer when kids ask you what you do? A few months back my girls looked at me wondering and asked “…What is that you do, really, dad?”  They knew very well that dad works with the Internet but there I found myself struggling to explain myself…my so-called professional self, the purpose of my job - ELI5 style.  Back then I was coming out of working (happily) in market research, when it slowly dawned on me that on that deeper existential level it didn’t make that much sense after all. Was it something my kids were proud of? Did it need to be?  With all the challenges facing our natural world, was I doing anything at all to address this? Was I preserving any rainforest? Saving any animals? Was I to just continue along the same path, using a couple of decades worth of IT experience for any commercial venture? The answer was hell no! I decided going forward I was to dedicate my professional skills to some greater good instead of run-of-the-mill commercial endeavours. At least give it a shot. See where it would take me. Was it even possible? And it did take some holding back. A few times saying straight up ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to hiring managers. But it was well worth the wait. Along came a fresh, well-written and joyful job posting like a colourful flower peeping through the autumn leaves asking if I was up for working in the field of biodiversity and MRV. I immediately summoned the bestest of my writing skillz and tried my luck if I could join in on their journey. 🎯 And bingo! If you’re unsure how rewarding it is to work within ESG and something inherently value driven then have no doubt. I have now been a part of the most amazing team of passionate biologists, electronics engineers and data scientists for little over three months. Super smart people who put their beautiful minds to work to make best-in-class technology that addresses something relevant. Something few really have an idea about - how to measure biodiversity footprint. Terms like #TNFD and #SDG15 are all still new to me but nonetheless quite real for most enterprises (at least in the western world) and will be very much so in the time to come. If you are (close to) the sustainability manager of your company and integrating nature into the decision making we can help you! Contact me or take a closer look at the solutions FaunaPhotonics provides. I can confidently say I believe our technology and product offering is superior to our competitors’. But, more importantly, I can say to my kids that I’m part of something that actually makes sense to them. How enriching it is to be part of a company passionately working towards increasing the quality of the natural world in our immediate surroundings. That is, making the lives and habitats of animals better - ensuring that the natural world will be here for the people we’re borrowing it from.  Our kids. #jobnews #biodiversity #sustainability #meaningfulwork

I can spend 38 mins writing a love letter to Earth ❤️ Share 6 months of Climate efforts…but what does Linkedin Love 👇 And show to everyone? A screenshot of an invite to an interview. With 4 lines of content. That I wrote in about 30 seconds. And posted late on Friday afternoon 🤷♂️ If you ever wonder why some posts just don’t work. Wonder no more. And save this post to remind yourself in the future 😂 Make it a great weekend 🙌 —— PS. If you want to start a Career in Climate…remember: Nobody went to school learning how to “transition into climate”. Everyone just uses their traditional job search skills, while also trying to learn as much as possible about climate. And for many it’s not working. That’s why we built Climate Drift. To give you a pathway into a climate career. By directly solving real-world climate company challenges. Join our next Climate Drift Career Accelerator. Or grab a lot of free knowledge and climate sub-sector deep dives in our newsletter. All are available on the Climate Drift website.

🌍 If you believe that climate crisis is the biggest fight of humanity, and are eager to lend your hand in this fight, here are top 6 resources that will help: 👉🏽 Work on Climate - They are making climate work mainstream by building a community that helps each other. 20k+ people, 1900+ people found climate jobs, world’s largest climate community 👉🏽 Climatebase - Most comprehensive climate job board! They also run a fellowship program to accelerate climate careers. 👉🏽 Terra.do - Their mission is to get 100 million people working in climate by 2030. They have a job board, conduct job fairs, and also learning sessions for every sector in climate. 👉🏽 New Energy Nexus - They are primarily for clean energy entrepreneurs but they do have a jobs channel on their Slack community. 👉🏽 opendoorclimate.com - A community of climate professionals making themselves available to chat with climate career seekers. They have a great directory of people working in climate for you to connect with. 👉🏽 Sightline Climate (CTVC) - This one is a newsletter that has all the latest news about climate tech, startups in climate tech, and also a job board for all those startups. Great educational content. Hope this helps in your climate journey. Let me know how it helped you. Did I miss any other resources?

The climate tech space is more accessible than you think, even with less than a year of experience. After the conversation we had with Bas Van Den Brande in our Climate Tech Spotlight episode, we thought it would be useful to share some tips to help you join the space. Here’s a roadmap for you to get there: ✅ Identify your transferable skills: Look at the skills you've developed in your current role and identify how they can be applied to climate tech. (E.g. management, data analysis, and communication are becoming highly invaluable) ✅ Discover your niche: Research the different sectors within climate tech and find your niche – from renewable energy to sustainable agriculture. ✅ Network like your future depends on it (because it might): Connect with industry professionals online and at events. Build relationships and learn from those already making an impact. ✅ Always seek to upskill yourself: Fill any knowledge gaps with targeted courses or workshops. Show potential employers your commitment to the field. ✅ Partner with a recruiter: An experienced climate tech recruiter can open doors to opportunities you might not find on your own, which can greatly help your career transition. And lastly, do what you love! There's always a place for your unique talents in the climate tech space. Want to explore your options? Connect with us to learn how we can start your climate tech career. #ClimateTech #CareerChange #Sustainability #MakeADifference

Yesterday, I delivered a webinar to remarkable participants of the Climatebase Fellowship program, who are in the midst of a professional transition to the climate sector. We discussed the importance of showcasing transferable skills in job applications, debunking the myth of the 'perfect candidate'. Instead of fixating on meeting every requirement of a job posting, I emphasized the importance of highlighting your unique #strengths and demonstrating your potential to excel in the climate sector or any field aligned with your #passion and #purpose. By embracing your strengths and learning to present them effectively, you can position yourself as a standout candidate, worthy of consideration by recruiters and employers. If you're seeking personalized guidance on how to harness your strengths and transform them into career superpowers, I invite you to schedule a call with me. Link in the comments. Thanks to Climatebase for inviting me, and especially to Vesselina Apostolova and Kendall Jenkins for their amazing support during the webinar! And to all participants who tuned in, I hope you had fun! #CareerTransition #ClimateAction #UnlockYourPotential #CareerCoaching #ClimateSector #EnvironmentalCareers #CareerGrowth

Thanks for curating this great list of climate resources for #climatejobs seekers, Jennifer Gidley PhD, and for including me and NGO Recruitment. 🙏 🌏 🌐🌿 💚 This will be immensely valuable to my climate network. 👉 For anyone seeking more information and resources, I have some pinned posts on my LinkedIn profile detailing other links and ideas, including communities and podcasts. 👉 There are more resources on the Insights page at www.ngorecruitment.com - and of course international climate and other social impact jobs on our website job pages. 🔔 I post all my vacancies on LinkedIn, ring my profile bell to get real-time job alerts for the Australia and international climate and social impact jobs I post. 👉 I volunteer some time each week to help climate job seekers via Work on Climate (group sessions) and #opendoorclimate (1:1s). I will be adding slots for 2024 there soon. Links on my profile to sign up for free coaching and join both communities. 📗 The #socialimpact career transition guide I helped co-author is available at the NGO Recruitment website and includes climate job boards and resources and a step-by-step guide to transitioning to the non-profit sector with an international overview of the sector. https://lnkd.in/enSpGmyp 💡 My best advice is to get involved in these groups and communities, learn, and connect. This more than anything will transform your job search. I hope this helps someone in their job search and good luck to everyone for 2024! 🤞