You Have Transferrable Skills!

October 18th was Massachusetts Career Day. Career Day is a statewide program drawing attention to issues surrounding jobs and careers in the state. The initiative is hosted through the Commonwealth's 32 One-Stop Career Centers. While many of the One-Stops chose to focus on careers in administrative, retail, or hospitality work, The Work Place (www.theworkplace.org), one of Boston's public career centers, chose to focuse on Green Collar Jobs and the Green Economy.

I was asked to participate in a panel discussion that addressed the state of the job market today in the environmental industry. Many questions came up from the eager audience of job seekers, but one question came out repeatedly...."if I have so much experience in _________, how the heck do I break into the environmental industry?"

It's a fair question! Many jobs out there are seeking individuals with varying amounts of experience...and understandably so. If I'm seeking to higher an environmental consultant to provide regulatory advice to a client, that person will need a certain amount of expertise to be taken seriously by the client. Other jobs are entry level, but entry level sometimes means starting over for people with several years of professional experience.

But if working in the 'green economy' is what's most important to you, you can rely on abilities you already bring to the table: TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS! Yes, those skills that are not limited to specific tasks in specific types of companies, but are sought after in all types of companies, including the Environmental industry. Qualities like technology proficiency, expertise in functions such as HR, Finance, Marketing, or Administrative Support, sales and relationship building experience, emotional intelligence, and soft skills are all in high demand by all employers!

Take a look at our online Career Center, www.triumvirate.com/careers.html, and you'll find positions available in many function areas, sales, administration, and general labor and transportation....all with no requirement for environmental experience. You don't have to be advising on environmental compliance or managing hazardous waste to be working in the environmental industry! Rely on the skills that you already have to fulfill your dreams of working in an environmentally-focused company!