Finding Your Passion!

You’re here (reading this) because you have decided to pursue an environmental career. But there are many subfields within this career field, and even more important, some you may not have considered or may not want to pursue at all. For example, I remember as an undergraduate student when I finally was able to take my first course within my major, which was Environmental Science at the time.  Half the course was spent calculating bacteria present in a sewage treatment plan trickle tank. No kidding. While taking the course, we also had a field trip to the State Laboratory in Trenton, New Jersey. The lab at that time was in the basement of an old building and nuclear/bomb shelter signs were posted at all of the entrances. I fondly remember my “trip to the bomb shelter” as a turning point in my career. The course and the associated trip opened my eyes to the area of the environmental field my particular degree was focused on – and it wasn’t for me! It didn’t take me long to track down my advisor at the university and change my major – to forestry (that time) within the natural resource management program. Eventually, I found forestry not to be quite right, either, and focused on Natural Resource Management as my final choice.

I share this experience, because simply choosing the broader field of environmental science may not be enough. There are subfields that will appeal to you and those that don’t. So that brings us to the question, “How do we find our passion?”  Here are some suggestions for finding the right “fit” in this field.

Join a Club or Professional Organization. This may sound obvious, but check your local area for environmental organizations. There will likely be a lot from which to choose. Consider watershed groups, hiking clubs, “friends of” refuges or parks (known as “friends groups”), paddling groups, local chapter of a professional organization, etc. One newer option is meetup.com. This site is becoming the place to go to find local organizations or special events for people with similar interests. Clubs and professional groups provide an opportunity to learn more about the type of people you would be working with and could (as a bonus) provide you with additional networking opportunities.

Look Inside Yourself. I don’t mean this in the meditative sense, but I do mean that you should take the time to focus on how you feel and why you chose this field of study. Sit down with a pad of paper and ask yourself the following questions:

           

Why did I choose environmental science (or the specific field you chose)?

What do I see myself doing? (Literally – envision yourself doing the job and write down what it is you are doing in that scene in your mind’s eye.)

Choose a memory of a day when you were very happy and felt a sense of great accomplishment – write down the activity. Why did that make you feel good?

 Am I most happy working outdoors or in an office environment?

What hobbies or interests am I good at?

The answers to these questions can really inform your career intentions. If you grew up camping with your family and visiting national parks, that may have influenced you to want to work outdoors. Perhaps you are artistic and love to draw – this might make landscape architecture an appropriate field for you. Or you surround yourself with plants – identifying each species as you hike along a trail. That might point you in the direction of a botanist or habitat restoration specialist. I’m not sure of this, but I know I spent a lot of summers making mud pies when I was young. I ended up as an aquatic ecologist. Coincidence? Probably not!

Volunteer. This is something you will hear me repeat throughout this book – volunteer! There is no better way to find out what it is like to work in a field than to experience it first hand. Most organizations accept volunteers and the benefits are a huge boost to your job search, establishing a professional network, gaining experience to add to your resume, and, of course, finding out if the work is the right “fit” for you. I have volunteered many times throughout my career and I have always found out something new about myself when I did. Look to other chapters in this book to find out about how to go about finding volunteer opportunities – the possibilities are only limited by your creativity and imagination!

Ask Everyone! Don’t just rely on yourself to find your “bliss” – ask those around you. I will share a story about how I chose my environmental science major. In high school, I visited my guidance counselor and asked him what career fields I could enter if I were interested in science. His response was that I could be a teacher or a nurse -- keep in mind that this was a long time ago! I knew right away that neither of these choices would do, but had no idea where to start looking for other options. In a casual conversation with my oldest sister (my 2 oldest sisters were both teachers, having had the same guidance counselor!), she described a masters’ level course she was taking and how they went canoeing as a field trip. She said, “If I were you, I’d do that environmental stuff.” Had I not had that moment with her, I may not have found the field I love for many years, if ever. From that moment, I began researching the options and found that there were careers outside of teaching and nursing – thank goodness!  So ask folks around you what they would do or what advice they have to someone starting a new career or changing careers. Sometimes you may find an unexpected nugget of wisdom that completely changes your trajectory!

Be Strategic About Taking Electives. If you are still in school, use your time well. Take electives in a variety of subfields or even in other fields of interest. Take courses that teach you skills, such as how to write environmental compliance documents or how to identify plants. Look for electives that broaden your knowledge – often, we are not aware of entire career fields until we are exposed to them through our coursework. For example, I once took an elective course entitled, “Environmental Education in the School Curriculum.” Now, to be honest, I took it because someone said it was an easy course (true confession!). However, I learned that environmental education is an entire career field (who knew?) and I learned to write a lesson plan for an environmental field trip. I can’t tell you how many times I have used that knowledge! From my first job as a Park Ranger-Interpretation, to leading field trips on the college farm, to teaching at the community college -- that information paid off for me many times over the years. At that time, I didn’t realize that having credits in environmental education would help me get seasonal park ranger jobs, either. So be strategic about taking your courses to maximize your learning and exposure to new opportunities or career fields. There is wisdom in the expression, “You don’t know what you don’t know!”   

Do Your Research. Today, this is so much easier than it was back in my time! You have the internet to do your research, and the social media sites where you can actually get answers, leads, and feedback. That is a huge plus when searching for your true passion! There are lots of career questionnaires online that are free and may be of assistance to you.  Here are some interesting ideas:

http://www.princetonreview.com/signin.aspx?RDN=1 - Register to take the 5 Minute Princeton Review Career Quiz (free)

            http://www.truecolorscareer.com/quiz.asp - Carolyn Kalil’s True Colors Career 

            Aptitude Test (free)

http://www.self-directed-search.com/Default.aspx - Dr. John Holland’s (takes 30 minutes, there is a fee, however)

http://www.missouriwestern.edu/careerdevelopment/cig/ - University of Missouri Career Interest Game (free, easy)

http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/counseling/sec_page.php?sub_item=048 – The Job Hunter’s Bible – a great site filled with career insight, tests, and tips (free).

Finally, a word of caution. There are lots of unscrupulous career tests and websites out there. If you are asked to pay more than a few dollars for a career test or counseling, buyer beware! The best career advice available comes from people you know, university or other legitimate career services providers, and professionals in the field. Using trusted resources is always the best course of action.

I hope this has helped you find your true passion – the path is oft times uncertain at the outset, but we each manage to find our way!

Earth Day Service Project!

Read my latest blog post on maintaining our green roof for Earth Day:

http://apus-sustainability.com/a-special-earth-day-project-maintaining-green-roofs

Making the Most of Your Education

You’ve probably invested a lot in your education – not only the money for tuition and books, but the effort you put into your classwork and the time away from family and friends – and you definitely want to make sure that your resume highlights it in the best way possible! Here is some advice to help you do just that:

• Put the Focus on Your Coursework
• Address Required Educational Qualifications Directly
• GPA Issues and Some Solutions
• Noting Major Papers and Projects 

Focus on Your Coursework. Not all job advertisements require transcripts, but even those that do leave the reviewer in the position of translating them or worse, guessing if you have the coursework needed to be successful in that job.  Why risk it? Instead, add a section to your resume entitled, “Relevant Coursework.” Under that heading, list in paragraph form the courses that you want to highlight. This might change, depending on the job for which you are applying. For example, you may want to highlight more science courses if you are applying for an Environmental Technician position, or focus more on GIS and planning courses if you are applying for a Community Planner position. You can even highlight the same courses, but change the order of them to tailor your resume to different job titles. In listing the courses, I would not recommend including credits taken after each, just titles of the courses. If you need specific coursework for a job, see the next section for suggestions on how to present that information.

Address Required Educational Qualifications Directly.  Quite often, environmental jobs have very specific educational requirements. I have found that not addressing them directly can result in failing to make the first “cut” made by Human Resources staff.  The method I recommend to address this is to develop a “Special Qualifications Statement” that I attach to my resume or upload to the hiring website.  This statement should break out each area where credits are required as a heading and then have the specific courses listed under each one. 

For example, to qualify for a GS-486 (Wildlife Biologist) position in the federal government, a degree in wildlife management or a related field is required. Within that degree, at least 9 semester hours in such wildlife subjects as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, or research course in the field of wildlife biology; and at least 12 semester hours in zoology in such subjects as general zoology, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, cellular biology, parasitology, entomology, or research courses in such subjects (Excess courses in wildlife biology may be used to meet the zoology requirements where appropriate.); and at least 9 semester hours in botany or the related plant sciences.

In this case, I would create the following headings: Wildlife Management (9 Credits Required), Zoology (12 Credits Required), and Botany/Plant Science (9 Credits Required).  Under each heading, I would list the Course Number and Name, University Attended and Dates of completion, and then Number of Credits.

Special Qualifications Statement – GS-0486 Wildlife Management Series

Jane Q. Willd                                    Position Applied for:  #123xyz                              

           

Wildlife Management (9 Credits Required)

Wildlife Management-BIOL611, George Mason Univ (9/2001), 3 credits

Fish and Wildlife Policy-BIOL543, American Public Univ (5/2002), 3 credits

Mammalogy-BIOL568, George Mason Univ (12/2002), 4 credits

In this way, you eliminate the need for someone to search your resume and/or transcripts to find the information, and are able to categorize the coursework appropriately. Keep in mind that a Human Resources Specialist may not have any idea that your course in Herpetology or Ichthyology is a qualifying course(s) for this series. It would be a shame to not qualify for a position because you didn’t make every effort to clarify your qualifications!

GPA Issues and Some Solutions. Although many strive to have a 4.0 GPA, in the science field, it is often difficult to do. Not having such a GPA is not the end of the world, however. If your GPA is less than a 3.0, though, it may be difficult to demonstrate your knowledge, motivation to succeed, and dedication to the field. Another approach may be to calculate your GPA in several different ways to see if you can find a way to better highlight your academic accomplishments. One way to do this is to calculate your GPA using only courses in your chosen field. A lot of us had that course or two in French Literature that didn’t go well.  As a hiring official, do I really care if you received a “D” in that subject? Not likely. So, if all of your courses in environmental science, for example, calculate to a much higher GPA, then feel free to use that one. Obviously, you must state that on your resume, but that is easy enough.  “Overall GPA: 2.75. GPA in Major Courses: 3.68.” Another calculation is to count only the courses taken in the last 2 years of a 4 year program (years meaning the last 50% of your coursework). In this case, you would note, “Overall GPA: 2.75. GPA in Junior/Senior Level Courses:  4.0.”  If asked about it, you can certainly explain why you chose to do this. Whatever you do, be honest. I am merely suggesting that you can demonstrate that at some point you took your coursework seriously and want to highlight it.  We all make mistakes or do poorly in something. I learned about this concept as a federal employee, where these alternate ways of calculating GPAs were used in the past to qualify recent graduates for Student Honor Appointments. I didn’t invent this! 

Noting Major Papers and Projects. One great idea that may set you apart from all of the rest is to include significant research papers and class projects on your resume. When you lack on-the-job experience, it’s often a challenge to put much down on your resume, so this method is a nice way to demonstrate that you have done some interesting papers and projects and are capable of more in-depth research of relevant environmental topics or issues.  I recommend creating a heading under the “Education” heading and inserting “Major Papers and Projects” under your degree. If you completed a Masters’ degree, then your thesis definitely should be included.  

   Education

       M.S., Environmental Science, George Mason University, 12/2011.

          -Major Papers and Projects: 

           =The Endangered Species Act: Recommendations for the Future, (9/08) 

           =Cap and Trade in the United States, (12/09) 

           =Community Recycling Program Adaptive Management Plan, (6/11) 

           Thesis: Red Knot Restoration: Approaches for Species Success (12/11) 

I hope that this advice is helpful in highlighting your education - best of luck on your job search!

Dr. Carol A. Pollio

5 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Environmental Career!

Amazing that it’s already 2013! I thought this would be a great time to make New Year’s Resolutions to jump-start your environmental career.  Here they are! 

• Join a new professional group
• Attend at least one local networking event
• Make business cards and set a measurable goal to distribute them
• Find at least one new mentor in your chosen field
• Commit to a career strategy in writing

Join a New Professional Group. Seems like this would be an easy resolution, but often these groups can cost forty or more dollars to join. If you can afford it, do join them. Suggestions are the National Association of Environmental Professionals ($40/yr -  student rate), National Environmental Health Association ($25/yr student rate), The Wildlife Society ($41/yr), North American Association for Environmental Education ($35/yr), and the Air and Waste Management  Association ($35/yr). Some free options if your budget is limited: National Military Fish and Wildlife Association, local watershed associations (Google “watershed associations PA”, for example), and national or local environmental organizations (email subscriptions are free, membership fees vary – see http://www.nrdc.org/reference/environgroups.asp for a comprehensive list).

http://www.naep.org/

http://www.neha.org/Students/index.html

http://wildlife.org/membership/join

http://www.naaee.net/membership/categories

http://www.awma.org/

http://www.nmfwa.net/

Attend at Least One Local Networking Event.  Once you’ve found a new organization to join, comb their schedule of events to find either a networking event or a volunteer activity to participate in that puts you in contact with other members. Use these contacts to learn more about job opportunities and as mentors to help you further your environmental career. You need to put yourself “out there” and this is a very positive and professional way to do it!

Make Business Cards and Set a Measurable Goal to Distribute Them. Consider how important networking can be – and how much more leverage you gain from networking by leaving a contact/business card as you go. Even if you have a limited budget, business cards can be a close as your printer or low cost online. In addition to your contact information (email, phone number), carefully consider if you want to include a title or position under your name. One rule of thumb is to not use a title for which you are not fully qualified or one you have held. Instead, consider the following titles (if used at all on your card): Independent Environmental Researcher, Independent Environmental Consultant, Recent Environmental Graduate, or similar. In addition to or instead of a home address, you might also consider including “Willing to Relocate” on your card. Set a weekly or monthly number of cards you will distribute – the best way to accomplish something is to make it measurable and achievable. A professional card that you can leave with those you meet on a daily basis gets your name out there and certainly cannot hurt your chances of finding your dream job!

Find at Least One New Mentor in Your Chosen Field. Sometimes you find a mentor in the most surprising places. Talk to relatives and friends about your career aspirations. Engage current or past instructors from college, high school, or other training and ask their advice on getting into a new field. Don’t be afraid to ask for their help and advice – they’ve been there and have a lot to offer and often they don’t need to be in environmental careers to assist. If they are, of course, you can get more focused advice. I think you’d be surprised at how many people you will meet that are willing to help you!

Commit to a Career Strategy in Writing.  Finally, I highly recommend following the first rule of keeping resolutions – make a plan and stick to it! This one takes some thought and a bit of time, but is a key step in entering a new career. It may be hard to get started, but take some of the suggestions here and go from there. Make sure your plan is written, contains clear goals and objectives, and includes outcomes that are measurable. Include regularly scheduled reviews of your accomplishments so that you can modify your plan as you go.  

Here is a template of a career plan that will help you get started: 
Sample Career Plan

Best Wishes for the New Year!

Dr. Carol A. Pollio

Are NonProfits for You?

As we near the plummet off of the fiscal cliff, one has to wonder how these drastic budget cuts will affect those looking for employment, particularly federal or state environmental jobs. While the job announcements haven't slowed, the competition certainly has increased, making federal employment, in particular, difficult to obtain. Maybe it's time to consider other options, if you haven't already. 

One option is to focus some effort on the non-profits. Non-profits have some distinct differences in hiring practices that can work to your advantage, particularly if you do not have any federal status, including veterans' status.  Also, they can be much more responsive, closing or opening job advertisements, which is much more challenging for state and federal agencies, which must follow very strict guidelines. Finally, they can choose candidates with potential to perform or those that don't have every skill that they need. For federal positions, the qualifications are established and the selecting official is limited to those names that are forwarded by Human Resources (HR) assistants (generated by software programs). Even more challenging is that some hiring lists are scored and the selecting official can only choose within a set number of candidates, or only within one score group (say, everyone that scored 100).

Non-profits also have the flexibility to move you into positions of more responsibility, if you prove yourself worthy. Some may require re-competing, but this is less likely than in government, where agencies are required to announce every vacancy to competition.

Finally, there are so many nonprofits in the environmental field, including watershed management groups, wildlife organizations, riverkeepers, renewable energy cooperatives, and many others. They are great places to gain experience - and I know of quite a few colleagues in federal service that started there. 

Good luck in your job search!

Dr. Carol A. Pollio   

The “Government” Resume

Or…why it’s not the same as a business resume!

Many times I’ve been asked by students and job seekers why they aren’t getting to the interview stage of the hiring process. There are quite a few reasons this can happen: veteran status (or lack thereof), intense competition, low self-rating on the Occupational Questionnaire, among others. However, the one issue I would like to address today is the government resume. I’m sure not everyone knows that a government resume is not the same as a business-style resume. A business resume consists of 1-2 pages and most all of us have been schooled to reduce their life’s work down to 1 page or risk the consequences!  A government resume, in contrast, should be designed to provide the most information about your capabilities as possible (without going overboard, of course). My hints for crafting a better government resume fall into 4 general areas:

• Resume Length
• Keywords
• Jargon Do’s and Don’ts
• The Devil is in the Details

Resume Length. Government resumes, as I alluded to earlier, are typically not limited to 1 or 2 pages. How long is too long? If you are making up things to put in it, or listing endless unrelated/minor jobs, it’s probably time to stop writing!  Instead, focus on telling two stories: one for the HR professional rating/reviewing your resume and another for the selecting official.  The former is looking for specific qualifications, while the latter is looking for a clear picture of who you are and why you are the best “fit” for the job. This can easily take more than 1 page – and often 3 or 4 pages. Truth be told, with 36 years in the environmental field, my resume is 14 pages in length; my military resume is 5. For most entry level positions, the 2-3 page range makes sense, but keep in mind that the average resume in USAJobs is 5 pages long. Think about how your resume compares to that of the competition!

In my experience as a selecting official, I look for a breadth of experience, training, and activities that tell me about the person I am considering for a position. The environmental field has many specialties within it. A person that has exposed themselves to a variety of experiences and training, and has a good depth of coursework, volunteer or intern opportunities, honors and awards, some community involvement, etc., demonstrates flexibility and adaptability, well-roundedness, and frankly, an openness to learning new things. In addition, managers are struggling with reduced budgets and time, so having adequate information in your resume minimizes the possibility that your resume will be put aside early in the process.

Keywords. To get back to the HR professional for a moment, keep in mind that keywords are essential in today’s job market. Many companies use software to scan resumes and reject those that don’t contain the right words. Look carefully at the job announcement.  If you know how, do a content analysis on your resume, I would recommend that you do one that compares your resume to the job announcement.  With highlighter(s) in hand, read through both documents, starting with the job announcement and highlight descriptive words.  What words are repeated most often? Are there pairs of words or phrases that appear throughout the document? Are there words or phrases you aren’t sure about or that you need to research? List the most common phrases or words, and then do the same with the Occupational Questionnaire. These two documents provide you with a lot of information! Then look at your resume and see if the content (or keywords) are there. If not, then you know what you need to do!

 Jargon Do’s and Don’ts. Professional jargon is a very interesting dilemma for most of us. As we saw in the keywords section, jargon can be very important in making sure you make the first cut, especially if it includes a software scan of your resume. The flip side to the jargon dilemma is that too much jargon can be confusing, especially to a reviewing official (often an HR Specialist) that is not an environmental professional. Here’s a quick example. If I look at my own transcripts, I find the following courses listed: “Coop Educ”, “Hist. Prbl.”, “Env. Ed. Sch. Curr.”, and “Dendrology.” Are those topics clear to you? When I say I am “LNO-3 Qualified”, does that mean anything to you? Acronyms can be downright perplexing and another reason to dismiss your resume altogether. One hint I would offer is to have someone unfamiliar with the environmental field (or the job you’re hoping to qualify for) review your resume and help you clarify the language/jargon. Another set of eyes can’t hurt, here!

The Devil is in the Details. One last note on the granularity (I have a love/hate relationship with that word) of your resume. There must be enough detail to clearly communicate your experience and qualifications and to demonstrate your mastery of the environmental field as a whole. It must be impeccably written and grammatically correct. Further, it must paint a cohesive picture of who you are as a person, while at the same time, avoiding reference hot or controversial topics, such as politics and religion, unless there is a specific need to discuss them (i.e., the job calls for knowledge in these areas). Finally, make sure you review your potential employer’s requirements for information required in the resume. Federal resumes, for example, require job descriptions for each job, the number of hours worked per week, and the starting and ending month and year for each position listed. Not providing this information can lead to immediate rejection of your application.

Good luck in your job search!

Here’s a brief, but helpful federal resume guide:

http://www.archives.gov/careers/jobs/forms/resume-guide.pdf

A short article from Monster.com (How Personal is Too Personal?):

http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-letters/resume-writing-tips/race-sex-and-religion-on-your-resum/article.aspx

Dr. Carol Pollio

Free NAEP/APUS Career Webcasts

Did you miss any of the NAEP/APU complimentary webcasts on career advice for environmental professionals such as the one titled "Leveraging Linked In to Land Your Next Job?", check out this page to watch the recordings and get cutting-edge information that can help you advance your career http://www.apu.apus.edu/lp2/webcast/naep/index.htm

American Public University apu.apus.edu