1. How to Find a Bright Green Job in the Dull Gray Economy
Dan Smolen
Managing Director,
The Green Suits, LLC
April 16, 2015

2. My Green Job Journey Accidental environmentalist (1978)
Marketing, communications, sales executive ( )
Developed successful campaigns for large consumer goods brands
Shocked by brands’ hazardous environmental and societal impacts
Talent recruitment (1998-current)
Started own recruiting firm (2005)
Brief political career reconnected me with environmentalism
Few recruiters address the workforce impact of green jobs and careers
Rebranded as The Green Suits, LLC (2010)
Talent search, workforce planning, and success management for green business and social good
Wrote Tailoring the Green Suit; Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy (2010)
Op/ed columnist, speaker, radio program guest (2010-current)
Leaders in Energy: Green Jobs (April 2015) 2

3. This Green Business Recruiter’s Perspective: The Skies are Clearing…
5.5% unemployment (3/2015) vs. 10%+ (2009)
295k jobs added in 2/2015, follows a year of month-to- month gains
Strong turnover
5.1 million job openings 2/2015 (highest since 2001)
2.7 million “quits” 2/2015 (53%)
Positive consumer outlook
Green job availability is increasing, 3.1 million created (2012)
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4. …But the Economy is Dull Gray
Actual unemployment exceeds 10%
ShadowStats: 23%
New hires earning less than before
AARP: 47% of laid off mid-career talent get new jobs paying less
Millennials making gains, but struggling
Green job creation hasn’t scaled as we thought ( forecast: 5 million)
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5. And the Green Jobs that are Available…
Many go unfilled
Managers often require talent to have green job skill, experience, and training
One’s advanced degrees, good for non-green tracks, may offer no benefit
How does one get skill, experience, training, without a green job?
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6. You can overcome the obstacles, to find a bright green job in this dull gray economy
Now is a great time to find a green job
Use our 10 process points to guide you to a successful outcome
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7. 1. Establish Your Green Job Value Proposition
What are your green career goals?
What skill, experience, and training do you already bring to the table?
What makes you unique?
What motivates you?
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8. 1. Establish Your Green Job Value Proposition
Become familiar with available opportunities:
TheGreenJobBank (15k national listings)
Regional Groups
Industry and Trade Groups
Company Websites
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9. 2. Acquire Green Skill, Experience & Training
Whether seasoned talent or entry-level, there are gaps you may need to fill:
Relevant accreditation tracks
Certification through community colleges, industry groups, etc.
Advanced degree programs
Association of Energy Engineers
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10. 3. Gain Green Job Experience
Join apprenticeship programs such as EcoApprentice.com
Join a Green Team
Pursue skill-based volunteer opportunities at work (Deloitte)
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11. 3. Gain Green Job Experience
Rather be the boss?
Make a huge impact as an eco-entrepreneur
Yuck Old Paint, LLC
Grossman Marketing
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12. 4. Build Your Green Professional Network
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13. 4. Build Your Green Professional Network
Make the most of your LERCPA membership
Aggressively pursue new LinkedIn connections with green professionals, join LinkedIn green business groups
Facebook (becoming more useful for green business networking)
Most important…get out there, meet face-to-face
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14. 5. Create Your Own Green Job Advisory Board
Advisory Boards help start-ups and entrepreneurs fill experience cavities
Why not create an advisory board for you?
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15. 5. Create Your Own Green Job Advisory Board
Possible advisors:
Clean energy/cleantech leaders
Sustainability managers
Corporate Social Responsibility experts
Academics in business and environmental science programs
Connect with them on LinkedIn
Juliana Deans, Corporate Social Responsibility Advisor, Silicon Valley Community Foundation
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16. 6. Craft a Great Green Résumé
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17. 7. Create Your Own Green Job
During performance review at your non-green job:
Met/exceeded your boss’s and personal goals
Established your credibility, reliability
Propose green projects that you can supervise
With each success, add more projects
Exit with real green job experience
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18. 8. Perfect Your Green Job Elevator Pitch
A great green job elevator pitch says “I am worth it!”
Seizes opportunity
Communicates your green subject- matter expertise
Establishes your worthiness for a green job
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19. 9. Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk
Become a green thought-leader
Write, publish, promote your own content on LinkedIn Pulse
Speak at green industry events and gatherings
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20. 10. Frame for Green Job Success
Language framing in green job hunt is EVERYTHING!
Know your audience well
Use frames that satisfy their needs and preferences
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21. 10. Frame for Green Job Success
Framing that helps green job candidates succeed:
Subject-matter expertise
Adaptability
Team leadership
Track record of positive results
Financial sustainability focus
Triple Bottom Line? Maybe…but be careful.
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22. It All Starts…NOW! Our best days lie ahead!
Green job economy set to scale. Over next decade: million new jobs (executive ranks alone)
Clean energy will lead new job creation, barriers to entry disappearing
Growing societal acceptance
Millennials (90 million strong) demanding workplace that offers purposeful employment
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23. Thanks! Dan Smolen +1 703 835 9900 dan@thegreensuits.com

24. Photo and Graphic Credits
ApprenticeBlog.com. “People with Green Hands” (accessed October 23, 2011)
Association of Energy Engineers, Detailed Certification Listings graphics (accessed April 13, 2015)
Explistats.com, Shadow Stats Alternative, April 3, 2015 (accessed April 6, 2015)
Grossman Marketing Group, Inc. “Ben Grossman and David Grossman,” 2011 (accessed October 23, 2011)
Jupiter Images Unlimited. “Clearing Sky” (accessed April 2, 2015)
Jupiter Images Unlimited. “Compact Fluorescent Bulb” (accessed October 23, 2011)
Jupiter Images Unlimited. “Four People in Green Suits on Stairs” (accessed April 8, 2009)
Jupiter Images Unlimited. “Ocean Wind Farm” (accessed October 23, 2011)
Jupiter Images Unlimited. “Woman in Green Jacket” (accessed May 1, 2009)
Jupiter Images Unlimited. “Woman in Olive Green Jacket,” from Tailoring the Green Suit dust jacket, 2010)
Jupiter Images Unlimited. “Woman with Tape Measure,” from Tailoring the Green Suit dust jacket, 2010
Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, networking event photo (accessed April 13, 2015)
MSNBC. “Elevator Pitch Video Segment” still photo, September 18, 2007, (accessed October 23, 2011)
MARC Regional Green Jobs, logo (accessed April 14, 2015)
Northern Virginia Community College, logo (accessed April 13, 2015)
Office Online/Office.Microsoft.com. “Man Shaking Woman’s Hand” (accessed October 23, 2011)
Presidio Graduate School, logo (accessed April 13, 2015
Smolen, Dan. Tailoring the Green Suit; “Build Your Professional Network Diagram,” 2010
Smolen, Dan. Tailoring the Green Suit; “Demand/Driver Diagram,” 2010
Smolen, Dan. Tailoring the Green Suit; “Résumé Exercise,” 2010
SolarCity, logo (accessed April 14, 2015)
Solar Energy Industries Association, logo (accessed April 14, 2015)
The Global Call for Climate Action. “Woman with Wind Turbine,” 2013 (accessed April 10, 2015)
The Green Job Bank, logo (accessed April 14, 2015)
WhiteHouse.gov. “Woman with Solar Installation,” (accessed April 9, 2015)
Weiss, Marsha D. “Frames Composite,” June 4, 2010
Yuck Old Paint, LLC. Still image from YouTube Video (accessed April 13, 2015)
© 2015, Dan Smolen/The Green Suits, LLC
Leaders in Energy: Green Jobs (April 2015)