7 Key Skills that Green Employers Value

By: Lisa Yee-Litzenberg (President, Green Career Advisor) and Kevin Doyle (Principal, Green Economy)

As green career experts, we often get asked by students, alumni, career changers, and by colleges, "What are the key skills that green employers look for when hiring new staff?"

Here is what we found after reviewing hundreds of environmental job postings across all sectors to find out what skills many of these positions required. We have also spent time talking with countless green employers to get their thoughts on what skills they value and have found our discussions reinforcing this list.

Colleges would do well to pay attention to this list as they review and revise their curriculum. Finding ways to incorporate these skills into courses, project work, student leadership roles, work-study jobs, or other experiential learning opportunities would give students critical skills that would make them more marketable for top jobs in their fields.

Students, recent graduates, and career changers: use this list to cross check your resume and LinkedIn profile. Make sure you are featuring these skills in your bullets and in any skills summary sections. You will also want to take time to identify and add any specialized technical skills that may be required in your green career field. Lastly, think about real life examples you can use in an interview that highlight your abilities in these areas. You must be able to communicate these skills online, on paper, and in person.

Skill 1: Communication (both written and verbal)/ Social Media

• Ability to communicate complex/ technical subjects to general audiences (in reports, newsletter articles, presentations, and via social media)
• Ability to communicate across departments of an organization
• Ability to communicate and coordinate with external organizations and constituents

Skill 2: Multidisciplinary Team Experience

• Ability to work well on teams that include diverse people and skill sets

Skill 3: Interpersonal Skills

• Building strong relationships with diverse constituents (ability to listen/ empathize is key)
• Ability to build coalitions or partnerships with diverse sectors
• Demonstrated ability to get along well with others

Skill 4: Management Experience

• People management
• Vision
• Project management
• Ability to manage/ adapt to change
• Time management (ability to effectively balance multiple project deadlines while exceeding expectations)
• Budget development and implementation
• Fundraising experience

Skill 5: Leadership/ Showing Initiative

• Leadership roles
• Going above and beyond to create positive change for an organization

Skill 6: Technical Skills

• These should be relevant to your target job focus area

Skill 7: Analytical/ Creative Problem Solving Skills

• Ability to analyze data
• Ability to solve problems with creative approaches

Interested in learning more about breaking into a green career field?

• Check out this article, "How to Land Your Dream Environmental Job" from Idealist Careers.
• Invite Kevin and Lisa to do a campus presentation on breaking into green careers.