The secret sauce to land an internship in sustainability

Many of you in/ just out of college are enthu about making a dent in the universe by being a part of the sustainability revolution.?

But, I guess you don’t know exactly how to. Or do you?

At least from the messages that I receive on a daily basis, it seems like the junta doesn’t have much clarity on ‘how to get a breakthrough’.

After having responded to almost hundreds, I’ve decided to pen down a detailed piece on the same that acts as a northern star for someone embarking on the path to make sustainability as a career.

Fortunately, I managed to pursue 5 internships back during my college days and eventually ended up joining one of them as a full-time employee!

So, you’re gonna hear it from someone who’s been there and done that.

Feel free to consider others’ opinions and viewpoints too before charting out a path for yourself.

Here we go!?I’ll keep this in a QnA format for a more interactive feel.

Let's start with the basics.

Why should you even consider an internship?

Irrespective of how well you have a grasp on theoretical concepts, the value of internships cannot be undermined. That’s where the real practical learning happens. Infact, there is a subtle difference between what’s on paper and the actual practise.

For some of you, internships might be a college obligation as well. But let’s keep a broader objective in mind and not just do it as a tick mark exercise with no clear outcome.

Because, if done seriously, you can actually benefit in multiple ways.

Let me explain how.??

Early on, all of us lack the conviction regarding what exactly we’d like to pursue within sustainability.?

So, it makes sense to dabble on to multiple domains and find what is it that comes naturally to you. What is good about internships is that these are for short durations (typically 3-6 months). In such a time frame, you can explore what suits you and what doesn’t without being stuck for too long. Personally, my internships were in the space of renewable energy, energy efficiency, green buildings, carbon markets & ESG; in that particular order.

(I kickstarted with renewable energy because it was one of my electives at Uni and I'd been a part of that club as well. Similarly, if you're into a social sciences major, interning at a CSR company might be a good idea.)

This variety can be explored not just among industries but also within roles.

For ex. I was working as a research assistant at a think tank for my renewable energy internship while my stint at a carbon markets startup was more on the marketing side and in the ESG company, I was acting like a chief of staff. This helped me immensely get an idea of both the domain and the function that I’d like to be a part of going forward. Similarly, you can look for analyst/ sales/ finance/ law/ supply chain as other areas to potentially contribute.

Which companies should you target?

The right approach is to curate a list of all the domains within sustainability. For ex. Climate Policy, Waste Management, Climate-Tech, Carbon Markets, Water Stewardship, Forestry, etc. Following that, mention the names of companies (at least 6-7) under each of these. Awesome, now you’ve got a playing ground to scout for opportunities.

What is to be noted here is that I haven’t seen too many large companies looking out for interns. Even if they do, it’s not that often. So, you might have to stick to relatively mid-sized or smaller companies, probably even early stage startups.

But there’s a silver lining to it. It’s actually a great experience to get your hands dirty at a smaller setup. There’s more ownership, more exposure and an overall steep learning curve.

Whom should you reach out to?

For very small companies/startups, directly approach the founders. Most of them are quite active on LinkedIn and would respond if they find your profile suitable.

Check from the LinkedIn page if it’s a large enough company to have dedicated HR folks. In that case, reach out to them first.

I’d like add an important point here regarding cold reach outs.

I just can’t emphasise enough on the importance of follow ups. At times, even with all good intentions people tend to overlook or forget to respond. Everyone has a lot on their plate already so it’s very easy to miss out on your message. In that case, it’s your responsibility to diligently circle back at regular intervals. Say, the 1st follow up after 3-4 days, second one after 10-12 days and so on. Don’t do it aggressively. It might piss off the other person especially he/she is a senior professional.

Pro Tip: Create a dedicated excel that keeps a track of all your applications: the status, contact persons, selection criteria, etc.

What is the ideal way to upskill?

People often equate doing courses to upskilling. But, with a ton of courses out there, even completing one or many might give a false impression of learning something useful.

There are only a few which are upto the mark and teach relevant stuff. It primarily depends on the curriculum and lecturer. But, what’s important to note is that just flaunting a certificate won’t help. Unless, these are industry acknowledged like CFA ESG, GARP SCR, LEED GA etc, The reason for this is quite simple. If there is not a testing mechanism which evaluates your understanding and depth of a subject, the certificate holds little to no value.?

If you’ve got budget constraints, I’d highly recommend coursera and selected ones on Udemy to be good from a knowledge standpoint. I’ve done a few paid certifications across providers and didn’t find it to be very useful and I’ve received the same feedback from others too. So be mindful before shelling out tens of thousands.?It might not be worth it.

In addition to these, there are bunch of webinars that are organised every now and then and some of these recordings are put up on youtube too. That's an incredibly great yet underestimated resource. In addition, I personally advocate reading white papers published by consulting companies (MBB/Big 4), climate-tech startups (Persefoni/Plan A), etc. They condense the important concepts in a manner that is easy to digest.

How to best leverage LinkedIn?

Create content.

You need to be visible and you need to be credible. And content creation is one of the best and easiest ways to do it.

Don’t get disheartened if you’re post isn’t receiving enough traction. Just keep at it. Write simple stuff. Don’t overindex on quality right away. It will improve over time. Likes and followers are vanity metrics. Ignore that. You’re job is get noticed by your target segment. That’s it. Everything else is noise. Just go ahead and press the publish button.

How to further develop your profile?

Volunteer at an NGO. Make a mark for yourself by leading initiatives. Become a member of an online community/discussion forum. Contribute by sharing information and engaging with fellow aspirants/professionals. Upon completion, get a letter of recommendation as a certificate, and on LinkedIn. These simple acts can make your profile standout and would increase your odds of landing the most sought after internship.

Keep your LinkedIn account updated with every possible detail, at all times. You’d be surprised that in none of my internships I had to share my resume. And I know people who have had it the same way. However, it’s always beneficial to learn how to design one. You should be able to quantify your impacts in a succinct way, write your career objective and optimise other sections of your resume to catch the attention for anyone screening it. Seek professional help, if required.

That's all for now. Hope this helps!