Article
How to Get a Job in Climate / Climate Tech
Tens of thousands of people are trying to get jobs in climate. It makes sense; the world is literally convulsing from climate change. Anyone who notices and has a conscience wants to be part of the solution.
There’s one huge problem!
Landing a job in climate tech is hard, about as not-straight-forward as a job search can be, and there is no real guide.
That changes today.
Having taken an unconventional career path and having worked as a recruiter in climate for over four years, I have a pretty unique view on landing a role in climate (if I do say so myself). That’s why I’m putting together this guide for 4WARD’s climate community.
In it, You’ll Learn…
- How to Identify the Market for You to Target
- How to Find Ideal Companies For You
- How to Get the Attention of Hiring Managers
- How to Pitch Yourself
- And What to Do After You Do
Why Trust Me?
If you’re wondering why you should trust me, I’ve been a headhunter since March 2020 and have exclusively worked in the Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability space. I now run my own consultancy helping ClimateTech startups identify and hire top talent. (Subscribe to get an email anytime I have new jobs).
I’ll let you in on a little recruiter secret. Recruiters only exist because most applicants are total robots—or, as my fellow GenZ would say, NPCs.
But here’s the good news—because everyone else is putting in so little effort, it’s easy to stand out!
If people applied to jobs that they were actually close to qualified for, the number of headhunters in the world would be far fewer (should I be saying this?).
We’re hired to (proactively) find qualified candidates, convince them to take an interview (often, they are only passively looking), manage them through the interview process, and help close them on an offer.
Most recruiters are paid a fee equal to 20-30% of that hire’s first-year base salary.
(In the case of ErthTech Talent, we are much more affordably priced for early-stage climate startups — Seed/PreSeed 10%, Series A 15%, then at B we go to 20%)
Yep! If you’re the right candidate for the job, you’re saving them a recruiter’s fee ($30-50k savings 🤯)
Because of this dynamic, headhunters work primarily for their clients — NOT their candidates. Meaning—we won’t submit you unless you’re the unicorn our clients are looking for.
So what’s the point?
I’m trying to tell you–this is not my first rodeo.
Some candidates find recruiters unhelpful and ruthless, but if the candidate were paying them, it would be a different situation (most are not).
Alright! Let’s dive in.
Step 1: Identify your market
ClimateTech is a very broad statement. There are loads of verticals in ClimateTech, so you need to narrow it down to one or two. Examples of verticals are Electric Vehicle Charging, Carbon Capture, Green Building Technology, Energy Tech, and Battery Recycling Technology. The list could go on for a while. If you’re not at all familiar check out this breakdown from ctvc.co.
In choosing your market/vertical, be realistic. Think about what you have done in the past or what you are doing now. If you focus on getting a green job in the same industry you’re already in, this is the easiest way to achieve your goal.
You can make a total change but be prepared to take a big pay cut.
Step 2: Find Ideal Companies
From here, you want to do some research and find the ideal companies you want to work for in that particular vertical. The best way to do this IMO is to go, again to ctvc.co and look through the capital providers. From here you get a little more narrow into what you want to do.
Go through the portfolio companies of each VC to identify between 10 to 20 of the companies you’re most excited to potentially work for. From these, start doing in-depth research about them, their tech, their founding team, and why they are cool to you.
Once you have done this, you’ll likely be left with 10-15 that you’re still super keen on. This leads us to the next step.
Step 3: Create a 5-Page Slide Deck
After you have in-depth research on each org, create a simple slide deck matching their branding with five slides. Here is a template that you can use to get started.
Deck Template
Slide 1: Intro & Interest
This slide should look something like this. Key points are, to use the brand colors of the company you’re pitching, use their font, and insert their logo. Having an image of you on there is helpful and more personal.
Slide 2: Why [X Company] Excites Me
This slide should demonstrate 3 to 4 key reasons why you’re actually interested in them as a company. Don’t make this generic. Make it something that truly matters to you. Even better if one of the points is something that took more than a surface-level skim of their website to learn.
Slide 3: Demonstrate Understanding
A major mistake applicants make is not genuinely understanding the Job Description. Put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager and company leadership. They have a very particular requisition. They need this person to do a specific job. They need that person, in most cases, to already have demonstrable experience in that thing. If you do not understand the job description, don’t bother applying.
After reading through and understanding the JD, boil it down to 3 or 4 key things they’re looking for. If you get close, you’ll win big points with the hiring manager because you get it.
Slide 4: Why You
Here, you pick 3-4 skills (match those of the previous slide) you possess. These must be tangible. If a requirement is having run a GHG Accounting Project, and you have not done that, you are hurting yourself by saying you have.
Share a few tangible things you bring to the table that correspond with the ‘skills required’ slide.
Slide 5: Closing & Contact
This is a page with contact information and a call to action.
You can shake this up, of course, but keep it punchy.
Step 4: Record a Video of you Talking to This Deck
Yep. You heard that right.
Slip on your “I’m ready to do uncomfortable things shoes,” and let’s make this happen.
This is critical. The fact it’s hard to do is what makes it so valuable.
Your video will have a few key components.
1. Keep it short:
The pitch should be less than 3 minutes. Longer is really hard to keep their attention.
2. Don’t script it:
Unless you have years of acting experience and can remember lines, don’t bother trying to script it out. Understand and internalize each bullet point along with the flow of each page.
Know what you’re saying and why you’re saying it. If you have that, you can relay this information naturally. That makes it feel like a conversation.
3. Show your face:
By showing your face, they get a feel for who you are. It helps build rapport.
4. Add personality to your voice:
Demonstrate your interest through your tone of voice. A monotone voice is less likely to get you the desired outcome. Remember, most communication is beyond the words being said.
5. Personalize:
If you are confident who the hiring manager is, use their name directly. If not, I usually just say the name of the company.
Here is a video where I walk through the components of each slide and then do an example run-through.
https://youtu.be/ce5JYfAYPE8
Step 5: Send to the Hiring Manager
Going through HR is often like getting teeth pulled. They tend to be very ‘by the book.’ It’s their job to be focused on governance. In any established company, HR is likely going to want everything standardized (i.e., not a pitch video). For that reason, you’re best off going directly to the hiring manager.
Go through their LinkedIn or Website to find the person you’d report to. In many job postings, the hiring manager is named or implied. Put on your detective hat. 🕵️♂️
When sending, make the email clear and concise. Don’t forget a killer subject line.
An example might look like this.
Step 6: Follow Up
If you don’t hear back within 48 business hours, send a follow-up email. If you can, try to send something of value, like a link to a news article you thought they would find interesting (something related to the industry).
Follow up at least 8 times (in various formats) before giving up. Connect with them on LinkedIn. Engage with their posts on LI and Twitter. See if you can find a mutual connection willing to put in a word for you.
If you try 8 times and don’t get through, try another contact. Persistence is key!
That’s about it.
It may seem like a lot of work, but this will get you an interview. You will have a much higher hit rate than if you spray your CV to the world.
Thanks for reading!
~Silas Mähner
If you know a US-based ClimateTech company seeking recruitment support, send them my way (silas@
https://erthtechtalent.com
)
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4 w
Very insightful, thanks for sharing
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5 w
Super useful and well-made guide, thank you!
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5 w
This is great news and a very insightful article.
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5 w
We've got lots more on our global climate collaboration & resource platform too :) Try our Climate Job Seeker Toolkit: https://4wardvc.circle.so/c/job-seekers-toolkit/ And our Climate Skills & Education Platform: https://4ward.vc/skills Hope this helps some folks break into climate & sustainability!
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5 w
A fantastic resource, both practical and actionable