Proving Passion

By: Kethaki Nair

‘Passion’ is a word that often comes up when we’re thinking about our careers. People look for jobs that they’re passionate about and vice versa. It is especially important to keep this in mind when preparing for an interview. People who are passionate about the job tend to stand out during interviews and are more memorable in general.

That said, proving passion can be tricky, especially during a 30 minute interview when you’re already nervous. One method is to make sure that you’re up to date on current issues within the topic of interest and in the environmental field in general. I often find this really hard to do, with classes and everything else happening in school keeping up with the news almost seems like a luxury. To force myself to be more regular I changed my homepage to the Science section of the New York Times, this often carries news on green technologies.

Other areas in the green sphere where there is constant activity are legislation, the green job market, and environmental conservation debates. To give you a taste of what I am talking about if you’re interviewing for a job related to renewable energy it could help to familiarize yourself with the controversy surrounding Cape Wind, or the emerging Ocean Power Industry (which is amazing!). Another interesting discussion concerns what green jobs could mean for the current economic crisis. In a recent interview George Soros, one of the world’s most successful investors and richest men, says that investment in renewable energy and finding a solution to global warming could be the world’s way out of the current economic crisis!

There’s a lot of interesting green debates out there, and more coming up everyday. Keeping up with all the info can be intimidating. Listening to the radio and at least glancing at the headlines can make a big difference, and in case you’re feeling overwhelmed sites like Experience can really help. The ‘Energy Blog’ and ‘Green 101’ are fun to read and can be really informative. Good luck!

Cape Wind Project:

http://www.capewind.org/

George Soros interview with Bill Moyers:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10102008/watch.html