๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉe๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ญ?
Neil Farrellโs Linkedin post
I just watched three brilliant sustainability professionals turn down "wait and see" mode.
Here's what they did insteadโand why it matters more than ever.
The market's tight. Hiring freezes are real. Every sustainability recruiter I know is hearing the same story: "We're pausing until Q2... Q3... next year."
๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง 18 ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก๐ฌ? ๐๐ก๐๐ฒ'๐ซ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ .
A mid-level ESG analyst pitch an internal carbon accounting tool to her CFO (approved with budget)
A renewables engineer who got made redundant complete his PMP certification and land a better role in 6 weeks
A client-side sustainability manager who spent January networkingโ25 coffee chatsโand just accepted an offer that didn't exist on any job board.
๐๐๐ซ๐'๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ง๐จ๐๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ญ๐ฌ:
They separate the reactive from the strategic.
When budgets tighten, companies don't stop needing sustainability talentโthey just get more selective about WHO they hire. They want people who've kept their edge. Who stayed visible. Who invested in themselves when it was hardest.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค:
Pitch internally. Your current employer is already paying you. That unscoped project? That efficiency idea? That new service line? You have more permission than you think. One green light can redefine your trajectory.
Invest in credentials. GHG Protocol training. B Corp certification. Circular economy fundamentals. The courses you bookmark but never take? Take one. It signals commitment when everyone else is in survival mode.
Network like it's your second job. Not transactionally. Not desperately. But consistently. Ten conversations. Ten. That's the number I keep hearing from people who've cracked the hidden market.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก?
Waiting for the market to "get better" is the same as letting other people write your next chapter.
The opportunities haven't disappeared. They've just moved off LinkedIn job boards and into the networks, internal initiatives, and skill sets that most people aren't building.
๐๐จ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐'๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐:
What's ONE move you can make this week that your future self will thank you for?
Don't tell me the sustainable recruitment market's toughโI know it is.