Brownfields Toolbox

Finding good jobs for Brownfields Job Development and Training program graduates can be subdivided into three tasks:

• Effective presentation of program graduates' unique and specialized skills and credentials.
• Effective marketing to potential employers of environmentally trained workers.
• Effective job selection – matching student abilities with job opportunities.

Effective presentation includes your ability to present each student as a worthy candidate through appearance, interview, and documentation. Appearance and personal presentation during the introduction and interview is a life skill, and ideally is a part of any comprehensive brownfields training program. While life-skills instruction cannot be funded as part of the Brownfields Job Development and Training program grant, you can usually cover costs for such training through other funding sources. In addition to life-skills instruction, you should address personal hygiene, dress, speech, and attitude. Your staff should also insure that students are conversant in technical issues associated with the environmental and brownfields positions they are seeking.

Possible talking points related to brownfields training that may be discussed during the interview include the following:

• Environmental topic areas studied.
• Nature and conditions of the environmental work.
• Certifications and credentials earned including association affiliations.
• Special recognitions and awards.
• Travel and relocation preferences.
• Interests in additional responsibilities and advancement potential.
• Physical limitations or other issues that may influence job performance.

Note: Many of the talking points listed are about the job seeker's preferences, abilities, and expectations. Unless informed otherwise, job seekers should assume the interviewer is not knowledgeable regarding the candidate's technical abilities and credentials. Another unknown is the interviewer's knowledge about environmental issues. In either case, job seekers should be prepared to discuss technical issues.

Above all, job seekers should be good listeners. Interviewers will provide background information, expectations, job performance measures, and compensation associated with the vacant position.


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