34 Top Recruitment Agencies in Sustainability ā€“ and how to use them
May 06, 2024
Job searches can sometimes feel overwhelming.
The need to scour what feels like thousands of job boards, sign up to all the right LinkedIn groups and carefully cultivate your network.
By working with recruitment agencies or executive search firms you can remove a lot of this headache, and find yourself matched with the right role, at the right company far more quickly.
To make the most of the process though, you need to be smart and strategic about which agencies you select to work with.
First, who should you approach?
Well here are 34 of the top firms in the impact and sustainability field that you should start with.
UK Recruitment Agencies
US Recruitment Agencies
California Environmental Associates
Bradman Energy and Carbon Recruitment
Global Recruitment Agencies
Now you have a list to select from, pick three based on the right region and industry focus.
Next step is to make your approach.
For the top five pieces of advice I share with my clients on how to work with agencies.
Having used our list of 34 Top Sustainability Recruitment Agencies to select three or four agencies that meet your requirements on geography and industry focus, the next step is crafting the right approach.
The key here is to put yourself in a recruiters’ shoes.
Their main concern is finding the right candidate for their client. They’re hired by a corporation or organization to identify interested candidates with a clear skillset. From these they’ll develop a shortlist of three to five, and put them forward for interviews.
Though some will create this list by proactively headhunting candidates, this will normally be reserved for the most senior roles. For the remainder, you’ll still need to make yourself known to an agency and have an idea of what types of roles currently on their books you could be a good fit for.
In short, the majority of these recruiters aren’t there to handhold potential candidates through the process. They won’t guarantee to find you a job or have unlimited time to help. They will however help negotiate salary packages and act as a middleman if their client identifies you as their top candidate.
So to make the most of this relationship, ensure you’re well prepared before contacting an agency or recruiter.
First, take a look at their current roles. A recruiter will be much more likely to help you if you are applying for a live role, and all executive search firms list their clients’ job openings online. I advise my coaching clients to find the one or two roles they are most qualified for.
Next, customize your CV to these roles. It goes without saying you need to have a CV ready to share when you approach a recruitment agency but the secret is to customize it according to those 1 or 2 openings you’ve found on their current list and are applying for. Usually there will be an online application process, however, after submitting your CV (both in Word and PDF formats), follow up a few days later with a live call to the appropriate consultant.
Ahead of this call, be ready with your elevator pitch. Put together a lines that sum up why you’re a great candidate for the role in a few lines or less. Practise it a few times in the mirror until you’re comfortable and confident you could reel it off on the phone too.
Once you do get on the phone remember that you need to treat all conversations with a recruiter as an interview. First and foremost recruiters act for their clients - that is how they get paid after all. If it’s easier think of them as outsourced hiring managers, with whom all chats are arguably interviews. Be ready with your elevator pitch, your top three skills and a summary of your relevant experience in a sentence or two. Also be ready to tell the recruiter why you want this role and how you are better than the competition.
If none of their current roles suit you, most recruiters allow you to submit your CV to be considered for future job openings. However, if that’s the case, make sure that you check back for updates regularly. Every time recruitment agencies have a new role they will post it to their site and other job boards such as LinkedIn groups, so register for their weekly bulletin or RSS feed to stay on top of the latest live roles. Again, don’t expect a recruiter to do this for you, no matter how brilliant your CV and experience is. And, if possible, arrange a face-to-face meeting with a recruiter to start to build your relationships in person, and help you stand out from the crowd when they’re sifting through a pile of applications.
Take these steps, and you’ll find working with recruitment agencies could be an invaluable part of any successful job search.
Shannon Houde is an ICF-certified coach with over 20 years as a recruiter and trusted advisor to evolving change leaders from Managers to CSOs. She has mentored and trained 1,000+ change leaders over 3,000 hours in ESG and corporate sustainability and is the author of Good Work: How to Build a Career That Makes a Difference in the World. Apply for a trial coaching session here!
