Finding your ‘sustainability and…’

The author argues that a general interest in sustainability is often insufficient for employers, who prefer candidates with exposure to other industries or disciplines. To overcome the disconnect between high job demand and the struggle of graduates to find roles, the guide suggests identifying a "sustainability and"—a specific niche such as finance, engineering, or public policy. This approach allows candidates to leverage existing skills and natural aptitudes to provide a clear value proposition to employers. The guide offers tailored advice for undergraduates to double-major or seek targeted internships, and for experienced professionals to use their previous career experience as the "and" while supplementing it with sustainability knowledge.

• There is a contradiction in the sustainability job market where businesses report a lack of qualified talent while sustainability graduates and pivoting professionals struggle to find positions.
• Employers typically find it difficult to justify hiring candidates who possess only a sustainability education without exposure to other disciplines or industries.
• Defining a specific "sustainability and"—a niche such as finance, the built environment, or public policy—makes a job search more effective by providing the specificity that employers require.
• Undergraduate students are advised to operationalize their "and" through double-majors, minors, or internships that combine sustainability with another field.
• Experienced professionals can pivot into the field most effectively by using their existing professional experience as their "and" and supplementing it with sustainability knowledge via online classes or executive education.

APA

James, C. (2022). Finding your ‘sustainability and…’. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/sustainable-development/sustainability-and-work-career/

Chicago

James, Caroline. Finding your ‘sustainability and…’. World Economic Forum, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/stories/sustainable-development/sustainability-and-work-career/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=James |first1=Caroline |title=Finding your ‘sustainability and…’ |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=12 December 2022 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/sustainable-development/sustainability-and-work-career/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{james2022finding, author = {James, Caroline}, title = {{Finding your ‘sustainability and…’}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/sustainable-development/sustainability-and-work-career/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }