AltEnToday

I’m back from a short hiatus (a little vacation combined with some pressure to ensure that all my classes got lined up for the semester at San Jose State caused it). Now the real pressure is on - to find the best alternative energy company to join!

The criteria is actually fairly simple: I’m looking for an integrated, US-based (or at least US-market-oriented) solar company (or renewable energy tech business).

My first shot? CareerBuilder.com. I happened to be browsing the web and stumbled across one of their ads, and decided to give it a go. Frankly, after less than a week online with them, I have to say the results are less than stunning. A dismal misfire might be a better expression to use. The problem is CB just doesn’t have many alt-en jobs, but the issue is further exacerbated by the fact that my resume reads like a what’s what of dot-com industry experience (which is what I actually have). All the CB technology is designed to accommodate my past experiences and find matching jobs (of which there are thousands of dot-com opportunities in the San Jose area), but it hasn’t been able to find any good matches for my skill set and preferences towards the energy industry.

The second issue is that far too many of the jobs online with CareerBuilder are recruited positions, meaning the actual companies that might be hiring are masked behind long lists of common recruiter organizations. This frustrates my ability to seek out specific firms and match their wants (and the business’ objectives) to my capabilities and personal objectives.

So, for those starting their alternative energy job hunting, I’d suggest you shelve Career Builder and give something else a go. As I sort through the options, I’ll be sure to post and report my successes.