What the 'Open to Work' Badge Really Looks Like in ESG Right Now

6 days ago

1 min read

Illustration of a woman at a laptop early in the morning looking at an inbox full of emails, soft morning light

I put the "Open to Work" badge on. Since then, a lot of kind people have reached out asking what I'm looking for. I'm grateful for that.

But behind that green badge, this is what it actually looks like right now.

Behind the green badge

After sending 47 emails to respective people and applying every day for ESG positions open in the world, I wake up almost every morning to rejection emails in my inbox. Opening that first thing in the morning is disappointing.

It's not just me

I can understand layoffs are happening. Suddenly 20+ people are on the street looking for opportunities.

Some people in my DMs told me they have been searching for 6 months. Some are getting depressed day by day. Some still have jobs but are trying to move for something better.

Every job post gets 100+ applicants within hours. It's honestly

Illustration of a long queue of diverse professionals outside a door with a job posting on it

scary.

A market full of growth, short on clarity

ESG and climate change has now become everyone's job market and opportunity. More courses. More startups. More funding. More people. But not enough clarity on where people actually fit.

Some are taking investors' money to build ESG SaaS products. Some are using their own money to hire people and run the wheel. And in between all this growth, a lot of creative and capable people are struggling to find their place.