Finding and Filling Jobs in Cleantech (part 2 of 2)
Work on Climate continues its interview with cleantech recruiter Sabrina Dove-Petrigh
Sabrina Dove-Petrigh is the founder and principal of Pacific Search Firm, a recruiting organization specializing in cleantech and sustainable technologies. She sat down for a chat with Sam Steyer and Richard Kim to share her thoughts and experiences in this sector with the Work on Climate community. We’ve split this interview into two parts. In Part 1, Sabrina introduced herself and discussed the cleantech industry and job market generally. In this Part 2, she discusses networking, transitioning into clean tech, and her advice for founders looking to hire.
Networking
Richard Kim (RK): I think a lot of people are in a situation where they feel like: I don’t know enough yet. I don’t know enough about solar panels to talk to that person at the panel, because they’re gonna find out that I don’t know… whatever the thing I don’t know is.
I know exactly how they’re feeling because I remember, in 2009, I didn’t know anything about solar and I went to the Intersolar conference. And I remember that “deer in the headlights” feeling. But I quickly started meeting people, asking questions and learning as much as I could. People wanted to share information, so just keep an open mind and ask questions and you will learn.
You don’t have to learn or know everything about every clean energy technology. We can’t possibly be experts in all these different technologies. But you can keep asking questions and keep educating yourself. I’m always trying to keep up with all of my clients’ technologies and latest developments while learning the new ones. I can’t possibly do that but I can find out as much as I can by asking good questions.
But just start where you are, and don’t feel like you have to know everything before getting into this field. Because otherwise, if we all wait until we know everything and we’re experts to play a role, this climate crisis will never get solved! Just start where you are! Start where you are, and do what you do best, and then you learn as you go. Keep reading, learning from others, staying curious, asking questions and you will learn. We’re always learning.
RK: Do you feel like people in this industry are generally approachable in that way?
Yes, yes, definitely! Especially at speaking events or cleantech contests or conferences. Definitely, it’s a really good chance, even in smaller events, to be able to strike up conversations with people. I think that it’s very approachable.
I always like the face-to-face route, so I always say, get away from your computer.
Now you can’t do this during the pandemic, unfortunately, but get away from your computer and go in person and meet people. Go to these kind of speaking events, go to the conferences physically, go to GRID Alternatives, give what you can, make the relationships in person.
It’s ultimately a smaller community. It’s a large community of companies, but it’s also a smaller community too, and so you meet people that way, and that’s the best way. That’s what I would recommend, but I know how hard it is right now.
Right now it’s a challenge, it’s really a challenge. But that’s what I would say. Get away from your computer, go in person.
Transitioning
I was gonna say, before when I was preparing some things that people should know when they’re considering getting into cleantech, that these startups tend to be flat in their hierarchy for several years. And sometimes people say, “I was a manager before and I really want to be a manager” and that oftentimes doesn’t translate well. But if you’re flexible, and you’re saying, “you know, I was a manager or a director before but I’m okay being an individual contributor or open to whatever the team needs right now,” and just be open and adaptable, that helps tremendously. It can be difficult for people to really make that transition.
And the other thing I would say is the compensation. Many folks are paid quite handsomely now in the San Francisco Bay Area. I think that the pay is generally competitive and fair in cleantech. It’s not shoddy at all. But, it is certainly different than tech. I sometimes talk to well-meaning people from large tech companies and they say “yeah, I really wanna be doing something more meaningful for the planet” but then when it comes down to it, it’s difficult to make that transition when they run the numbers.
So, think about that before, because it will be different than what you’re being paid now. So, that’s something to keep in mind.
I’ve recently spoken to a lot more engineers recently from the big Bay Area tech companies who have had a change of heart during the pandemic and are now much more serious about getting into climate tech.
If we all wait until we know everything and we’re experts to play a role, this climate crisis will never get solved! Just start where you are! Start where you are, and do what you do best, and then you learn as you go.
RK: Yeah, just following up on that a little bit… would you say that most of the climate tech startups you’re working with are not primarily profit driven? That that’s balanced with their desire to to address the climate crisis?
All of the clients who I choose to partner with decided to get into cleantech because they wanted to work on hard problems that will in some way mitigate climate change. They are mostly scientists and engineers who have been working on these problems for years. They are both mission driven and also have a practical go-to-market plan for profitability. They are funded by VCs.
Sometimes I’ve seen, the first market that they take may not be so satisfying to someone who’s really idealistic. But it’s their first market and they’re being strategic, and then they’re going to work on grid storage.
Some people are really rigid about going to cleantech and they’re saying, “well, they’re doing that now, so I don’t want to be a part of it.” But, what they have to understand is that that company is going to survive because they’re figuring it out and making money now, in one area. And they’re going to move into the good area later.
I think that the founders… I know they got into it for the right reasons.
Sam Steyer (SS): Is there anywhere you’d recommend people go to learn about cleantech startups? If you wanted to go see a bunch of startups and understand what’s out there, are there people you can talk to to figure that out?
In non-pandemic times, I would recommend attending as many speaking events, conferences, clean energy contests, and clean energy social events in person! Now, I would recommend attending virtual educational sessions hosted by Work On Climate, listening to interviews or podcasts such as “My Climate Journey” and “Watt It Takes”, subscribing to Bill Gates’ “Gates Notes”, Bloomberg Green News, CleanTechnica, etc.
There are also a ton of great climate blogs and more Slack channels specific to cleantech. There is a great group called “The Battery Brunch” and they provide lots of industry and company related information on the battery sector. They also host this fantastic monthly brunch via Zoom with breakout rooms where you get to randomly meet people who are in the field.
It’s also true that there are more clean-energy-focused VCs now. They can be a wonderful source of learning about different types of cleantech startups easily.
Founders looking to hire
RK: what advice would you give to cleantech founders who are looking to hire employees?
I’ve found that many founders think at first that hiring won’t be that difficult or time-intensive. They say, ”I have everyone I need in my network” or “We know everyone in our industry already.” Or, “My friends are going to want to join, I’m sure.” And that may be true at the beginning. But, oftentimes, they quickly realize that their network isn’t as interested as they thought they would be and that their friends don’t want to join. Or people are happy working where they are. Or no one knows about your company. They also realize that it takes a plan to attract more women and folks from different backgrounds to their teams. They also realize that their network is not that diverse.
I would ask founders some of these questions:
- Can you communicate your story and vision and adapt it to the different audiences you are trying to attract?
- If you’re prioritizing hiring a more diverse senior leadership team — women, people of color and folks from different backgrounds from the founding team — what’s your strategy?
- Do you know what are the most critical hires and challenging hires you need to make?
- How much time are you personally prepared to spend on the recruitment for those critical hires each week?
- If you are not prepared to spend X hours per week on recruitment yourself, what is your plan for outsourcing recruitment?
So the advice that I would give them is recruitment takes a long time, it’s a process. Founders tell me that recruitment takes takes way more effort and time than they ever thought. It can be a long process of really sharing your story and telling it in a way that’s inspiring to other people. And a lot of people in your company have to be able to understand that story and share that story.
And then a lot of the candidates may be coming from other places, they may be working right now. Chances are they’ve never heard of you or your company, and so it can be helpful to founders to work with a retained recruitment company like Pacific Search Firm. We’ll hear your story, and we’ll be able to pitch your story to passive candidates that are working happily and are interested in cleantech but just don’t know about you.
And so, you know, that’s what I would tell founders.
RK: Would you say that then you really take on caring for the founder’s story when you’re recruiting?
Absolutely. I spend a lot of time (before I launch a recruitment project) understanding the founder’s story, the technology, the team they have already created, and what they are hoping to create. I also spend a lot of time understanding the parts of that story that will be most interesting to the individuals I am recruiting. Before this pandemic, I loved going on-site to see the teams in motion.
So I’m taking on the founder’s story or the hiring manager’s story of the company. And I’m really understanding why that position is motivating to a systems engineer. What makes a systems engineer tick? And why would that systems engineer be interested in your story? So, I’m understanding both of them as I’m approaching these passive candidates. Or, maybe I already have known those systems engineers for a long time and they’re just now open to learning about you.
I understand founders are sensitive to cost and to making these decisions. But, hiring and getting the right team, those are strategic decisions that are really, really important. So I encourage founders to consider working with a cleantech-specialized recruitment company for certain challenging positions or roles that they need to hire in a short amount of time.
RK: And the advantage working with like a cleantech-specialized recruiter is the expertise in the specific roles? Or the stories that are being told? Or both?
Both. I really seek to understand the stories and as a cleantech-specialized recruitment company I’ve been committed to this field for a long time and have long-term relationships with my clients and individuals in the space. I stay in contact with people for years and I attract people who are interested in getting into this field as well.
RK: And it sounds like you also place a really high value on understanding the candidates, understanding the organization, and communicating those needs back and forth.
Exactly. I do a lot of due diligence and have more focused conversations to really understand individuals. People say like well, “why are you spending so much time with me?” I do two interviews with candidates and so we have a long conversation, and the purpose of that is for me to really understand you. Many candidates say, “I’ve never had a recruiter ask the types of questions you ask” and they appreciate our conversations. They appreciate being able to share significant projects from their professional lives. I love learning about what people do and how and why they will contribute to decarbonizing the planet.
All of this due diligence helps both candidates and my clients — as a result, I am able to really explain who you are to this company and so that they understand you as well.
RK: Yeah, that’s fantastic. So often, recruiters that I experience in the tech space, they’re just trying to move volume. … I don’t feel understood or treated like a person. So, that’s just really nice to hear.
Yeah, recruitment can be very transactional when recruiters don’t have a long relationship with the company. They don’t understand the company’s story. They’re not committed. They’ll take roles from whatever industry; it doesn’t matter. And it doesn’t feel good for anyone to be in a transactional kind of relationship. It doesn’t help the company. It doesn’t help the candidates.
I appreciate that making the decision to change companies and to join an early stage cleantech startup is a big one. These are big decisions. To change, and to accept a new role: it’s a big decision. It’s also a big decision for a company to hire someone. That’ll affect the dynamics of the whole company. So this is an important decision for all parties. Everyone has to feel very comfortable and have the information they need to feel comfortable.
So, yeah, my approach is slower. It’s slower and more thorough. But it tends to pay off in dividends to the companies and to the candidates who know that they’re making the right decision.
SS: Thank you, this is super interesting. I know that our community will be really interested to hear what you had to say. It’s a huge help.
