Green Building Jobs: 5 Ways to Boost Your Career in 2013

1. Stay up to date on the latest technologies.

While sites like Poplar post green building news daily, it might be time-consuming to check all of your favorite sites for updates on the industry. However, it's important for your career, especially in a constantly advancing field like green building, to stay updated on the latest technologies and trends.

Try using a tool like Topsy to find the most popular news, measured by social sharing on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Just search "green building" (or any search term specifically related to your market, like "HVAC" or "solar") in the search box, and choose to scan the top news from the last hour, day, 2 days, week, month, or all time. This is a great way to see what the sustainability construction community is talking about - and fast. Try doing this at least once a week to stay on top of the latest news.

2. Attend green building conferences.

Green building conferences are a great place to network with peers in the industry and listen to talks on the market's latest developments. Plus, many of these conferences have expos, where you can try or learn about new sustainable products. At 2012's Greenbuild conference, I even got to make my own piece of eco-pipe with hot fission! Check out my list of 8 green building conferences in 2013 to see where and when you can attend.

3. Boost online presence through networking websites.

Online networks and social platforms, like Twitter and LinkedIn, are not only good places to connect with other professionals in your industry, but also to develop your personal brand online. In particular, green building professionals can benefit by joining Poplar, which is designed especially to promote them and their businesses. It's Google-optimized profession tags, Q&A section and profiles are ideal for helping your name to appear higher in Google searches. Also, since it is specifically for green professionals, it's a great place to network and learn (from the news, topics pages, and conversations with other professionals) about sustainability.

4. Earn a green credential.

Jim Payne's recent article in Huffington Post explained the current experience gap that exists in the sustainable building industry. Essentially, studies have shown that 50% of new construction aims to achieve green certification, but the majority of employers (including 91% of contractors) say that finding employees that are qualified in green building are difficult to hire.

Therefore, it's a good idea to make sure that you have the desired training or credentials for a professional in your field. The LEED Green Associate credential, for example, demonstrates a general knowledge of green building and the LEED rating systems (try 300 free practice questions on Poplar Education). A solar installer may wish to earn NABCEP certification, which is highly regarded in the solar community as one of the top organizations for certifying professionals (try a free NABCEP practice test here). Energy auditors may need BPI or RESNET training and certification. Investigate which courses or credentials you may need to meet your potential employer's needs.

5. Blog.

As Rob Freeman described in his latest article about inbound marketing, blogging is a very important tool for increasing your online presence. As he said, "The 2011 "Lead Generation Lessons" report from Hubspot states that businesses that blog at least 20x per month receive 5x more traffic than those that don't". The reason for this is not just that people are more likely to read a blog than to peruse a company's website. It's also because the content in the blog, if strategically designed, can be picked up by Google. This means that your blog and name will come up higher in Google searches, which will make you easier to find on the web. Read Rob's article to learn more about positioning your content for Google.