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Over the yrs, I have reviewed 800 - 1000+ applications for wildlife field technician positions. I have some thoughts!
Don't exaggerate. We'll know. We know everyone else & we talk. We will call the references not listed because we know them & want an excuse to chit chat, get the scoop.
If you exaggerate, we'll be skeptical about the rest of your resume.
If you exaggerate, we'll be skeptical about the rest of your resume.
Don't sweat the cover letter, but don't neglect it either. We can tell the difference between a form letter & a letter that has some thoughtful adjustments meant for the job app.
Sometimes we ask for transcripts. Sometimes we need it for grant-specific funding or are looking for successional grad students on a project, but usually not. I didn't look at any transcripts that were included this year. Don't sweat it.
If you have little field experience, we understand, we've all been there. Make sure those soft skills are presented upfront. We can teach you field skills, but we want peeps that can handle learning quickly, stress, & can think on your feet.
Tell me what you are interested in. Is it working in a new environment? Getting experience in specific techniques, field of studies? Grad school aspirations? We want motivated people, not just warm bodies.
Mentioning in the cover letter that you want to work with the Senior Avian Ecologist, specifically to learn from them, will win you brownie points. Small points of flattery will probably work.
Tell me what you can offer the project. Lots of people have camera trapping, bird survey, etc skills. Tell me about your fit on the team and sell me on how you help projects run smoothly.
Minor detail, attachments with file names that are YourName_CoverLetter, YourName_Resume are immensely helpful
Lastly, apply everywhere. Wildlife tech jobs are competitive. We'd get 250+ applications for our hawk jobs. Your foot in the door might be a plant, soil, etc job that will be awesome too
I have the duration of this blood donation appointment to answer questions!
How to present those soft skills? Don't tell me about your Scrabble championship (I will chuckle), but tell me how you organized tournaments, worked logistics for team travel, etc. Restaurant server? Tell me how you multitask in a fast-paced environment.
Store inventory experience? Excellent, you can count birds, plants, poop, & keep it all straight!
Find a buddy to become your Buddy Proofreader. You will both be applying for lots of jobs over the years, find those typos for each other.
Ah, blood donation filled in 4 min 55 secs!!!
Now I get to eat all the snacks.
Tacking a thread onto a thread. https://twitter.com/JaedynRuli/status/1355021638690025472?s=19
