How to get a Job in Vertical Farming companies?
The title says what this article is about, how do I get a job in a vertical farming company?
Many who are considering their future career may have a company in mind where they would like to work.
Depending on personal preference, this can be a start-up or already a large company, keeping in mind that the whole industry has only been around for a few years and there are not that many large companies yet.
So how do I get a job at the company of my choice? Graduates in the relevant field or from a college or university would try to apply directly to the company, but this is not always the wisest decision, since you have to compete against competitors to even get a response and then still be invited to an interview.
Here is a list of steps to get you closer to your goal.
Step 1: The internship
The internship is one of the least appreciated works, but indispensable for the professional future if you are just starting. Depending on the country and school initiatives, you can do 1-2 internships within the school period, these go for a few weeks. In this way, students experience what everyday life is like in a potential profession. This gives the seeds the opportunity to germinate, if you are still young, use this opportunity to apply to a company in the agricultural sector. They would be happy about the interest you have, because there are less and fewer people who are involved in current agriculture, on the other hand an internship allows you to experience which processes there are.
But even after the end of your studies or school time, internships are worthwhile, so several internships in your resume can help to strengthen your interest in an area, but it also signals to the HR responsible that you have initiative and want to learn more.
A stepping stone into the industry can also be an internship with an international organization.
The Association for Vertical Farming is an international nonprofit organization for vertical farming, apply for an internship there and get a valuable internship/volunteering entry on your resume. Here you find Recent Jobs at Association for Vertical Farming
Step 2: Use your contacts
There is a saying that if you know one person and one of their people knows another and this third person knows someone else, then you know half the world. So or something like that is a saying, I myself have experienced this, I met a man at a conference who met Michel Obama, so I know someone who knows the wife of the former US president. Wow, it can happen that fast!
So use your contacts and ask them if they can help you or if their contacts can help you.
Having contacts doesn’t hurt and can lead you to interesting jobs in a roundabout way.
Another reason to check in with your contacts at regular intervals and not let them cool down.
Step 3: Use LinkedIn!
Contacts alone are important, but even these are limited, you can not always choose your contacts, so it is important to surround yourself with people who have similar interests.
You can find such people in the business network LinkedIn, where people not only talk about business, but also actively discuss other topics. To get to know people, subscribe to pages that seem interesting to you and discuss with people who are interested in these topics.
This way you will meet people with similar interests and possibly future business partners.
This step is time consuming, but you can see exciting developments or benefit from the contacts and network of your new contacts.
Important: do not take advantage of this! Build friendships and don’t ask for their network, if they know someone who can help you, they will help you if you tell them what you are looking for or where you have a problem. Asking does not hurt!
Step 4: Your Introducing letter shows what makes you tick
A CV is a business card of your person, it gives information about your career, where you’ve worked, what schools you’ve attended and what you do in your spare time. What it doesn’t tell you is what drives you as a person, what excites you and why you want to work at that particular company.
Especially if you want a dream job, you should be burning to show why this job excites you.
Step 5: keep learning
You’ve done your internships, maybe trained for several years at a company that’s in the same industry? Then you have the right foundation, but so that you don’t get attached, learn new things, enroll in courses to get up-to-date knowledge or refresh existing ones. Especially in vertical farming there are always new developments that have an influence on the future of some companies. Suitable courses can be decisive for your application.
You can find current courses that you can use for your further education in our CareerPath.
Step 6: Finally apply!
Quite a few have fears when applying to a company that is important to them, you may only get one chance to present yourself, what if you don’t make it? What if you don’t get picked or invited to interview?
Don’t go crazy, having fears is normal, I too had fears when I first applied. Even if you don’t get chosen, the world goes on, learn new things, apply to other companies and gain experience that way. Every company is looking for employees again sooner or later, if not now, then maybe another time. However, it is important to look forward and apply despite fears.
Step 7: The interview
Finally! You have made it! You have been selected by the company of your choice and invited for an interview. Prepare yourself, dress professionally, a suit is not always necessary, but it underlines your professional appearance and how important this position is to you. In start-ups, the dress code is rather casual, for the gentleman a white shirt and Jens, for the lady a blouse is appropriate. Take your CV and work certificates with you, so that you can go into detail about them during the interview. They also offer you psychological support, because they certify what you have achieved, so don’t be afraid to ask questions about the work you have done in the past. Also important, the tone makes the music, don’t talk bad about your former employers, otherwise they would think you would talk the same way about the current company if you were to resign. Keep a polite and respectable tone about your former employers. For more in-depth business questions, you can also take a moment and refuse to answer if those questions attack a previously signed non-disclosure agreement. Of course, it is up to you what you say.
Step 8: Trial work
It is not uncommon to do a trial work during the selection process, usually it is 1-3 days where you work for free in the company, here is less the performance the goal, but how you get along with team, they test your social skills, can you handle difficult employees? How do you behave with your fellow men, how do you deal with the cleaning staff? Your social behavior with the people around you is more or less observed, after all the company doesn’t want someone who talks bad about the colleagues or insults or mobs the cleaning staff. Listen more and use this day or days to get to know the company and build up first contacts.
Step 9: Your first day at work!
Congratulations! You did it, you got your dream job! Your first day at work will vary from company to company, and depending on the department, you may be assigned a mentor who will take care of you in the beginning and introduce you to company specifics and explain tasks/programs and more. Listen carefully and ask questions if you get stuck.
At this point you are now on your own, you no longer need us 🙂 .
But maybe your friends or acquaintances are also looking for a job in this industry? Then tell them about Indoorfarming-jobs.eu and they will surely find their dream job with us.