You Can Do Hard Things
Why returning to a beginner's mindset is necessary in the job search. Plus 12 open job opportunities. Welcome to the March 25th Unseasoned Newsletter!
- Insight from life beyond outdoor seasonal work-
Career Check In
Remember your first time rowing a Class IV rapid?
Your first ski run through deep powder?
The first hitch where you tried to use a crosscut saw?
Learning how to manty a load?
For many of us, the answer is… no, not really.
After a decade or more in your outdoor profession, you’re likely close to an expert in your sport or career. It’s grounding - and intoxicating - to be great at skills most people only imagine or see on YouTube.
But when it comes time to make a career shift, many senior outdoor professionals get stuck.
If you haven’t applied for non-outdoor roles or explored new interests in years, it can be hard to let go of your identity as the “expert” and step back into the role of beginner.
As you begin your job search, you may not feel in control. You may not know how to present yourself as skilled or proficient in a new arena.
A career coach can help shorten that learning curve, just like the senior guide who first taught you to read whitewater. But at the end of the day, you’re the one who has to take those first steps.
It’s hard. It’s scary. Sometimes it’s even embarrassing.
But here’s the good news: You already know how to do hard things.
You were once a beginner, putting yourself out there in the face of literal life-or-limb danger.
How scary can one job interview really be?
How intimidating is one networking call?
The key as you begin your job search is to return to that gritty, audacious beginner mindset. Who was the person in you who decided - against the odds - you’d figure out how to become a ski patroller? Where is the young woman who knew she’d become a wildland firefighter, even when she didn’t see many others who looked like her?
Those younger, scrappier versions of ourselves are the ones we need to call on as we begin our career shifts, not the cool collected expert.
You know how to do hard things.
This is just another one.
xx - Emerald
- Questions for Your Next Journal or Hike -
To Reflect On
When you’re ready to leverage your outdoorsy background and move into your next career step with confidence, here’s how I can help:
Download the Trace Your Trails Workbook: A step-by-step workbook to help you uncover the professional value in your outdoor and seasonal experiences, identify what matters most to you now, and chart a clear path forward.
Join the Application SOS - Resume Revision Waitlist: A live cohort-based training of my tried-and-true system to upgrade your resume and build a job search strategy that fits your adventurous life—in or outside the outdoor industry.
Explore 1:1 Coaching: Work with me one-on-one for a full month of personalized support, including tailored resume and LinkedIn support, access to my network, and my full attention on your next career move.
Unsure where to begin? Reply to this email and I’ll help you decide!
- Land your next role -
Open Jobs Grab Bag
Get a Foot In
Regenerative Organic Alliance (Remote - Contract) - Impact Systems Manager
Missoula County (Missoula, MT) - Librarian
Early and Mid-Career
LL Bean (Freeport, ME) - Executive Administrative Assistant
State of Wyoming (Jackson, WY) - Highway Maintenance and Avalanche Forecaster
University of Montana - College of Forestry (Missoula, MT) - Marketing and Communications Manager
Confluence of States (Remote) - Manager - Contract
Adventure Scientists (Remote) - Events Project Manager
Bullhorn (Remote) - Customer Success Manager
Whimstay (Remote) - Account Executive
Go Pro
City of Bellingham (Bellingham, WA) - Assistant Fire Chief
Skyline Foundation (Palo Alto, CA) - Program Manager, Equity in Education
Multiplier (Remote) - Associate Director of Campaigns, Affordable Energy Campaign
