#25 - Career Guidance with Tilly Tilbrook: great advice from application through to interview

This month’s episode is from a discussion which was recorded as part of a live Q&A session for students at Nottingham Trent University during the delivery of our six-week Career Accelerator for Aspiring Ecological Consultants course for 2nd and final year students studying for a BSc in Wildlife Conservation.

Throughout the six weeks, students gained a thorough understanding of; the role of an ecological consultant and ecological consultancy, planning policy and legislation relevant to their work as an ecological consultant, considerations of what to put into a quote that would go to a client, preliminary roost assessment, preliminary ecological appraisal (both theoretical and practical application), protected species surveys and licensing, using QGIS to generate a habitat plan, report writing for ecological consultants, and finally, career guidance.

It was for this final career advice session that Tilly Tilbrook, Director at Integrated Environmental Solutions Ltd, kindly joined to share her expert insights on the recruitment process and what she looks for in candidates coming through as early career ecologists.

Our Guest

Tilly Tilbrook is a Chartered Ecologist who has worked in the industry since 2002. Her background includes working for local government, Natural England, and both small and large environmental consultancies. She founded Integrated Ecological Solutions Ltd in 2009, partly through a desire to work more ethically. Over the past thirteen years, she has employed many freelance and early career ecologists, and is part of the CIEEM working group looking at employment issues in the sector.

During this recording we discuss the job advert, job application cover letter, CV, interview process, and finally some extra thoughts on obtaining missing skills where time and/or money may be limited.

Resources

Here is a non-exhaustive list of ways to bolster your CV through online training courses suitable for early career ecologists looking to work in the UK. Some are free, others are not.

*Free*
Join this Facebook group to learn more about QGIS. It's not comprehensive and you will have to search for what you're looking for, so if you are looking for a more complete introduction then we do have a QGIS training course aimed at beginners (see *paid*).

Watch Joshua Styles MCIEEM’s excellent webinar on Botanical Surveys for Development.

The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) often run free webinars or occasionally for a small £3-5 fee for non-members.

Recordings of free-to-attend webinars can be found on CIEEM’s YouTube and a list of paid-for recordings can be found under the ‘Webinars’ subheading of this webpage - a link is sent after access has been purchased.

There's also other early careers guidance on CIEEM’s website here: https://lnkd.in/dKSjmRCU.

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) Trust have several free online training courses here: https://lnkd.in/ddfpTW4D.

*Paid*
Ecology Academy has a range of courses covering many different topics, including; Introduction to QGIS for Ecologists, Introduction to Bryophytes, Preliminary Ecological Appraisal Fundamentals, or for university/group courses (or individuals at certain times of the year) there is the Career Accelerator for Aspiring Ecological Consultants.

The Arboricultural Association has training on Bats in Trees.

The Field Studies Council also offer a variety of courses both online and across their many field centres: