Second Nature
Stop looking out there for answers
I read job descriptions for environmental education (EE) and EE-adjacent positions because I want to see how others describe the work.
What words do they use?
How do they help people see themselves in a job description?
Do they focus on describing tasks?
Do they insist on academic credentials, or are they signaling they value lived experience?
How well do they explain the responsibilities of a position?
These questions stem from my curiosity about the language we have (or don't have) for how independent educators move through the field.
Not having a language isn't just about the field.
It's about you, too.
It's not just that others can't describe what educators do; sometimes educators can't either.
Reading job descriptions has taught me that being curious about the language used in our field is fine. Looking for oneself in them and hoping for an exact match is not.
The reality is that you know what to do. The hard part is framing it. You draw on your experience and skills when writing, speaking, serving on a committee, developing visitor experiences, or working with a client.
You know how to read a room and put your skills to use without thinking about it. You use skills you've never bothered to name. You simply do them. It's second nature. Just like the last time you greeted visitors or led a tour for local school kids. You read the room and adjusted your opening comments accordingly.
It's the "second nature" part that can get in the way when it comes time to articulate the skills used across actions like writing and speaking. Each of our transferable skills has a name. Each one is unique to the person who possesses it.
My point here is this: stop looking outside yourself for words that define you.
The skills you have, the ones that have traveled with you from place to place, have been carefully fine-tuned through your experiences.
Do they have names?
They do. To name them, you’ll have to look inward because you won't find them in a job description.
What will you call your unique skills?
