Sooner or later each student has to graduate and then start to find a dream job. In forest sector, at least in Europe it’s not easy to obtain appropriate vacancy. In this post I would like to share with you my experience in terms of job searching, and give you some hints where to search, and which mistakes to avoid.

Definitely good option is to complete as many as possible internships during the study, even though study time would be extended, it’s always good idea to do it. My experience shows that employers pay much more attention on professional experience than education, so such trainees could be huge advantage in the recruitment process.

From my side I can recommend European Forest Institute, which each year releases different project topics. Furthermore it’s also possible to write master thesis on one of the proposed project. Generally internship takes at EFI 3 months, however I think that it could be also shorten or extended, everything depends on selected project and your supervisor.

What is more Arbonaut company from time to time also offers some internships, which are more related with GIS and IT. I don’t know details, because I haven’t done there any traineeship, however I heard from  my friends that Arbonaut is really good English speaking company and it’s worth to apply there in order to learn something useful.

When it comes to job possibilities in forest sector I can recommend Coillte company, which each year releases Forestry Graduate Programme. Generally the recruitment process is divided into two parts. First part is focused on the online tests, which include numerical reasoning test, inductive reasoning test and of course English language test. Afterwards the candidates with the highest grades are invited to Ireland for a job interview. Coillte refunds travel expenses to Ireland and pays also for hotel. The recruitment process is fairly intensive, testing many skills and abilities so I would advise the potential candidates to practice the ability tests before, and to manage their time wisely during the actual testing at home as well as in the Ireland.

Furthermore you can find many forestry job offers at the following websites: findaforestryjob, indeed and monster, however those job positions are mainly located in the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand.

You can also find interesting vacancies in our Blog in Job Alerts section. Rafal Chudy does the great job and from time to time share with you some job positions as well as PhD vacancies.

When it comes to CV and letter of motivation, try to write them as best as you can. Make a research how good CV or cover letter should look and what should contain. On the internet you can find huge piece of information about it. Sometimes technical and language mistakes can ruin your chances for the future recruitment process, no matter what achievements have you done before, so don’t underestimate it. Moreover good idea is to take recommendation letter from former employer and include it in application documents. Not every employer require recommendations, however sending them would be an asset. When you apply to USA or Canada I suggest to read about Resume.

Remember also that when you would not get the position you applied for, it’s not the end of the world. Each recruitment process and job interview can teach you a lot. This knowledge you would not find at the University or library, you need to go through it independently. After several approaches I can guarantee that you would not need any advice how to increase your chances during interview, because you would exactly know how it works, what to do and what to say the future boss or HR recruiter.

Information included in this post are only tiny part of the possibilities, which are waiting for you, and I’m sure that when you start to dig harder on the internet you will find much more different options. I wish you good luck in finding a dream job in forestry!

Przemko Pachana  – forester, graduate of Forestry from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and Forest Information Technology from the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.

Professional experience gained i.a. at European Forest Institute in Finland and Polish State Forests.

Currently has been working in Germany in a company which mainly deals with forest management plans, and forestry software and mobile applications development.