Getting into ecology - guest blog

Izzy McQuillan is a graduate ecologist at WSP, with a knack for communication. She recently  condensed her experiences of gaining her first steps onto the ladder of professional ecology into a series of LinkedIn posts. They are solid gold advice for anyone looking to follow in her footsteps and Izzy has kindly combined them into a guest blog for David's Bat Blog.

So this time last year, I saw my job role advertised on Linkedin and decided to take the plunge and apply.

I thought it would be useful to target some posts at current students, recent graduates and anyone trying to 'break' into ecology. There are a few useful tips that I wish I had known in my final year, or during my job search.

Want to become an ecologist?

First point...

You need to be able to drive. Preferably with your own car, but having a full-clean licence is the main point which might be tripping up your application.

Also, having survey experience is essential.

I would say, it makes the most sense to focus on bats, if you are looking for a seasonal position. If you have on your cv that you have assisted on dusk/dawn bat surveys, and know how to use a heterodyne bat detector, you are showing you can step into the business and start helping straight away, it makes you a useful asset.

Otherwise, gaining botanical i.d skills and GIS skills will also greatly benefit you. Phase 1 surveys, hedgerow surveys and preliminary bat surveys of trees could make up a lot of your day work, meaning having a grasp of common botanical species will be extremely useful. Understanding GIS will also put you ahead, being able to create a red line site boundary or Phase 1 map will help make you essential in the team. It seems in consultancy, Arc is the one to focus on, but QGIS is free and you can still get these tasks done on Q (I use Q, and am hoping to get my head around Arc this winter).

I wish I had known this, as no one told me this during my degree.

So, here is a big list of useful courses, both free and paid that will hopefully help you feel prepared and ready for the upcoming season!!

🦇Free- Volunteer and join with your local bat group!

For Manchester this is the South Lancashire Bat group

Facebook:https://lnkd.in/eGS7u4Yi

Website: http://www.slbg.org.uk/

🦇Paid- I am enrolled on BatAbility, the classes have been excellent and there are weekly videos, you can also access all of the past recordings, getting up to speed with everything bat related!!

https://lnkd.in/e_ahR9uy

🦡Free-Useful free Field Studies Council (FSC) Youtube videos:

Mammal tracks- https://lnkd.in/eFqMb_7W

Hazel dormice- https://lnkd.in/e5-Waj4r

Water voles-https://lnkd.in/ec_hwxyd

Paid (subsidised)- I attended several FSC courses prior to getting my role (biological recording, phase 1, QGIS) , and I think this is what gave me the edge with my application. There are funding opportunities for those aged 18-25 which means you can access scholarships through Generation Green in England.

https://lnkd.in/et3SV3Xt

🌱Free- Botanically, I would suggest going out into the wilderness and using an i.d app such as Google lens or Plant net and then getting your head around the species you see around you!

Do you use Linkedin?

OR... are you lurkering around, liking but never posting.

Has your university careers service told you to start using Linkedin but you have no idea what to do?

I was in this position in 2019. I wasn't sure what to do!

But, both of my last two consultancy roles I have found through Linkedin.

Top tips-

⭐Research and find companies you would like to work for. Look at the employees who work at your desired office and send connection requests. You are more likely to see if these offices are hiring as these people will be the people posting the roles you might want.

⭐Post! If you are nervous, start by re-sharing content. This gets your name out, and potential employers might recognise you, making you more likely to get the interview.

⭐Leading on from my last point, create content. This is the best way of getting your name out and noticed. I use Canva, it is free and there are lots of tutorials on Youtube. In a perfect world, posting 3 times a week is best, most people don't post that frequently. A way of hitting these targets is using scheduling websites, such as Hootsuite or buffer.

⭐Engage! Comment, like and engage with content created by people on your network.

⭐Use emojis as bullet points and line breaks, they will make your posts more visually appealing.

How much have you thought about your CV before popping it at the end of your application...

Following the application, where you have to fill in several boxes on 'How you align with the company ethics' and 'What skills do you have that make you suitable for this role', often you can overlook your CV and cover letter, when it fact, it could be the reason you are being overlooked yourself.

Some companies filter through job applications just looking at the cover letter, if you just have a few lines, your job application is going to get rejected.

So, some tips for your application from someone who has applied for lots and lots of jobs...

⭐Have you recently left university? Make use of their careers service, I went to the University of Manchester and we had 2 years post graduation to make use of the service. Get your CV checked, have a mock interview, speak to them about potential companies you should target.

⭐ Tailor your application. Make sure your CV is relevant to the job you are applying for, look at the words used in the advert and translocate these into your CV. Answer the points in the advert 'Must show excellent team-working skills'- use STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Response) and show HOW you have developed these skills. Problems I have seen with some graduate CVs is that they have one line about their degree. You've spent years, and thousands of pounds on your degree, make it work! Use bullet points and make everything cohesive, clear and accessible.

⭐The cover letter. What have you put in it? I was following the University career services guide on what to put in my cover letter, and it was actually causing me issues applying for ecology roles!

The format I previously followed was Paragraph 1- Where I had found the job, 2- What I know about the company and why I am suitable to work with the company, 3-Why I was suitable for the role. Then I changed my cover letter and I got an interview for my current role. As survey skills are so important in ecology, if your cover letter is missing these points, you won't be selected. In your opening paragraph, mention the experience I have mentioned previously is so important. Bullet point these skills. For example:

'Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my application. I have found XXX role advertised XXX. I am extremely keen to secure my first ecology role, as such I have recently developed skills in:

🦇Bat call sound analysis, using Kaleidoscope.

🗺️GIS skills, including the production of red line boundaries and Phase 1 maps on QGIS.

🌱Botanical skills, including identification of common hedge species such as Hawthorne, blackthorn and woodland indicator species such as Lords-and-ladies.

(All the above are free skills you can develop over the winter in order to be prepared for the upcoming ecological season)

So you're on Linkedin, you've found a role and company you want to work for and you've tailored your CV, now what?

How do you ensure you apply and can secure an interview?

Applying for roles can honestly feel like a job in itself. Each application can take hours; ensure you shift through the roles appropriately and allocate a few hours for the initial application. With consultancy, you will also likely have a skills based test post-interview which is still a part of your application.

Prior to my first graduate consultancy role, I was asked to produce a desk study of a site. Be prepared for this additional assessment when you put in your application. I was given a week to produce this report. During this week I was working full-time and it was also my birthday so I had to allocate time appropriately in order to ensure I didn't miss this role with a poor application. I visited the site in question, conducting a site walkover in addition to the desk study, this strengthened my report and impressed my future bosses. I secured the role.

During my ecology interview, I had a species test. I would say this is quite common within ecology. As a seasonal this should be common species you might see out on site (tracks or species images). Be prepared for this, have a research on Linkedin seeing what your potential future colleagues might share around species, you might be pointed in the right direction on what they might test you on.

And my last piece of advice?

Be yourself!

Remain professional but don't hide parts of your personality in order to 'fit in'.

If you are pretending to be someone you are not in order to secure this role, you will not feel comfortable at work. If you get rejected for being yourself, it isn't the end of the world. You are one step closer to finding a team that is perfect for you!

Don't be dis-heartened, I applied for so many roles over the years. I'd come close, had interviews but never got past that stage until 2020. Hopefully, these ideas help you.

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A new invasive species invading homes at Xmas

It's winter, when professional ecologists use the down-time to refresh and update our knowledge. This Christmas a new and invidious invasive species is invading our homes and spreading rapidly, so here I present an important guide to the ecology of this worrying species. I am of course speaking about the Lindt chocolate teddy-bear.

This dangerous invasive is native to the Zurich area of Switzerland, but, like Chinese mitten crabs, skunk cabbage and white-clawed crayfish, human actions have brought them to this country and they are spreading rapidly...dangerously so.

It has been said that we are never more than 6 feet away from a rat. Whilst this is an urban myth, it is possible that Lindt chcololate teddy populations may be growing to the point where it may be true of them. Every day my wife Rona has to spend time searching the house, removing many teddies from their hiding places around the house. Individually they may be cute, but in large numbers their thousand-yard stare becomes alarming and threatening, especially as nobody knows exactly what they are plotting.

What is particularly worrying is the large gaps in our understanding of chocolate teddy ecology. For example, we know little about their diet and where they gain the resources required to support their unusually rapid reproduction. However, there have been sightings of packs of teddies slaying Lindt chocolate reindeer and feasting on them.

The social structure of a teddy colony is complex and unusual, with possible parallels to ant or wasp colonies. As well as being found as individuals, teddies are sometimes found in groups.

There have been very occasional sightings of large accumulations of teddies engaging in mass communication of some kind, with giant queen teddies at the centre of the colony. It is believed that these mass meetings lead to mass dispersal, with teddies hiding around the house, watching and waiting for something. 

More concerning is rare examples of teddies building fortresses from boxes of chocolates.

At present it is not known what is happening in the following picture, but it is possible that some form of sacrifice forms part of teddy social behaviour, with unknown but rather concerning purpose.

It's easy to dismiss Lindt chocolate teddy-bears as being a seasonal and harmless invasive species and particularly tasty and it is true to say that their main predator is my chocaholic wife Rona. However they do seem to breed very rapidly at this time of year and social media does indicate signficiant prublic concern about them.

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Early career ecologists - making progress in winter

Winter, hibernation season for ecologists? Not quite, but it's definitely the time to slow down, write reports, catch up on admin. and take back some of those extra hours we all work during the summer. But what if you're an early career ecologist, who either doesn't have a full-time job yet or whose seasonal role has now ended. How best can you best fill the winter months? Hopefully you've managed to earn enough in the summer to keep you going, but how best to prepare yourself for the next season?

I suspect you'll be spending an inordinate amount of time hunting the job sites, sending out CVs, crafting cover letters (a truly satanic task, if ever there was one) and praying that you'll get the job you know you deserve. Whoah! Stop that negative thought NOW - you DO deserve it. Winter is also peak the peak season for depression. 

Earlier in the year I posted some suggestions for ways to enhance your field skills and improve you chances in the job market (Field skills for early career ecologists and Early career ecologists and hamster-powered scootering). So what can you do to enhance your employability when the weather is wet and grubby and all the interesting wildlife is hibernating (I'm a bat specialist, so that may be a slightly biased view)? 

Here's a thought - how are your bryophyte ID skills? Many moons ago I recall standing, huddled together in the rain with a group of fellow-sufferers whilst Nick Hodgetts bounded enthusiastically around an embankment, showing us different bryophyte species (Nick's a brilliant tutor by the way, and I can recommend the courses he leads). The fact is that bryophytes are often at their best when wet and some species are especially useful for habitat indication. I wrote a post about a few commoner bryophytes a few years back (Right-diddly-wotsit-squirrelly) Since then the British Bryological Society have completed their superlative field guide and I'm happy to say it's very user-friendly and a great addition to your christmas list.

A former member of my survey team got his first break into what has subsequently been a successful career in professional ecology, when he turned up to an interview and was handed a bag full of plant material and asked what he could ID from it. The first thing he noticed was Polytrichum commune - a large and striking moorland moss which, as luck would have it, I'd pointed out to him during an especially boring transect the evening before. Lucky or what? So don't neglect bryophytes! They have a charm all their own.

If you're a member of your local bat group now is the time to start asking about hibernation surveys. Be persistent and make sure they know how keen you are, because for many underground sites numbers need to be limited, to minimise disturbance. Data from these surveys feeds into the critically important National bat monitoring programme and, after having to shelve surveys last winter due to Covid it's really important to gather data this winter (though there's a new risk assessment process). You do, of course, need to accompany someone with an appropriate bat license and not just for legal reasons - underground sites are dangerous. There's more about bat hibernation surveys here: The great hibernaculum hunt and here: The great hibernaculum hunt revisited.

How are your GIS skills? When the weather is miserable, why not delve into QGIS, the free open-access GIS system which has become ever more popular over the past few years? GIS is a core skill for a lot of ecology work and if you're new to QGIS there are many free resources to help you work your way into QGIS. Take a look at The QGIS project.

Finally, winter weather isn't all bad news and there is nothing like freshly fallen snow for finding and identifying animal tracks - another very useful field skill. There are quite a few guides available, but my favourite is Preben Bang and Preben Dahlstrom's book, which has been in print since forever - I remember borrowing an early edition from the library when I was a teenager in the 1970s (the late 1970s, just to be clear!). Don't be put off by the Ray Mears celebrity gimmick on the current edition, it's a really good field guide and well worth hinting to Santa about.

One final thought - when you get that interview and you're sat there, suited and booted and quivering slightly with fear tell them about all the stuff you've done. Maybe it's a British thing, but far too many interviewees assume anything they've done probably isn't good enough and keep quiet about it unless there's a formal certificate or diploma. Take confidence in what you can achieve on your own and in what you have achieved. To prove my point, have a read of Ash Ronaldson's guest blog - Paid bat surveying is an actual, real thing - Ash's first season. Ash has just accepted a full-time job as an Assistant Ecologist. See?

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Ode to a bat-hater

So you’re not at all keen on bats?
You seem to confuse them with rats,
Or birds or possibly cats.
Your thoughts on the matter,
Are mad as a hatter,
If unsure, why didn’t you ask?

 

Bats will get caught in your hair?

To the bat that’s really not fair,

And factually lacking in care.

Your fixed prejudice,

Is a load of old pish,

Though your truth-twisting’s done with real flair.

 

You firmly believe a bat ought,

For sucking of blood to be shot,

Or otherwise nastily caught.

Never forget,

The thing it just ‘et,

Was a midge and not you, you clot

 

Your hatred of bats I hear,

Is drip-fed by the press in your ear,

And based on irrational fear.

If only you’d see,

They’re actually twee,

The world would be better, that’s clear.

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Winter - when the gods of bat-work get sneaky

I’ve written previously about the gods of bat-work, the horde of devious and mischievous god-lets, who supervise all aspects of bat-work and amuse themselves at our expense. As we move towards winter bats begin to think about hibernation and bat ecologists relax. But the bat-gods stay awake. Without wakeful bats and busy surveys to interfere with they seek new ways to entertain themselves through the dark, damp days of winter…

They shift their attention from field-work to cosy offices, to seek ways to entertain themselves. Whilst we make the most of the warm and dry they are quietly poking about in our cupboards, drawers and storage boxes, seeking out bat detectors. With great glee the bat god of batteries changes our nice Duracells and Eneloops for manky old leaking horrors, so that when spring comes and we dig out our nice shiny bat detector we find it's battery compartment awash with disgusting chemical gunk, rendering the detector useless. 

Winter report-writing makes the bat-god of computing very happy. Over the years he has had to change his tactics, since auto-save robbed him of his favourite trick: making the lap-top crash with several hours of work un-saved. Now he has branched out into messing with broadband connections, so that just when you are trying to upload something big to the cloud, the bandwidth drops until it seems like the rest of your life will be spent, staring at that damned rotating circle.

Bat call analysis software allows the bat-god of echolocation many opportunities to have his fun. Almost daily the Insight and Kaleidoscope Facebook groups have plaintive messages from people who have found their favourite package doesn't work how it did yesterday in some subtle, frustrating and inexplicable way. Inevitably we blame the latest software update for those wasted hours, but the bat-gods know better.

Winter is the time when we bat ecologists re-discover a strange and half-forgotten thing called a social life and begin to enjoy going out in the evening, eating out, meeting friends and generally acting like normal human beings (you'll notice I say like normal human beings).

This disgraceful bat-free happiness infuriates the bat-gods, who believe that we should be entirely focused on them at all times. Inevitably their vengence is devious and nasty. Remember that office party when your 'hilarious' secret santa gift bombed horribly? Who do you think it was who whispered that idea in your ear? When you've a hot dinner date and your car won't start, it's not the cold weather wiping out the battery - there's a giggling little bat-god under the bonnet. And when you’re trudging miserably through ice, slush, hail and freezing cold, never forget it all exists simply because the gods of bat-work want you to look forward to the next survey season!

More about the gods of bat-work:

Ignore the gods of bat-work at your peril

Further news from the gods of bat-work

The squircles of bat-worker hell

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