Careers in ESG! Advice on work/study, resume-building & networking [ft. Ewha GSIS grad Sooyoung]

Are you interested in a career in ESG (environmental, social, governance) issues? Do you want to hear some job-searching tips from a recent Ewha GSIS grad? Are you a fan of DARI TV? If you answered "yes" to any of the above, take a look at this video! I had the chance to chat with (introvert) Ewha GSIS grad Sooyoung Kim (ESG Analyst) on the road leading up to her current career in ESG data analysis at Who's Good, an AI-driven ESG analysis firm. Enjoy!
#ESG #SustainabilityCareers #EwhaGSIS
Related links:
Who’s Good: www.whosgood.org
Sooyoung Kim: / sooyoungkim12
Prof. Hannah Jun: @profhannahjun

[@DARITVKOREA]

Thank you for watching and let us know if you have questions about entering the ESG/sustainability field!

[@sofysimon4537]

Hello I have few questions. Would u be able to suggest few universities for MSC and also if you are aware of job opportunities in the EU countries

[@DARITVKOREA]

@@sofysimon4537 Hi! I believe ESG-related institutions hire from a variety of backgrounds, so it'd be great if you could narrow down what programs you are looking at in terms of major. There are also lots of job opportunities in the EU, including research/ratings firms/think tanks, investing institutions and both the public and private sectors. You could try LinkedIn, Indeed, or even DevEx (the latter with more focus on development) for job opportunities. Best wishes!

[@ericdouglas87]

I've been looking to pivot into ESG. With so many ESG standards, what are the most useful ESG standards to learn?

[@DARITVKOREA]

As you pointed out, there are many standards and guidelines out there. If you’re just starting out, I’d recommend taking a look at international initiatives/indexes to get a birds’ eye view of the industry. UN PRI, TCFD, GRI, and ESG indexes/ratings (MSCI, Sustainalytics, ISS, Bloomberg, etc.). If you’re interested in ESG as a career, you might also want to see if the ESG certification from the CFA Institute or other institutions would be worthwhile. Best wishes!

[@sooyk8710]

Thank you for the opportunity to talk about my (quite messy) career path, Professor! Everyone who watched this video is saying the editing is so smooth 👍🏽 It helped me think about what I have done so far and what my next step will be :)

[@DARITVKOREA]

Thank *you* so much for meeting with me! I already received feedback from students that your insights were really helpful. Looking forward to celebrating the end of 2020 (and beginning of 2021!) with you very soon~ 🙏🏻

[@vaishnaviguraja2521]

Your journey has taken you to places and given such a varied experience. I have an opportunity to study about sustainable finance in Ireland. With your experience in this field of so many years, would you suggest someone from finance background, to obtain a degree in Sustainable finance or can one venture into by exploring the roles?

[@dogpark3938]

Impressed by her enthusiasm and determination!

[@DARITVKOREA]

Thank you for supporting her! ^^

[@ttc.1058]

As a student from both finance and sociology background, I am always striking the ultimate balance between "making the bucks" and “making the good". Thanks for sharing your experiences and providing some more insights into how to bridge these two seemingly contradicting fields together!

[@DARITVKOREA]

There's definitely a case to be made that you don't have to sacrifice one for the other. It's a tough balance, but there are lots of folks working to make it happen -- you included! ^^

[@melissachin5169]

I share an almost similar background with Sooyoung :D Now working at a bank in the marketing & comms dept, but would like to venture into sustainability. I also used to intern at a non-profit think tank and am pursuing a part-time degree in Anthropology and Sociology while learning Japanese! This video has been very insightful and helpful to determine my next steps. Thank you so much for the great interview, Prof Jun and Sooyoung

[@DARITVKOREA]

Wow, you’re right - so many similarities! Since you have a passion for sustainability like Sooyoung, I’m sure you’ll find lots of promising career opportunities in no time. Wishing you all the best! 🙏🏻

[@mikefitchNYC1971]

Professor Jun, This video was so interesting. Great job on this interview.

[@DARITVKOREA]

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! ^^

[@guswhd1128]

Thank you for this informative video :) I'm currently studying accounting and finance and recently got interested in sustainable management. I don't know what I should do with my career as for now, but I might as well take some courses in sustainability and find ways to incorporate my finance knowledge with sustainaility. This video def helped me navigate my career paths in sustainability.

[@DARITVKOREA]

I’m so glad you found the video helpful! With your financial acumen, there will be lots of exciting career opportunities for you. Just as a side note, I’m planning to upload a follow-up video on ESG with Sooyoung towards the end of February. Hope you’ll check it out & best wishes! ^^

[@guswhd1128]

@@DARITVKOREA thanks, I look forward to that! :)

[@taranazare2633]

Great video! Thank you!

[@그린그린-t1x]

thank you for making great video about esg career professor Jun. i was looking for job in esg exactly, i searched at linkedin as a keyword of esg and found sooyoung linkedin and your youtube video too! one point i was wondering that you and sooyoung mentioned was the knowledge about finance. could you please share more knowledge and information? i want to hear more. because i am doing the intership at asset management now but kind of lost what should i do next. Thank you so much! (hope sooyoung also reply my question in linkedin too 같은질문이지만 ㅎㅎ많은 이야기가 듣고싶습니다 ㅜㅜ감사합니다!)

[@DARITVKOREA]

I’m so glad you enjoyed the video! I’m sure Sooyoung will be reaching out to you if you got in touch with her on LinkedIn. Although Sooyoung may be able to share some more details, financial analysis here primarily refers to analyzing a company’s current financial statements and also simulating impacts on future firm performance based on changes in ESG factors/performance/risk. Since you’re interning at an asset management firm, you would have great access to PMs who can share some insight on how they may reflect ESG in investments (although many don’t ^^) and what tools they use to make those investment decisions. Actual simulation and detailed financial statement analysis would also be conducted by sellside analysts (as I was before), but you’re in a great position to access those resources. Best wishes with your career search and please feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn as well! ^^

[@그린그린-t1x]

@@DARITVKOREA wow seems like there are much things i could learn and study for esg in this firm now than i have expected and much clearer now! and hope to have more conversation on linkedin too!

[@DARITVKOREA]

@@그린그린-t1x I'm excited to have that discussion as well! 화이팅~~ ^^

[@yuan5870]

정말 좋은 영상 감사합니다! ESG 이슈에 관심이 있고 이 분야에서 일을하고 싶은데 어떤 공부를 하면 좋을지, 구체적으로 어떤 일을 할 수 있을지 항상 궁금했어요. 고등학교 대학교 모두 문과 계열 공부를 해서 Finance 관련 수업을 들을 생각조차 못하고 있었네요..ㅋㅋㅋ 한번 제대로 알아봐야겠어요. Finance 수업을 들으면 ESG분야에서 일을 하는데 어떤 식으로 도움이 될 수 있나요?

[@DARITVKOREA]

안녕하세요. ^^ 다양한 학문에서 접근할 수 있다고 생각되는데요, finance 에 대한 이해가 특히 도움될 수 있는 부분은 asset allocation/investment considerations 이해하는데에 있어서인것 같아요. 투자자의 입장에서 ESG 가 왜 중요하냐 물어보신다면, 투자 대상을 선정하는 과정에서 ESG 이슈에 따른 리스크(혹은 기회)를 파악하는 것인데 finance 에 대한 지식이 전혀 없다면 소통자체가 어렵지 않을까 싶습니다. ESG 이슈에 관심 있다고 하셨는데, 좀 더 구체적으로 define 하면 좋을것 같아요. E-S-G 이슈 별로 한번 고민해보셔도 되고, 아니면 관심있는 institution(예, 기업에서 ESG 전략 및 목표를 세우는 업무, 실제 투자를 하는 투자가관/자산운용, ESG 연구나 평가하는 research institute 등)을 생각해서 준비하셔도 되요. 졸업하셨는지 모르겠지만, 이쪽 분야에서 연구하고 계시는 모교 교수님들 찾아뵙고 자문 구하는 것도 도움될것 같아요. Best wishes!

[@ahmershah1962]

hello ma'am, I'm really need of your help right now. i have just done my bachelor in environmental science and i am looking for masters in sustainable development management or cooperate sustainability. My only question is would you please help me of finding out which particular field or fields of sustainability would be best for me as environmental scientist and would i be able to do good in that having a background of environmental sciences secondly, which one is the best subfield of sustainability in terms of income and career growth in your point of view. thanks

[@glendybeatriz8688]

I'm graduating with an urban sustainability degree and I have no idea what job to get. I dont wanna work as a urban planner

[@febrianathania8450]

I am so blessed there are some people who have same interest like me huhu sometimes issues related to ESG are “taboos” to some companies.. I love this content Prof.. 감사합니다.. 🙏🙏🙏

[@DARITVKOREA]

There’s some encouraging evidence out there that shows companies are embracing sustainability/ESG - so glad you’re also passionate about the field! ^^ 🙏🏻

[@febrianathania8450]

@@DARITVKOREA yes Prof.. especially in Indonesia some companies (listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange) have applied ESG but some of them didn’t disclose their activities related to ESG which lead us to make an assumption whether they did it or not.. It would be great if we can discuss CSR topics or ESG topics as well, Prof.. your contents really inspired me to take another challenging journey.. thanks Prof ❤️

[@janiellestar]

I hope to study in your class professor lol.. I am so tired to continue with my current job and worrying my future carrer path. I hope to get out of this repetitive cycle of overworking and burnout. 😥

[@DARITVKOREA]

You must be going through a very tough time.. we definitely want to find work that is fulfilling and also gives us energy. Thank you for reaching out and hopefully we can map out a path that doesn’t perpetuate burnout! 🙏🏻

[@janellekhoo6889]

@@DARITVKOREA I wanted to stop before I am getting myself into depression. Therefore, I applied GKS this year and chosen Ewha GSIS to pursue my further study in P.h.D majoring in International Business. Hopefully, I could successfully leave everything as for now, to get some time for me to recharge and regain my passion again. I watched all your videos, and your lovely smile always brightens up my day. I hope one day we can meet in person. Thank you so much, Professor.

[@DARITVKOREA]

Aww, thank you so much for your lovely message and I can’t imagine the tough time you’re going through. There are plenty more smiles to be found on my channel and I would certainly love to meet you should you come to Seoul - I know a few tasty cafes you might enjoy! 언제나 화이팅~~ 🙏🏻

[@janellekhoo6889]

​@@DARITVKOREA Thank you for the words of encouragement, professor. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly. I can imagine how awesome it would be that we could spend the whole evening chit-chatting at a lovely café . I will definitely rewatch all your videos and anticipating more smiles in your new uploads. 😘

[@DARITVKOREA]

I can’t wait!! 🍵☕️🙈

[@luckycops1958]

Hope next year i can join in your class Prof.Jun❤

[@DARITVKOREA]

I look forward to it! 🙌🏻🙏🏻

[@yanat7934]

I'm introvert too. I can talk in chat but in real life I'm like " I don't know who I am "

[@snuder9832]

Of course the Chinese sign on. They are used to being manipulated and coerced. Good job