Discover the Working With Wildlife Toolkit: 5 Must-Have Secrets to Land Your Dream Job in Wildlife Conservation!

Life can be frustratingly unclear for so many of us.  Scratch that.  For all of us.  Everybody, if they have a heartbeat, has periods of time when they just don’t feel like they are ‘on the right path’.  This is ok because it is completely normal.  It’s also undeniably scary and if you’re not careful, it may be all there is.

 

 

Taking care of a newly orphaned baby koala ("joey") as it looks up at me as I listen to it's heart.  These young ones sadly just lost their mothers but volunteer animal rescue and care teams came together to make sure they had a future.  Photos taken at Mosswood Wildlife, Victoria Australia.

 

 

We all want to make our mark, to feel significant, to feel like this world was a little bit better off because of how we chose to live our life.  I believe that’s the new measurement of true success.

 

For some reading this, this may involve protecting nature and working with wildlife - this is geared towards you because sometimes it can also feel like a hard game to get into.  Here are 5 tools, small steps that may be real game changers towards a better, happier life: 

 

TOOL # 1:  You know where you want to go, now what is the game plan to get there?  The answer: Make a ‘SMART’ plan (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound) BUT – and here’s the difference – make it with short timelines. 

 

Why short timelines?  You need to put ALL of your focus on the here and now – to get done what do you need to do today, this week, at the most over the next 2 weeks, to get to the next step.  Think of it like crossing a river by stepping on rocks, you take a step, look up, take a step, look up…

 

I keep timelines very short because I’ve found that the further out I try to plan things the seriously less accurate they get.  Life happens, things change and you must quickly make adjustments to keep moving forward.  Just look at the last few years to see what I mean!

 

The other reason to keep timelines short is that when you have something really hard to do and it’s waaay off in the future, it’s really daunting.  So daunting that it’s too scary to even start.  But this is your happiness at stake, so make it urgent and break it into doable chunks. 

 

  

You cannot hear a turtle's heart using a stethoscope because of their hard shell.  So vets use an doppler ultrasound directed from the shoulder area towards the heart.

 

 

Tool #2:  When you ask for something from someone, think about how YOU can bring THEM value. 

 

We all at times ‘need’ something from somebody, whether it’s work experience, resources or access.  Whatever it is, don’t just go in hat in hand and ask for it. 

 

Be different, stand out as that guy/gal who wanted to give, because the moment you have to ask is the moment you give up your leverage and that’s never a good place to be.  If there is something that you want, instead think about what THEY need or want.  How you can bring value to THEM, it’s not about you. 

 

How do you do this?  Do your research – do their projects and annual reports align with their mission statement or are they missing the mark?  Is their social media channel lacking, maybe their website is in need of a facelift?  What can you do to bring them value? Can you manage volunteers, write code, blog, take pictures, perhaps you’re a whiz at plumbing or you are simply able to look after a remote basecamp for 6 months…what is the gap and do you have any skill (better yet – skills) that can help fill it?

 

So that’s the first thing, put yourself in their shoes and consider what THEY want and need then offer to bring THAT.  Everybody has something that is of value to others.  Offer this, then it is simply about the foot-in-the-door and build from there. 

 

 

This baby koala or 'joey' was briefly taken of it's mother so that we could place birth control implants (and therefore save both the forests and the koalas that inhabit them).  Photo taken at French Island, Australia.

 

 

Tool # 3:  Give more than you receive, even if it’s a little bit more.

 

If at ALL possible, do this.  Giving more than you take is a mindset hack towards happiness as well as usefulness, as it ensures that you helped others. 

 

Find a way to give just a little (or a lot) more than just the role.  Volunteer your time, your abilities in web design, data analytics, photography, people management, logistics, blogging, donations procurement…everyone has something that they are good at and that can bring value to others - everybody. Giving more than you take can be more rewarding than you can imagine! 

 

Tool #4:  Relationships.  As with Life, it’s ALL about relationships. 

 

Nobody in their right mind, if they have a choice, would hire someone based on the contents of a resume.  Those days are over.  In wildlife conservation in particular, the resume is a formality - people hire who they want to work with.  You have to be that person who’s enjoyable to work with - but they only know that if they already have a relationship with you! OR someone vouches for you that you’re these things:  Positive, passionate, fun, capable.  Nurture your relationships, value them, these will be where the opportunities come from in the future.  This is where the gold is.

 

 

This beautiful snow leopard is undergoing a routine physical examination.  Husbandry and research at the zoo contributed to conservation efforts in the wild. Taken at Melbourne Zoo, where I did my zoo residency training. 

 

 

Tool #5:  This Rule is the one that overlays all the other rules: JUST GO.

 

Nike was on to something here.  Stop pondering, planning, wondering, worrying, stop.  Enough already.  There IS no perfect time.   But there does come a time when you must simply just make a move, just GO.  

 

What will be the worst thing that happens if your expectations aren’t met, honestly?  You get on that plane and the job stinks?  You also learned something valuable, had an adventure that will make a good story one day and maybe even found something better because you put yourself out there.  If it won’t matter in a month, it doesn’t matter at all.  Most risks are not even real, and they certainly pale in comparison to the real risk – not doing anything. 

 

In wildlife, where options can seem more limited and the field crowded, it’s especially important to have a practical, hopeful and intentional approach to how you’re going to do it.  It is these 5 Tools - Having a actionable plan for the NOW, thinking about how YOU can bring THEM value, giving more than you take,  leaning into your relationships because we are social creatures, and JUST GO – these are anchor points that have led me to where I am now and I encourage you to explore these if you are in need some something more in life. 

 

It’s that contemplative end time of year when we are apt to sit down and re-evaluate our one life.  This is an important spiritual exercise that we should really do more often, myself included.  Once you have figured out the general direction of where it is you want to go, give these 5 tools a go as your next steps. 

Congratulations on making it to another end of year everyone, now grab our toolboxes and let's make this world a better place…