Green-For-Tomorrow Questions and Spectrum
Wireless spectrum has long been the true arena in the communications industry where the team that holds the most territory is usually the network that will have the most control. This has been a common place for strategic purchases amongst wireless carriers. So common, that I had completely forgotten about the importance of spectrum until a new player came in to the game.
In today's article from Gigaom, "Utilities Want More Spectrum, Too", the focus is on the utilities and how the evolution of smart grid is making the utilities realize the need for wireless spectrum. The more features (smart meters, remote monitoring and access, and application support) the utilities are going to promote with their smart grid solution, the more bandwidth these entities will need. To accomplish this, the utilities can create their own networks or partner with a third-party vendor. As you may recall in a previous article, "How Smart is the Smart Energy Industry", we talked about how carriers are moving toward smart energy management. One thing to note about telecom powerhouses such as Verizon and Alcatel-Lucent is that these companies will be moving towards implementing Long Term Evolution (or LTE) (Clearwire due in 2012). In a nutshell, LTE will allow carriers to handle more data (including voice and video). So what does this mean for the intern?
Green-Tern has always stressed the importance of keeping in tune with your career field. Do not just accept your current training as being the final picture of your industry. As you watch the utilities evolve alongside the telecommunications industry, pay attention to the moves that the utilities make in parallel to the technology upgrade each telecommunication company moves toward. This should give you a clear sign of where to position yourself, regardless of whether you're in energy OR telecommunications.
Questions that are asked of the interviewer during a job interview call for the standard, "How does this company feel about work/life balance", "Why is this position vacant?", and so on. Look, anyone getting in to the green industry must go beyond the expected questions and ask "green-for-tomorrow" questions. Here are some of my green-for-tomorrow questions:
These questions will not only show your interest in the industry, but also paint a more complete picture of where the company is going and whether or not you should be a part of it.
One last note. Often left unsaid is the need for the reader to already have the answers to his or her own interview questions. Ask these questions, but give the interviewer the opportunity to respond. Because you prepared your questions with some degree of knowledge of the answer, you now are positioned to turn a question-answer setup in to a full conversation.
Good luck!
~Michael
In today's article from Gigaom, "Utilities Want More Spectrum, Too", the focus is on the utilities and how the evolution of smart grid is making the utilities realize the need for wireless spectrum. The more features (smart meters, remote monitoring and access, and application support) the utilities are going to promote with their smart grid solution, the more bandwidth these entities will need. To accomplish this, the utilities can create their own networks or partner with a third-party vendor. As you may recall in a previous article, "How Smart is the Smart Energy Industry", we talked about how carriers are moving toward smart energy management. One thing to note about telecom powerhouses such as Verizon and Alcatel-Lucent is that these companies will be moving towards implementing Long Term Evolution (or LTE) (Clearwire due in 2012). In a nutshell, LTE will allow carriers to handle more data (including voice and video). So what does this mean for the intern?
Green-Tern has always stressed the importance of keeping in tune with your career field. Do not just accept your current training as being the final picture of your industry. As you watch the utilities evolve alongside the telecommunications industry, pay attention to the moves that the utilities make in parallel to the technology upgrade each telecommunication company moves toward. This should give you a clear sign of where to position yourself, regardless of whether you're in energy OR telecommunications.
Questions that are asked of the interviewer during a job interview call for the standard, "How does this company feel about work/life balance", "Why is this position vacant?", and so on. Look, anyone getting in to the green industry must go beyond the expected questions and ask "green-for-tomorrow" questions. Here are some of my green-for-tomorrow questions:
- What green technology is this company preparing for?
- and where does this company stand against the competition with that technology? (See scenario above)
- What is this company's stance on a sustainable workplace?
- and does the company have policies to support it?
- What does the company do to support the green community? (Obviously, you had better do some research before the interview, but allow this question to enrich the interaction)
These questions will not only show your interest in the industry, but also paint a more complete picture of where the company is going and whether or not you should be a part of it.
One last note. Often left unsaid is the need for the reader to already have the answers to his or her own interview questions. Ask these questions, but give the interviewer the opportunity to respond. Because you prepared your questions with some degree of knowledge of the answer, you now are positioned to turn a question-answer setup in to a full conversation.
Good luck!
~Michael
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