Last year, I was finishing up my undergrad degree getting ready to graduate, having decided I didn’t want to get my Masters but instead wanted to hop right into the workforce and pursue my dreams of living and working in New York City. I was applying to a lot of jobs, therefore doing quite a few phone interviews. Back then, my idea of interview prep was simply scanning the website for 5 minutes. Fast forward a year and I have secured a job at Piper Maddox as a Renewable Energy Recruitment Consultant, and already supported many people through the interview process that ended in a new job - I now realize what a disservice I did myself when preparing for an interview. Today, interview preparation is one my favorite parts of my job as I see it as something that truly has a huge impact when trying to secure your next role. Here I’m going to walk you through what I usually discuss with people, and why it’s important: The key questions to think about before the interview. With each of these questions it’s important to remember you’ll learn much more about the company, and your fit, throughout the process, but it’s so important to make sure you are as well-armed as possible prior to the call. What do you know about the Company? Before I give any advice, I ask what they’ve done to prepare for the interview. The typical response I get is “I took a look at the website and read the job description”. This is good, but we live in a world where we’ve got access to a ton of knowledge right at our finger tips, so we should be using it to secure our dream jobs! Other sources I suggest using are Google News and LinkedIn, each of these sources pull up information that may not be easily accessible or even on the website. This is important for a few reasons, the first being that for an employer it’s a good gauge of commitment. Having someone that walks into an interview already having a good bit of knowledge on the company is appealing to an interviewer as it shows interest. For the interviewee it’s important as it’s one of the first steps in figuring out if a company matches what they want in a culture and if it would be a place they’d like to work. It's also worth noting that an interview can essentially be boiled down to two key questions: Why would you be a good fit for this role? This part of the interview prep takes a good chunk of time, as I find there are a lot of small reminders that don’t necessarily come to the forefront of people’s mind. The tips I usually recommend range from having your resume in front of you (only if it’s a phone interview), being more specific and highlighting key projects. For most people this is the self-explanatory portion of the interview - of course it's important as companies want well qualified people to work for them that can walk in and do the job, but it goes beyond this. It’s important that we’re able to articulate our workplace successes and failures as it shows capacity to learn and grow on the job. We have a habit of shying away from our failures, but by highlighting them and explaining how you learned from it can set you apart from other interviewees. Being specific is hugely important because it highlights exactly what you did in situations. Why are you interested? There is a big misconception that being a good technical fit for the role is the be all end all for an interview. This is one of the most important parts of the interview. I work with a lot of passive candidates that aren’t necessarily scouring LinkedIn for their next job, but are open to opportunities that present more growth and allow them to take the next step in their career. It’s SO important to convey why you’re interested and how this makes sense as the next step in your career. I think playing your cards too close to your chests is one of the biggest mistakes you could make, as employers want to hire people who are motivated to accept and succeed in the role. Ask questions. Perhaps the most obvious one - when going through an interview process it’s so important to ask questions throughout. For a lot of people they think an interview is a one-way street where the candidate gets peppered with questions and then the company decides if they’re a fit. This isn’t the case - it’s as much about you feeling it is a fit for you, so ask questions that will help you make a well-informed decision about whether this role and company are where you want to work. You’re often judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give. I recommend questions be in a few key areas as well as the ones that are important to you. I’d say it helps to categorize your questions into three areas: The Company: These questions help you understand the longevity of the business and the plans for an advancement. What are the company’s plans for growth? How does this business unit play into those plans? The Role: Questions in this area can help give more of an insight into the breadth of the role and possible career growth in the business. What do the first 6 months of this role look like versus the long term? What is the long-term growth trajectory for a person in this position? Your Interviewer: These questions serve a purpose when it comes to building rapport with your interviewer. Why did you join this business? What’s the most challenging part of your job/ what’s your favorite part of your job? Enjoy. Interviewing can be a stressful time for many people and it shouldn’t be. This is an exciting moment and a possible new journey for you, so it’s important to take a deep breath and enjoy it, as it could be the next adventure in your career!

Piper Maddox is excited to announce the release of the Battery Storage Salary Survey. This is the initial year that Piper Maddox has conducted a salary survey for the battery storage community across the USA. The release of our battery storage salary survey marks a significant milestone in understanding the compensation trends and career growth opportunities within this dynamic industry. We invite you to download the survey report today and unlock the valuable insights that will shape the future of your career or organization in battery storage. How did Piper Maddox coduct the Salary Survey? Battery storage leaders were asked to share their views across a wide range of areas including, but not limited to, what attracts battery storage professionals to their organizations, what are the most difficult skill sets to recruit for, and the challenges of recruiting in the battery storage space. This information led Piper Maddox to create a survey focusing on the North American battery storage market where over 350 battery storage professionals located across the USA were surveyed and sourced from Piper Maddox’s professional network. As well as analyzing compensation trends, the research uncovers trends in areas such as, background and working preferences for candidates, insight into organizations' battery storage programs, and some of the key hiring challenges for organizations. 76% of people list an increase in compensation as a major motivator for seeking new opportunities and over 65% of individuals are looking for new job opportunities in 2023. Download our Battery Storage Salary Survey here.

Piper Maddox, a leading recruitment brand in the clean energy industry, is thrilled to announce the opening of its new office location in Miami, Florida coming soon in October 2023. This expansion marks an exciting milestone for the company as it extends its reach into a thriving market and positions itself for significant growth in the region. Miami, with its proactive approach to renewable energy and a strong commitment to sustainability, presents a prime opportunity for Piper Maddox to further its mission of connecting top talent with leading organizations at the forefront of the clean energy industry. By establishing a physical presence in Miami, Piper Maddox is ready to tap into the incredible opportunities the market has to offer. The company is committed to making a meaningful impact, acting as a catalyst for sustainable change, and driving economic growth. The new office will be more than just a place to find extraordinary talent; it'll be a vibrant hub where we shape partnerships with clean energy companies, governmental organizations, and educational establishments. Together, we aim to drive the clean energy sector to new heights and provide tailored solutions to meet the evolving demands of clients and candidates alike. “Florida is among the top three states in the country for solar power generation and home to over 450 solar companies,” said Alex Cohen, Senior Director at Piper Maddox “It’s also the perfect regional hub to build an even deeper footprint across the entire Southeast, where more and more solar, electric vehicles and battery companies are investing billions in building out R&D and manufacturing facilities in what many are now calling the ‘Battery Belt’”. Cohen adds “Miami is also a vibrant, diverse, and growing city where we feel confident, we can build an amazing team of wonderful humans to help support our clients that are changing the world and have fun while doing it.” Piper Maddox prides itself on its ability to identify and attract top talent, placing highly skilled individuals in key positions within the clean energy industry. With its expansion to Miami, this marks a significant milestone in Piper Maddox's ongoing commitment to expanding its global footprint. With existing offices in several major cities across the globe, this expansion reaffirms the company's dedication to driving positive change on a regional and global scale, supporting the transition to a greener, more sustainable future.

The last time I wrote a post about moving offices was back in September 2020 (three years ago to the day). At that time, with the support of LHi, I made the decision to move from our New York office to Austin to establish our Piper Maddox division. This week, I find myself reflecting on the past three years as our LHi Austin office makes the transition from our shared workspace to our brand-new office in downtown Austin. This new space has the capacity for up to 60 consultants. The saying "blink, and you'll miss it" couldn't be more relevant in this situation. These past three years have been some of the best of my life, but they've flown by. There have been plenty of exhilarating highs and a few rough patches to navigate. All in all, I wouldn't change a thing. When I first moved to Austin, I had a small team of two, and we faced the enormous task of building a market and client base from scratch. The Relocation. My move coincided with the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, making things even more challenging. I'm a determined person, but this experience pushed me far outside my comfort zone and truly tested my resilience. After many long days (and nights), we managed to grow our pipeline of clients and began expanding our team. As things stand now, we have an Energy Storage division led by Lauren Fotta, a Business Development/Delivery team led by Lauren Jones, a Solar team (currently in the process of hiring a manager for this unit), and a Hydrogen/Clean Fuels division led by Oliver Buck. I'm incredibly proud of this team and how far we've come together. I can't wait to see us scale from 12 to 24 people! Piper Maddox experienced impressive growth, with a 53% year-on-year increase in 2022, and we've had an outstanding start to 2023, achieving over 162% of our target. We have strong plans to finish the year on a high note. What I'm even prouder of is what Austin represents within LHi Group across our leadership group and anyone who has visited the office and spent time with us. The feedback has always been that Austin feels like a real family, where everyone cares about each other's successes and offers support during tougher times. Jack Eldridge (our fearless leader), Ross Lewis (Head of Lawrence Harvey), Michael Tobin (Head of Harper Harrison), and I have worked incredibly hard to hire individuals who embody our LHi philosophy of 'family,' and you can genuinely feel it when you spend time here. Our office values. Our office values are incredibly important to us: Empowering, World Class Basics, Passionate, And genuine. We all believe in the simple principle of being good people, working incredibly hard with great customers, going above and beyond to help solve problems, and providing exceptional service. We've also implemented a minimum two-dog policy in the office, which means we have furry friends roaming around at all times. We even have a fish named Piper as a new addition to the family. We plan to add Maddox shortly, but Jack got two male Betta fish, which apparently have a tendency to fight. On a personal note, my life has undergone significant changes in the last three years. I convinced my boyfriend, Anthony, to move from New York to Austin and even pursue a career in recruitment (though not with Piper Maddox, unfortunately). I even managed to teach his English Bulldog to swim, which is no small feat but necessary for survival in the Austin heat. Honestly, I could go on, but I think you get the idea! If the next three years are anything like the last, we are in for one hell of a ride, and I can't wait to see what challenges are thrown at me. I intend to stay outside of my comfort zone. Bring it on.