AFE Provides Great Career Insights for Young Horticulture Professionals
December 4, 2021 This fall, the American Floral Endowment (AFE) created two informal surveys for professionals in the industry and academia about their experiences and advice to help young professionals interested in pursuing a career in floriculture and horticulture. The surveys include insights on the job market, career development, application advice, background on how professionals attained their current roles, and more. The surveys were released to AFE’s community of faculty, donors, and industry members.
With the help of AFE’s Young Professionals Council (YPC) through member Michael Wijesinghe, AFE analyzed the data and compiled the results into two executive summaries, one for the Industry Survey and one for the Academic Survey. AFE recently released these resources for young professionals interested in careers in their industry.
To share the results and answer any questions, the YPC sponsored a webinar on Nov. 16, 2021. The webinar featured the following speakers:
- Dr. Megan Bowman is currently Director of Research Operations for the Ball Helix research and development team at Ball Horticultural Company. She also serves on AFE’s Board of Trustees and is the Board Liaison for the YPC.
- Michael Wijesinghe is an Assistant Grower for Bell Nursery in Springfield, Ohio. He became a member of the YPC in 2021.
- Dr. Kimberly Williams is a Professor in Greenhouse Management and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar at Kansas State University. She also serves as a member of the Vic and Margaret Ball Internship selection committee and AFE scholarship reviewer.
A Taste of What Was Discussed
When asked about common mistakes on applications both in industry and academia, Dr. Bowman responded, “Mistakes we often see are sometimes people will assume that their networks alone will get them the job that they want. Applicants will have gone to great universities, worked with fantastic professors and floriculture labs, and that’s important, but it’s only so much. What matters is what you’re going to take from your education and bring to a team of people that you’re going to start working with and offer your skillset to. It’s important to show the value you bring beyond your network.” From the survey data, the panel also discussed the importance of having a clean application with correct spelling and grammar; this can often be the difference between an application making it to the next round or being dismissed.
Dr. Williams expanded into best practices for applications.
“As was mentioned in the survey, apply for jobs that really are what you love and what you want to do. If you are a researcher, don’t apply for an 80% teaching position and vice versa,” she said. “Along those lines, look at the position you’re applying for, address all aspects of the position that they’re looking for, and tailor comments of your own experience to pull out highlights that will resonate with the search committee by meeting key functions of the role.”
Both surveys showed the importance of a variety of experiences for those applying to jobs in floriculture. Sharing his own experience as a young professional in the industry, Wijesinghe added how internships can provide an opportunity for young professionals to interview their company as well as the company interviewing them.
To learn more about negotiating for a fair salary, networking tips, and the diversity of roles in horticulture, learn more here.
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