Are you fired up and ready to go… green? These days, it seems like you can’t open a newspaper without finding a story on green jobs. Some industries, like green construction, are even growing, despite the recession. Other sectors, such as clean tech, have taken the same hit as the rest of the economy. But there are signs — like the fact that run-of-the-mill companies are increasingly looking for in-house sustainability chiefs — to indicate, recession or no, the green revolution is here to stay.

Inspired by the opportunity to do well by doing good, you dust off your resume and press your interview suit. You’re all set now to go out and get a job that marries your career with your values, right?

Not so fast, say industry veterans. Just because you’re a smart cookie with tons of gold stars in your current field doesn’t mean the green world is waiting to scoop you up. There are some key steps you should follow to get a foot in the door and, ultimately, snag your berth in the new industry. Do it wrong, however, and you could find yourself shut out without a prayer.

Do a Gut Check

Are you truly passionate about helping the planet and fighting climate change? Or are you just sniffing around because you think this is where the jobs are? If you can’t define “sustainability” and think “green” is a color, consider a different path. In the green world, authenticity is key. Employers are looking for people who walk the talk. “I’ve even had employers say if the person drives up in an SUV, they don’t have a chance,” reports Jim Cassio, a workforce development consultant and author of the new book Green Careers: Choosing Work for a Sustainable Future.

Green businesses usually operate on a triple bottom line. Sure, they want to make money, but they also make decisions based on the environmental and social impacts of their work. If you don’t already get it, they don’t want to educate you. Phoebe Higgins landed a job as a loan officer with the San Francisco offices of the California Fisheries Fund last fall, even though she was competing against more experienced banking veterans. The Fund works to improve the sustainability of fisheries. Higgins, a recent graduate of the Green MBA program at Dominican University in Marin, says her relative lack of inexperience was balanced by her previous work at non-profits and her then-current job as a community bank sustainable programs director. “They wanted someone who wasn’t going to be changing culture so dramatically from a lifetime in banking,” she says.

Plus, in an era when customers scrutinize companies for signs of greenwashing, green businesses want to make sure everyone in-house shares the same values. “The moment someone sniffs you out as phony, your business falls flat,” says Nick Ellis, a managing partner at Bright Green Talent, which recruits white-collar workers, like CFOs and scientists, for green companies.

Nail Your Niche

Think “green” just means solar panels? Think again. A green job could have you doing anything from researching ways to turn algae into fuel, to setting up carbon credit trading systems, to designing software for the new smart grid. Or you could end up at a company that does any one of those things, but working in a core role — like keeping the books, making sales, or designing marketing programs. In other words, there’s something for everyone.

“Be very clear about what you’re already good at and how to leverage that,” says Nicola Acutt, associate dean at San Francisco’s Presidio School of Management, one of the first green business schools in the country. Just as you would with a traditional job search, assess which skills you enjoy using and what kind of company you most want to work for. There’s no need to try to shove your square peg self into a round hole to play in this space. “The clearer you are about your objectives, the easier it is to help people help you achieve them,” says Frank Marquardt, author of Green Careers.

Learn the Biz

Once you’ve decided what kind of job you’re looking for and the specific space you want to work in, do your homework. If you’re interested in green building, for example, it’s not enough to know that energy efficient buildings reduce fossil fuel consumption and help fight climate change. You need to be up on industry technologies and practices. (Pop quiz: What’s an R-value? What’s cellulosic insulation made of? Where would you use an insulated concrete form?)

“Everyone I talk to wants you to understand what they’re doing,” Marquardt says. Learn the terminology. Know who the key players are. Understand the opportunities for — and threats to — the particular industry’s growth. “For example, for a while wind was facing the possibility of no more tax credits,” says Carol McClelland, CEO of GreenCareerCentral.com, a subscription-based information clearinghouse for green job seekers. “That was a big red flag. That was going to dry up the whole industry.”

Get up-to-speed by subscribing to industry newsletters and reading industry blogs. And get grounded in green economy fundamentals by reading the classics — books like Paul Hawken’s Natural Capitalism, William McDonough and Michael Braungart’s Cradle to Cradle, Daniel Etsy’s Green to Gold, and Van Jones’ The Green Collar Economy. While some companies will forgive your lack of experience, they won’t forgive your failure to self-educate.