Career Advice

The geospatial industry operates in a wide market and it can be daunting to decide in exactly what industry sector you would like to pursue a geospatial career.  This decision can even be more overwhelming if you are just qualified or have changed careers and are starting your search for employment within the GIS industry.

 

In order to provide sound career advice, we have listed here below quick links from our earlier blogs which broadly cover the more commonly-asked questions.

 

Free online GIS Courses - Ideal for those wanting to up-skill themselves or just exploring their options.  Although we certainly do recommend that those serious about their profession try to obtain a formal qualification, it is possible to teach yourself GIS for free to kickstart your training.

Once you've got that qualification behind you and you are now ready to enter the job market, there are some really important points to consider before you apply for that desired position.  Remember that you want to sell yourself to a potential employer, and a well-written cv can do that for you, so take the time to draft up a good cv.  We just cannot stress how important it is to spend time on your cv and here we've written numerous blogs on this.  Free-cv-templates is a good starting point.  Don't forget the importance of a cover letter - please pay special attention to spelling and grammar.  Ask a family member for honest feedback - this is not the time to be offended.

Our blog Tips and Advice contains a wealth of valuable links - a must read for all newcomers into the job market.

And then when you've spent hours drafting your cv, you only have 8.8 seconds to impress a prospective employer.  It's not fair we know, but preparation is the key here, so go back and relook that cv! 

Before you think you're all set to go have a look at these blogs :

• 5 ways job seekers blow it may be humorous, but very applicable!
• Seven key questions to ask yourself before applying for a job contains very pertinent questions - a must read!

The next big step, of course is the interview, and this is where you will finally be given the opportunity to sell yourself face-to-face.  Randeep Hooda once said "knowledge is power.  You can't begin a career, or for that matter even a relationship, unless you know everything there is to know about it" - therefore be prepared and do your homework.  If you are new to the job market enlist the help of your family - let them ask you potential GIS interview questions.

It's unrealistic to expect to land your dream job at your first interview - use it as a learning curve to see how to improve your interview skills see how you can improve your geospatial employment prospects

During your job search you may come across that ideal job in another town, but please think very carefully before submitting your application.  Talk about it with your loved ones, we've had numerous situations where candidates have been given a firm offer of employment for them to suddenly back-track, all because they didn't think it through.

And lastly, even looking for an internship can be daunting if you don't know where and how to find internships

If we haven't covered your query here, please do make contact with us - we'd love to be of assistance.

Cover letter and CV tips as published in the PositionIT

We recently published a second article regarding "Improving your Geospatial Employment Prospects in the August issue of the Position IT magazine.

Here follows the intro:
"This article is the second in a series of articles planned in which we are trying to assist newly qualified as well as experienced geospatial professionals in successfully finding and applying for new employment opportunities. The pointers given in these articles can unfortunately not guarantee a successful application, but it can definitely increase your chances of being invited for an interview and ultimately securing your dream job.

In the first article, published in the Position IT July 2012 issue, we briefly touched on what geospatial career opportunities could be available in the various industries and sectors. Now that readers have a better idea on where to find possible opportunities, we need to focus on what is being ‘communicated’ to the potential employer or recruiter in your cover letter and CV. In other words, what are the do’s and the don’ts?  Good communication skills by way of a well thought out cover letter or email and an excellent CV can assist you greatly in selling your full potential to a recruiter or potential employer. The submission of a cover letter and CV is usually the first step in applying for a new position. In many ways it is also the first interview and unfortunately the area where many applicants just don’t get it ‘right’ and therefore miss the opportunity to potentially get invited to an interview............................................"

If you want to read further, get a paper copy of the August 2012 issue of the PositionIT magazine or read it on-line at - http://z.positionit.eepublishers.co.za/index.aspx?issue=issue27&page=07

Improving your geospatial employment prospects

The following article I wrote was recently published in the latest PositionIT magazine under the Views/Comments section. This will be one of a series of articles relating to improving your geospatial employment prospects.

http://eepublishers.co.za/article/latitude-resource-308.html

Download the PDF Document.

Here follows a short extract:
"At some stage in your career you will be looking for new employment opportunities. Regardless of whether you have recently completed a geospatial related course, diploma or degree, or are looking to move from one senior position to another. You would ideally like to give  yourself the best possible chance of finding and successfully applying for your first or next career development opportunity".