Geography Jobs

GeographyJobs sites and Facebook

2011-05-24T18:42:00.002-04:00

We've always offered social bookmarking for any page or job ad on all the GeographyJobs sites.

We've now created a Facebook page for each site. Just click any of the badges or banners you see on the sites or on the links below. When you and your friends can support us, even in this small way, it makes it easier for us to work with employers to get them posting more of their relevant jobs on the sites for you to view.

So I encourage you to visit, 'like us' then invite your friends. Thanks!

GeographyJobs.com Facebook Page (USA)

GeographyJobs.ca Facebook Page (Canada)

GeographyJobs.co.uk Facebook Page (United Kingdom)

Looking for entry level positions and how to spot them.

2008-06-20T21:51:00.005-04:00

Well the obvious ones are easy to spot. "Recent graduate opportunities" and "Entry-level" might be right in the job title. And as I discussed in my last post, boy does that make life easier.

But how do you know when it's appropriate for you to apply for a job when you have little or no work experience? Most North American postings ask for a minimum level of years of professional experience. Jobs explicitly for recent grads will actually say "zero" years on many occasions.

Don't automatically rule yourself out of applying for a job if you have no experience and well, they as for more than that.

A good rule of thumb to follow is this: If a job says its looking for one or as many as two years experience, that's often HR code for "Our ideal candidate has 2 or so years experience, but if that person is not out there, a great recent grad will fit the bill."

Once you see a job asking for 3 years or more, that tends to an intermediate position and definitely targets an experienced candidate. It doesn't mean you can't apply for it, just understand that your chances for success are slimmer for that vacancy. Worst case scenario: if your resume makes a good impression, it will be kept on file for upcoming entry level vacancies.

So if you are a recent grad looking to be a GIS Analyst or Urban Planner without any experience, look for jobs asking for 2 years of experience or less as a guide.

Including career level in title of job posting

2008-06-07T00:21:00.003-04:00

Often times I notice that employers tend to post job titles like "GIS Analyst" or "Environmental Planner." These are the types of jobs I expect to see on a niche job site like GeographyJobs.com. However, employers can really help themselves in attracting the target job seeker by including the career level of the person sought in the title of the job itself.

The job title is the most important and most read aspect of job search results. So if you are looking to fill entry level positions, it makes sense to express this in your job title. You are more apt to attract younger, less experienced candidates if you enter your job title as "GIS Analyst (Entry Level)" or "Junior Environmental Planner" or "Urban Planners (Recent Grads) than compared to simply listing the position without the career level notation.

Conversely, by including the career level you can also dissuade unsuitable candidates from applying to your posting. For instance, if you post "Senior Transportation Planner" or "Transport Planning Manager", chances are that younger candidates won't bother applying to your job. They might look at your company and see if you have more junior positions, but generally won't apply to your ad because they know off the bat that your posting is trying to attract job seekers with a lot of experience. What's the benefit of this? Hopefully this will reduce the amount of unsuitable applications from inexperienced candidates.

The bottom line is that you will catch the attention of your target job seeker if you put your desired career level right in the job title of your posting.

Share GeographyJobs.com with Addthis.com

2008-04-10T21:47:00.005-04:00

Hi all.

We've recently added the addthis.com widget to our network of Geography Jobs sites. If you like to share your favourite URLs with others using Facebook, MySpace, Delicious, Google, Stumbleuponit, Technorati, Digg or other social or sharing sites, Addthis allows you to share GeographyJobs.com using your favorite of these sites.

The addthis utility allows you to share interesting GIS jobs or environmental jobs with your friends more easily than ever before.

If you don't use social bookmarking sites, you can use our own integrated email utility to share the latest planning jobs with your friends. Don't worry we don't record either the sender's or recipient's email address and you don't even have to be a registered member to use this feature

What to wear on a job interview

2008-03-25T21:14:00.002-04:00

Hi all.

I always remember getting advice from my Dad regarding what I should wear for a job interview. He was always telling me to make sure to wear at least a tie and sport jacket. Before I knew any better, I went along with what he said. Inevitably, I felt overdressed once at the interview, with those across from me in more casual and comfortable attire.

This brings me to a conversation I recently had with a recruitment professional about what one really should wear to an interview. He stressed that interviewees should dress to match the role they are trying to fill, rather than necessarily dressing to the nines in hopes of impressing the interviewer.

For instance, if you are going in for a GIS technician role, dress as a GIS technician would dress. It doesn't make sense to wear a full suit where much more casual attire is traditionally worn.

By over-dressing you can leave a negative impression on your interviewer. A) They might think you are overqualified for the position, or B) they think you are just trying to get in the door to the company in a lower level position with the hopes of quickly moving into a higher role.

The best solution is to know how your role would usually dress on a normal day at work. If there tends to be a range of acceptable dress for which you are aware, certainly shoot for the top end. For instance, using the GIS technician example, I know some offices where (on a Monday) people will wear jeans and hoodies (neat mind you) while others in the same office will wear khakis or dress pants with button-down collared shirts, some supplement with sweaters. In this case, certainly try to match the latter example. While a suit might be inappropriate you should still look good.

If you're not sure about how you should dress for an interview, just ask. Don't be afraid to broach the subject of attire within a specific office with your recruiter or with your contact at the company to which you are applying. Don't ask "What should I wear on the interview", but rather inquire if the office dress is business casual or more formal.

In the end you certainly want to look good, but it is just as important to look the part.

Welcome to the Geography Jobs Blog!

2008-03-18T19:40:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome to the Geography Jobs Blog. I hope to have some interesting things to discuss here in a less formal way than in the articles on GeographyJobs.com

Topics will range from job hunting tips to more general topics about geography.