2nd GISMO Jobs Fair A Success
GISMO held its second annual Jobs Fair on Wednesday, November 14th at Hunter College, in the spacious 3rd Floor Cafeteria of the West Building at East 68th Street and Lexington Avenue.
Once again, a number of colleges and universities with GIS programs were represented including Hunter College, Lehman College, Pratt Institute (SAVI) and Bronx Community College (BGCCCI).
Private companies, government agencies and non-profit organizations were a major presence including Cyclomedia Technology Inc., ESRI, GroundPoint Engineering, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), Spatial Networks and Stellar Services, Inc.; and NYC agencies including Health and Mental Hygiene, Transportation, Economic Development (EDC), Health and Hospitals, FDNY and NYPD. George Percivall, CTO of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), a national spatial standards setting organization, answered questions and provided guidance. In addition, the State of New York was represented by State GIO Frank Winters who informed attendees about how to apply for state agency GIS jobs.
Although the number of job seekers was less than last years event, it still topped seventy-five attendees. A number of these have already received invitations for job and internship interviews.
Assessing this years Jobs Fair, GISMO leaders hope that next years Job Fair will build on this years excellent employer participation. We also hope to increase the number of job seekers by identifying the best day and time on which to hold the Jobs Fair to minimize conflicts with student work and school schedules.
Special thanks goes to the Department of Geography, Hunter College for providing a magnificent space; and Amy Jeu who served as Jobs Fair manager for the second year, and who devoted many hours of effort to making the Fair a success. Thanks also goes to volunteers who helped on Fair day including Noreen Whysel, Wendy Dorf, Lisa Palmer, Connie Koo and Alan Leidner.
Overview of 2017 NYC GISMO Job Fair
On Tuesday afternoon, October 24th, from 2pm to 6pm, in the Hunter College 1st Floor lobby, NYC GISMO, The City’s GIS organization, held its first ever GIS Job & Career Fair.
This event was designed, organized and led by GISMO Board Member Amy Jeu who works for the Hunter College Department of Geography. Amy was assisted by GISMO Board Members Lisa Palmer and Timur Pozhidaev, and students Hammad Ali, Yvonne Chow, Connie Koo, and Joseph Tapia. GISMO Board Members Jack Eichenbaum and Noreen Whysel provided an extra dimension to the Fair by offering job and career advice to job seekers. Work on the Jobs Fair started last spring and involved securing a venue, identifying interested employers and encouraging the City’s GIS student body to attend. None of this was easy and GISMO volunteers deserve all our thanks for putting this event together over a six month period.
The idea for the Jobs Fair emerged from the GISMO Board of Directors who were well aware of GISMO’s large student membership. The Board wanted to do something of value for them and decided that putting students into position to gain jobs and internships was the thing that they would find most helpful.
The results speak for themselves. The GISMO GIS Jobs Fair attracted more than 120 job seekers who were able to speak with and provide resumes to twenty organizations with GIS jobs to offer. The Jobs Fair room was packed with students waving their resumes and employers, standing at their booths, talking for hour after hour. Based on feedback received so far, it appears that both employers and job candidates thought this event was valuable. Following additional feedback from participants we hope to be back next year with a bigger and better Jobs Fair.
Much thanks also goes to Hunter College for providing an excellent space for the event and to the Hunter College maintenance and security staff.
Alan Leidner, President, NYC GISMO
Director, Center for Geospatial Innovation
Fund for the City of New York
