GEO 466/566: The Profession of Geography
Job Searches and Job Banks
One of the more difficult components of the job-landing process is finding the initial reference to a suitable position. You may be well qualified for many jobs, but that matters little if you never find out about those jobs and apply for them.
Historically, those looking for jobs have started their searches in one or more of the following locations:
- want ads in newspapers
-a tedious search technique that may or may not yield suitable job prospects
-however, since most libraries carry papers from across the county, you can cheaply look for job opportunities in many locations
- direct mail campaigns
-mass or strategic mailings to companies/agencies for which you might like to work
-in this strategy, you are not applying for a specific job or opening
-instead, you are inquiring about possible openings
-you are also putting your resume in the hands of possible employers
- personal networks or contacts
-an important strategy if you can make contacts in your prospective career field
-the contacts you make will not usually get you a job
-they may, however, lead you to openings for which you can apply
- college placement offices
-most colleges and universities offer modest job search options
-they also can provide resources on resumes, interviews, etc.
-you should explore your options through these offices since they are funded through your tuition
-most placement offices have good libraries with diverse job listings
- government job service offices
- professional associations or organizations
-organizations like the AAG publish newsletters with job announcements
- employment agencies
-organizations which, for a fee, will conduct job searches for you to your specificiations
-can yield very sporadic results
-some agencies are very good and modestly priced, others are poor, and still others are very costly
-as the consumer of their service, you should investigate these agencies before using them
A good example in the last category for geography students is an outfit named
GeoSearch, Inc.
- touts itself as a "job-hunting service for new graduates at any degree level
- lists possible opportunities in:
-geography
-cartography
-GIS
-GPS
-business geography
- provides you with the following for single states, a particular region, or the whole country:
-names and titles of hiring managers in your field
-their address and phone numbers
-contacts at both commercial companies and public agencies
-pre-printed mailing labels
- the fees for these searches are as follows:
-40-60 contacts in a single state for about $25
-300 contacts in a multi-state region for about $50
-1,800 contacts across the U.S. and Canada for about $200
- V.U. students have used this service in the past with modest success
- you can contact this firm for more details at:
Increasingly, job announcements are available over the Internet, especially via web sites. In fact, both fortunately and unfortunately, there are over 2 million job-related sites on the Internet. Some of these are related specifically to geography. Here are a few:
Many other listings are not geography specific, but may yield geography-related jobs. You simply have to explore the sites and do a little searching. Here are some options:
Many of these sites have additional information on resumes, cover letters, interviewing, and other job-related topics.
Still other Internet options exist. One of these is the
Geosci-Jobs listerserver. Essentially, this is a electronic mailing list to which you can add your e-mail address. You then receive job announcements in your interest area as they are added to the listserver.
There are a number of physical geography, climatology, meteorology, geomorphology, and GIS-related positions on Geosci-Jobs, and there is no charge to receive them.
You may subscribe to Geosci-Jobs at any time by sending the following command as an e-mail message to "listserve@netcom.com":
After doing so, you should receive a message informing you that your e-mail address has been added to the mailing list. If you have difficulty, try resending the original message along with your e-mail address as follows:
subscribe geosci-jobs you@whatever.site
Overall, no one of these options will probably yield a thorough set of search results. Rather, you should employ several of them to broaden your search and increase the odds of finding opportunities. Any one could lead you to a job opening for which you are qualified. From there, you can submit your application and resume, land an interview, and get a job!
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Created by JTK; last revised on 20 November 1996.