I have been shocked at how poorly people have interviewed for positions I've hired. The first thing is go to your career center at your college and get tips. Rarely do people write cover letters (and a form cover letter is no different than a resume in my opinion), so those who have one specific to how they would address the posted job description is important for an initial review by a hiring manger. So to some of your specific questions: Is a degree important? If so, what level, and does it have to be in GIS? - For me, having a degree in a related field and at least some classes in GIS is important, but not necessarily a degree in GIS. When I was in college, GIS as a major was not offered, so took all of the GIS classes they had and found a GIS internship to supplement it. Experience? Really depends on the position level. If it is entry level (btw, saying 3-5 year of experience can still be entry level), I have a heavy emphasis on courses/projects completed and actual experience is a bonus. Certification(s)? I personally don't take this into account in private sector, others may. Candidates portfolio? Yes - If you have a portfolio, it is a bonus. Have your professor or employer review it though because a bad portfolio is an immediate no for me. How the candidate interviews? Of course this is very important. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! If you mentioned it in your resume or cover letter, you better be prepared to answer questions about it and have questions for the interviewer to see if it is where you would want to work. How the candidate performs on a test you give them? It's very important. If you can't complete it, make sure you can explain how you would have with more time. We do this to make sure what you say you can do you actually can do. I'm normally hiring for a Developer/Analyst, so we do a map request and programming test. Their recommendations from other professionals/professors? - Somewhat. It's validation for the above Good luck
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