Looking Beyond Technical Skills

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Great Hires Don't Just Fill a Role. They Strengthen Your Team.

When recruiting a GIS professional, it's easy to focus on technical capability.

Can they use ArcGIS Pro?

Do they know FME?

Have they worked with Enterprise GIS?

Those questions are important...

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But they're only part of the picture.

The people who make the biggest impact on an organisation are often those who bring curiosity, collaboration and a genuine desire to keep learning.

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When interviewing your next GIS candidate, look beyond technical skills and consider these five qualities:

✅ 1. Attitude & Mindset

Skills can be learned. A positive attitude, curiosity and adaptability are much harder to teach.

✅ 2. Problem Solving

The best GIS professionals don't just use software—they solve business problems. Ask candidates to explain how they've approached a challenge.

✅ 3. Communication Skills

Can they explain technical concepts to non-GIS colleagues? Strong communication builds trust across the organisation.

✅ 4. Culture & Team Fit

A technically brilliant person who doesn't collaborate well can hold a team back. Look for people who align with your organisation's values and enjoy working with others.

✅ 5. Long-Term Potential

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Don't just hire for today's vacancy.

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Ask yourself:

"Could this person become a future technical leader, mentor or trusted advisor?"

Recruitment is an investment in your organisation's future—not just a solution to today's workload.

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🧠 Dean's Pro Tip

One thing I've learned over many years of interviewing GIS professionals is this:

I hire for potential, not perfection.

I'd rather bring someone into a team who is curious, motivated and eager to learn than someone who has every technical skill but isn't willing to collaborate or grow.

Technical skills can be developed.

The right attitude is what helps people build successful careers.

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📊 Did You Know?

Research by Gallup suggests that replacing an employee can cost between one and one-and-a-half times their annual salary when recruitment, onboarding, lost productivity and training are taken into account.

Making the right hiring decision from the outset isn't just good for the team, it's good for the organisation.

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💬 Question for the community

When you're hiring a GIS professional, what's the one quality you value most?

Technical expertise?

Problem-solving ability?

Communication skills?

Cultural fit?

Leadership potential?

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I'd love to hear what has made the biggest difference in your teams.

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📈 Recruitment Insight

Helping organisations build stronger GIS teams through better recruitment.

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GISjobs Australia

Recruitment • Consulting • GIS Help Desk

Helping Australia's GIS community solve problems, build capability and find great people.

Keep Your GIS Data Clean, Accurate and Reliable

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Every great GIS starts with great data.

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It doesn't matter how powerful your software is or how impressive your maps look, if the underlying data isn't accurate, every decision built on it becomes less reliable.

Over the years, I've found that organisations with the most successful GIS programs have one thing in common...

They treat data quality as an ongoing process, not a one-off exercise.

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Here are five simple habits that can make a huge difference:

✅ 1. Validate Data at the Source

It's always easier (and cheaper) to prevent errors than to fix them later. Capture accurate data from the beginning wherever possible.

✅ 2. Use Consistent Standards

Naming conventions, domains, coding standards and agreed data models help ensure everyone is working in the same way.

✅ 3. Run Regular Quality Checks

Look for duplicates, missing attributes, geometry errors and topology issues before they become larger problems.

✅ 4. Maintain Your Metadata

Good metadata explains where the data came from, how current it is and any limitations users should be aware of. Trust starts with context.

✅ 5. Manage Change Carefully

Every edit matters. Use versioning, change logs and review processes to keep your data reliable as it evolves.

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🧠 Dean's Pro Tip

One lesson I've learned over the years is this:

Data quality isn't a project. It's a culture.

When everyone in the organisation takes ownership of data quality, not just the GIS team, the entire business benefits.

Good data leads to better decisions.

Better decisions lead to better outcomes.

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📊 Did You Know?

Research consistently shows that poor data quality can have a significant impact on organisations through rework, inefficiency and poor decision-making. Building simple quality checks into your workflows is almost always more cost-effective than fixing issues after the data has been used.

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💬 Question for the community

What's the most common data quality issue you encounter in your GIS?

Missing attributes?

Duplicate features?

Incorrect locations?

Out-of-date information?

Something else?

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I'd love to hear your experiences, and how you've tackled them.

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💡 Small improvements, applied consistently, make great GIS systems.

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GISjobs Australia

Recruitment • Consulting • GIS Help Desk

Helping Australia's GIS community solve problems, build capability and find great people.

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Australia's GIS Capability Partner

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Who Supports Your GIS Team?

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Your GIS professionals solve problems for everyone else.

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❔ But who supports them?

❔ Projects become busy.

❔ Technology changes.

❔ Staff go on leave.

❔ Unexpected problems appear.

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The GIS Help Desk provides a technical safety net for organisations that don't always have another experienced GIS professional available.

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Think of us as another member of your GIS team - only when you need us.

🌏 GISjobs Australia

‍👏 Recruitment • Consulting • GIS Help Desk

😊 Helping Australia's GIS community solve problems, build capability and find great people.