I landed my dream job at Esri

After a few weeks I finally landed my first recruiter call. I was so excited ! . It was for a position in marketing. We had an appointment for 3:00 p . m . , and I sat in front of my of phone, in a collared shirt (for some reason), and waited for the recruiters call.

I didn’t hear my phone ring at 3:00, so I waited. 3:05 still no ringing. 3:10 rolls around and I flip my phone over. Two missed calls. I had my phone on silent!

I panicked and immediately called the numbers I had missed. The recruiter picked up and I could hear the disappointment in her voice. She speaks to hundreds of qualified candidates and here’s me calling in late. The conversation went quick, the recruiter was still very nice and informative but I could tell I wasn’t impressing anyone.

I received a job offer! It wasn’t my first choice, but I needed experience and I was willing to sacrifice my passion for that experience. They said , if I did accept, I would need to start within two weeks.

During that same week, I received another meeting invite from a different Esri recruiter for Esri’s support services. At this point, I hadn’t officially accepted the job offer and was thinking to decline the Esri meeting, but something inside told me to just show up.

This time, I was prepared for my call, collared shirt on and double checked my phone to make sure it wasn’t on silent.

No, not from Esri unfortunately, but in Sacramento, California for a GIS Analyst position for a concrete distribution company

I will never forget this call, it went so smooth, the conversation flowed well, I was able to articulate my experience and fully express my admiration for Esri. There was one catch, the position I had applied for was for the Esri office on the east coast, the Charlotte office in North Carolina. I had never even been to the e ast coast. I only ever lived in Southern California, but I told the recruiter I would move anywhere to have the opportunity to work for Esri. She laughed and told me that she appreciated my willingness but it made no sense to uproot my life when Esri’s headquarters were based a short distance from where I currently lived.

As the call was wrapping up, she told me she knew of a team I would fit perfectly on and gave me a promise that she’d put in a good word for me for a n Analyst position at the main Esri office in Redlands , CA.

If you’ve made it this far, I’m thrilled you’ve been intrigued by my journey

After the call my heart dropped. I knew I had a big company went well, but it was nothing guaranteed. On the other hand I had a job offer in Sacramento.

In hindsight, I made a very risky and naive choice. I called Sacramento and declined the position they offered me. I never told my family or friends about this choice as I knew they would disapprove, but I knew in my heart I was making the right choice.

The following Monday my gamble paid off. I getbride org received a call from a 909 area code, it was Esri reaching out to schedule my first round of interviews. I cried tears of joy alone in my room.

The journey continues as I’ve currently been an Enterprise Support Analyst at Esri for almost two years which has allowed me the unique opportunity to pursue my passions. I currently lead the Sustainability Task Force, receive continual up to date training on emerging technologies, and my favorite thus far as a Esri Young Professionals Network (YPN ) Ambassador which has allowed me to help guide others who are wondering in search of their dream GIS careers.