RAPAPORT... More than 600 job seekers attended the Gemological Institute of America’s recent annual Jewelry Career Fair in Carlsbad, California. More than 33 companies were looking to fill hundreds of positions during event, according to a GIA statement.
The event kicked off with the panel presentation on finding job success in today’s market, with Susan Jacques, GIA’s president and CEO; Douglas K. Hucker, CEO of the American Gem Trade Association; Dave Bindra, vice president of B & B Fine Gems; Jose Hess, president of Jose Hess Design, LLC; and Jordan Tabach-Bank, owner and CEO of Beverly Loan Company and New York Loan Company.
“Many of you are eager to embark on a new career in the gem and jewelry industry. And let me tell you, this is a fantastic first step,” said Jacques. “So strike up a conversation with the person sitting next you. Stop by a recruiter table for a company you’re unfamiliar with today. Networking will take you places you never imagined.”
Another panel, “From Design to Finish,” featured a lineup of American Jewelry Design Council members, including Pascal Lacroix, jewelry designer/master goldsmith at Atelier Pascal Lacroix; Susan Helmich, owner of Susan Helmich Fine Jewelry; Scott Keating, designer, goldsmith and owner of Scott Keating Design, Inc.; Adam Neeley, gallery owner and designer at Adam Neeley Fine Art Jewelry; and Alan Revere, founder and director of Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco.
“Focusing too much on trends is dangerous. If you don’t pay attention to what you can contribute to the times, you’ll miss the beat,” Helmich told attendees. “Live at the edge, not in your comfort zone. That’s where the growth is,” added Revere.
GIA hosted its first Jewelry Career Fair in 1991 in Santa Monica, California. Since then, the event has expanded and linked gem and jewelry companies with future employees at more than 50 events in India, and in Las Vegas, New York and the GIA world headquarters in Carlsbad. The free jewelry event marks the only time each year that GIA’s coastal 30-acre campus is open to the public without appointment.
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