GIA Career Fair Day - Signs of Hope

The GIA Career Fair day held today in New York is probably one of the most affirming few hours for the jewelry industry. It's a few hours in which recent (and not so recent) GIA graduates hunt, hone and practice their job searching skills for a lucrative placement in the industry.

Throughout the year we talk about how the industry is currently undergoing titanic changes, an era of consolidation, and a period where the weak are being swallowed and giants from low-labor cost countries are gobbling up market share in an increasingly competitive environment.

But still, today as proof, hundreds of eager applicants descended upon the participating jewelry companies looking for a career in an industry that to them, and all present, is still very much an industry with a passion, emotion and limitless possibilities for the persistent and resilient.

A stellar panel kicked off the event, with speakers including: Mary Forte, President/CEO Zale Corporation; Ofer Azrielant, CEO/Chairman, Andin International; Rahul Kadakia, Senior Vice-President, head of Christie's jewelry department, and Glenn Rothman, CEO, Hearts On Fire. It was a chance for them not to sell a product or close a deal, but rather sit back and take comfort that no matter how much we talk about the drive towards commoditatization and the need to make sure the jewelry experience remains very much an emotive purchase. For all those present today, it was exactly that, an opening into an industry with a passion, emotion and a strong, strong future.