Careers and Jobs

We have been posting quite a bit recently about job loss and redundancy in Ireland. I guess this is what is making the headlines in the news. One cannot argue that we are facing a tough job market. Even “Comical Ali” could not deny this (Remember him – “What tanks?”).

There are opportunities in a difficult market. They may be more difficult to find but you have to believe they are there and put in the effort to find them. More often that not those who don’t achieve don’t believe. Remember if you believe that there are no jobs out there this will be your reality.

I have been working on quite a few projects with employees affected by redundancy in the past 12-18 months and I can tell you there have been many more positive stories than negative. Quite often many participants moved on to a better place. Some actually set up their own ventures.

It is important to understand that what worked in a buoyant market may not work in a tough market. There is much Career Guidance & Advice available. You must take this on board and change your strategies until you achieve your goals.

Take the 1st step today

Let’s look at some of the common problems faced by jobseekers.

1. Can’t find the jobs!! – You need to try out other job hunting strategies.

2. Not getting called for interview!! – You need to take a critical look at your CV & Cover Letter – CV Writing Tips– Cover Letter Tips

3. Failing at interview – Change your approach to interview preparation – Interview Tips Skills

Career Coaching – Job Search Strategies from leading Career Consultant

There are many strategies to source new employment in any job Market. This article will outline some of the popular job search strategies and how to get the most out of these strategies. If you are searching for a new job then this article will help improve your efforts and results.

Online Job Boards – This is probably the most popular strategy for jobseekers to source new employment. The last decade has seen many job boards spring up as the popularity increases. The most popular job boards in Ireland include RecruitIreland, EmployIreland, IrishJobs and Monster. There are also niche job boards focusing on certain sectors including SalesJobs, AdminJobs.

How to get the best out of online job boards – Many of these sites make searching easy with job alert functions which will send you the latest relevant jobs. By all means use these tools but I recommend that you visit the site every 2/3 days anyway to do a manual search.

Newspaper Advertisements – Job advertisements in the local and national newspapers has witnessed a steady decline over the last few years with most newspapers increasing online presence with most owning the job boards. Having said this it is still important to review the national and regional papers. The most popular national newspapers include The Irish Independent on Thursday and The Irish Time on Friday.

How to get the best out of newspaper advertisements – There are no shortcuts when using newspapers and a job hunting strategy. I guess quantity is the important point here. If you are actively job hunting you need to look at the job advertisements whenever possible. Most people buy a paper each day but I would certainly recommend Irish Independent on a Thursday and Irish Times on a Friday.

Recruitment Agencies – Love them or hate them agencies play a very important function the job market placing thousands of jobseekers in new positions every year. There are approximately 400 recruitment agencies in Ireland recruiting staff across a variety of skills and industry sectors. Agencies range from the large household names to niche recruiters focusing on a particular sector or skill-set.

How to get the most out of recruitment agencies – The most important point when dealing with agencies is to identify the agencies that recruit for your skills. It can be confusing as there are 400 agencies in Ireland. Speak to friends, family or work colleagues to get recommendations. Alternatively another tip is to do a search on one of the outlined job boards and see what agencies are advertising similar jobs to those you would like. Once you have identified suitable agencies it is important to meet your recruitment consultant and build a relationship. You must also take a proactive approach and stay in touch BUT do not stalk your recruiter.

Networking – It is estimated that 50% of jobs are never advertised so if you are relying on job boards, newspapers and recruitment agencies you will not be accessing the “hidden job pool”. Networking is an excellent tool where you utilise your contacts in an effort to unearth and secure a new job.

How to get the most out of networking – Many jobseekers can find networking difficult and unnatural. It is a skill and can be learned. I recommend that you start with a familiar network such as friends, family and work colleagues as these are familiar names and faces. To extend this network you can attend work related or industry related networking opportunities. Remember

Speculative Applications – This strategy is normally at the bottom of the list because it involves the most work and feel like a waste of time. There is an element of luck but by initiating this activity you are actually creating your own luck. Speculative applications involve identify and targeting suitable companies or industry sectors that potentially require your skill-sets

How to get the most out of speculative applications – An important point with speculative applications is to start your search quite focused. Pick an ideal location and industry sector. Otherwise it can seem like a daunting task. When you approach companies try to speak with the relevant hiring manager before you email or post a CV. Remember try to target hiring or department managers directly and avoid HR.

Need a CAREER COACH or CAREER CONSULTANT? Contact Career Coach Ireland

“There’s no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen.” – Wayne Dyer

Two of Ireland’s leading career experts will be launching a Career Workshop in October. Paul Mullan founder of Measurability & Jane Downes founder of Clearview Coaching Group will facilitate the workshop in Dublin. The final details will be released shortly.

Key focus for the workshop

- Career Direction – expert tools and advice to help provide career direction
- Action – Expert CV advice and job search strategies to help fulfill your career goals

About the Workshop Leaders

Paul Mullan is a leading Career Coach and successfully runs Measurability. He has vast experience across career coaching, assessment, HR and recruitment. Paul has helped many individuals find career direction, market themselves through impact CV’s and secure job offers through Interview Coaching. You will regularly read Paul’s Career Doctor articles in Irish Independent and expert career advice on RecruitIreland. Read Paul’s profile – Career Coach

Jane Downes is an established Coach working with individuals and companies throughout Ireland. Her company Clearview Coaching Group is an established brand. Jane is a career coaching expert for RecruitIreland and regularly comments on career matters in the national media. Read Jane’s profile.

For more information email info@measurability.ie or leave a comment

SIEMENS CREATES 60 NEW JOBS IN CORK

Siemens has announced the creation of 60 new high-tech jobs in Cork with the news that it is expanding its IT Solutions and Services Division. These new jobs will bring the total employed in Cork to 330. Guess it seems that Ireland is an exception for the company as they are shedding over 12,000 jobs globally.

TYPETEC CREATES 15 NEW JOBS IN DUBLIN

IT managed services company Typetec has announced that it will be creating 15 new jobs in Dublin as they plan to expand their product range. Based in D12 the company currently has a headcount of 52.

ON SEMICONDUCTOR CREATES 49 NEW JOBS IN SHANNON

Shannon has witness a bad run of negative jobs announcements recently but ON Semiconductor has bucked this trend. They have announced that they will be creating 49 new jobs in Shannon. The company designs and manufactures data and power management chips and other semiconductor components.

MENTOR GRAPHICS CREATES 35 NEW JOBS IN SHANNON

Good news for Shannon part 2. Mentor Graphics has announced that it will be creating 35 new jobs at its facility in the Shannon. The firm is in the business of Electronic Design Automation developing hardware and software for wireless communications and internet network servers and other markets. Mentor Graphics currently employs 80 staff in Shannon.

If you need help to secure one of these jobs through career coaching, cv writing service or interview coaching then look no further.

Looks like we have more to talk about than the bad weather today. A friend of mine has been predicting a recession for the last 10 years. And guess what the newspapers announce it is finally here. Tell us what we didn’t know!! Official reports of a recession have been agreed by most experts but what they cannot agree on is when it will pass. Anything from 2-10 years by the sounds of things.

This news was amplified with the announcement that Hibernian Insurance will let 580 jobs go in Ireland. Irelands loss is India’s gain. The bulk of these jobs will be support and back office. It now looks like the slow down is affecting other sectors outside of manufacturing and construction.

So does the slow down in the economy offer opportunities or threats to you? I guess it is what you choose. I think I will go for the opportunities. If you feel this news offers a threat then take some action – make yourself recession proof. This could mean retraining, getting a new job, moving sector. If you need help from a career coach, an interview coach or a CV professional then get that help. If you have alternative option then start taking action.

Contact Measurability for Career Coaching, Interview Coaching & CV Writing. Paul Mullan is a leading Interview Coach, Career Coach and CV Expert.

Support through Career Coaching and a Career Coach

I just posted about a new site careersportal which offers career support for second and third level students. It is designed to help them find the right career path. So what about those of us who didn’t have good career advice and fell into the wrong careers? There is help there for you too. I will outline where you can get career support in Ireland.

Career Coaching – How can it benefit?

Career Coaching has many benefits for job-seekers. Here is a list of some of the benefits you can get from a career coach:

• Clarification of your current job/career situation
• Identify your needs
• Self discovery
• Development of new perspectives
• Conquer job uncertainty and fears
• Identify career passion
• Identify strengths
• Improve decision-making
• Hemp avoid similar mistakes
• Overcome career hurdles
• Initiate momentum and maintain focus
• Clarify direction and solutions
• Increase positive thinking
• Improve performance and results
• And of course – RESULTS!!

Career Coach – A definition

A career coach is a professional who provides jobseekers with expert career advice, career guidance, and career support. A career coach takes the role of observer and listener. A career coach looks at the now and supports goal development, plans, and action. A career coach is dedicated to providing the tools for career success.

If you need a Career Coach or are interested in finding out more about Career Coaching why not contact a leading Career Coach now. Measurability offer expert career coaching to clients across Leinster – Dublin, Meath, Louth, Kildare & Wicklow. Paul is a leading Career Coach in Ireland regularly commenting on a variety of recruitment sites and he is a career expert with Irish Independent and Sunday Tribune.

If you don’t want to pay for expert career coaching advice there are other options you can explore aside from a career coach. This post outlines some of these options

I cam across this advert in an article I read and would be interested to hear how many of the readers would apply. I apologise to the women BUT you can apply too. This is an advert that appeared in the London Times in 1913

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours in complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.”
Any takers?

I am sure some of you might argue that you are already doing this job. Well perhaps this is to locate your replacement.

Enjoy – funny comments accepted!!

There are many ways to find a new job. Unfortunately most jobseekers are lazy when job hunting. They often say they are looking for a new position but when I investigate they have not been doing very much. Below are 5 key strategies to help you find and Irish job.

Recruitment Agencies to find Irish Jobs

I guess there are 400 – 500 agencies in Ireland to help you with your search. I would use a targeted approach to identify the suitable agencies for your needs. Agencies in Ireland fall into 2 categories generalist and specialist. I am often asked “how many agencies should you register with?” There is no right or wrong answer. It is more important to register with relevant agencies and then manage your relationship. These posts may help – managing recruitment agencies and a list of agencies in Ireland.

Job Boards to find Irish Jobs

Job Boards are a great resource. I think is accepted that online is the way forward for job advertising globally moving away from traditional printed media. I guess that is why most media own these job boards. One such site is EmployIreland but there are others.

Networking to find Irish Jobs

Jobseekers do not network enough in Ireland to help progress their career or find Irish Jobs. When you consider that over 50% of jobs are never advertised it makes it essential to use this strategy to access the hidden jobs pool. If you don’t like formal occasions why not start with your own immediate network of friends, family and work colleagues past and present.

Speculate your way to finding Irish Jobs.

This approach is all about getting your hands dirty and sending CV’s off on spec. Jobseekers do not like it because it is inevitable that you will get a lot more dead-ends and rejections. And lets face it we do not like rejection. The secret to speculative applications is to start off quite specific like a target defined location or industry. This post will help you with speculative CV’s.

Need help finding Irish Jobs?

We have posted quite a few CV and Interview articles on this site about CV writing, CV Templates, CV Format, CV Layout and Interview Preparation. What I have decided to do is pull the more popular articles onto one post to save you some time.

CV Service – CV Format & CV Layout – Golden Opportunity

I cannot emphasis enough the importance of a CV when job hunting. Get it wrong and you will miss out on important interviews. Most jobseekers have below standard CV’s and do not understand the basics of CV design. This is an opportunity for you. Get your CV right and you will increase the number of interview invites. Get your CV right and you will have employer’s eager with anticipation to meet you.

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For many more CV articles check out this site CV4Jobs.ie full of CV advice and help with CV Format, CV Layout & CV Templates.

Interview Preparation

When your CV does the job you are only half way there. Interviews are often more feared than death. Proper understanding and interview preparation can help your confidence and performance at interview. Here are some articles to help with your interview preparation.

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Career Coaching, CV writing or Interview Coaching services in Ireland

If you are looking for a CV service in Ireland or Career Coaching or Interview Coaching we have some services to help you. Service nationwide including counties – Cork, Galway, Mayo, Donegal, Kerry, Tipperary, Tyrone, Clare, Antrim, Limerick, Roscommon, Down, Wexford, Meath, Londonderry, Kilkenny, Wicklow, Offaly, Cavan, Westmeath, Waterford, Sligo, Laois, Kildare, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Monaghan, Armagh, Longford, Dublin, Carlow and Louth.

Best of luck with your job hunting.