Careers and Jobs

Great news for the Connaught region with Thermo King announcing the creation of 19 new jobs. Thermo King designs and manufactures transport refrigeration equipment and currently employ 600 staff at its Galway city plant. Thermo King has been operating in Galway since 1976 so it is a well established employer in the region.

This new initiative will see Thermo King design and manufacture greener products for the EMEA markets. These environmentally friendly products will also be more cost efficient.

If you want to find information on these jobs why not view the website www.thermoking.com.

If I remember Celestica announced about 100 new jobs in Galway at the end of 2007 so this has been a positive period for Galway in the jobs front.

Careers and Jobs keep you informed about all new job announcements and loss in Ireland across all regions. The site also contains a vast amount of Career and Jobs advice to help you to find and secure a job in Ireland. We also recommend tools and services that can help you including recruitment agencies, online job boards, career coaches, CV services and interview coaches. Please view the rest of the site and recommend it to your friends.

I posted previously about “net reputation” and how it can have a positive BUT also negative impact on your career. Sites such as Bebo, Facebook and MySpace can bring your career to a halt as many employers now use these as a valuable source of information on potential employees. There is a new networking site that you do not want your details on – JuicyCampus. This will be a real career stopper.

Construction Jobs in Ireland

If you have been hibernating for the last year you will have missed the fact that the golden sector of Ireland has stuttered and is grinding to a halt. Negative news about the housing sector and of course layoffs and job losses. I have had numerous conversations with people inside and outside the construction sector and I have received contrasting opinions about the actual impact.

Today I was reading the Jobs & Careers section of the Irish Independent (no relation) and I could not help notice something strange about the construction jobs section. OK – it has been shrinking in size for some time BUT most of the agency advertisements were for overseas jobs and careers. Australia, New Zealand, London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi were some of the locations listed.

Micheal O’Leary was complemented about his honesty on his recent assessment of the aviation sector. Can an advert titled “downturn – what downturn” in the construction jobs section be a complemented for its honesty. Interestingly the same advert indicated it has career opportunities home and ABROAD.

Can we put a positive spin for those affected by the construction sector decline?

The above locations have a better climate, better work life balance with no M50.

Elan posted a greater loss than expected today BUT is positive that revenue will increase by up to 30% in 2008. Elan is a neuroscience-based biotechnology company and employs 2000 staff globally. Its HQ is in Dublin and it also has operations in Athlone, Bermuda, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, United Kingdom and Japan.

The Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical sector is buoyant in Ireland at present with excellent careers and jobs. The sector employs about 17,000 directly and key employers include Schering-Plough, Wyeth, Merck, Pfizer, Yamanouchi, Genzyme, Allergan, Takeda, Pfizer, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Bristol- Myers Squibb

I did note that Elan are currently hiring so check out their site

Citco Fund Services (world’s largest hedge funds administrator) is planning to expand its operations in Dublin. Citco currently employ 600 staff in Ireland and they are looking for new office space which could mean another 100 staff.

With the turmoil in the jobs market many jobseekers are seeking a safe haven to weather this storm. Jobseekers want a sector that will provide stability away from the continual threat of redundancy. Construction is suffering, retail is stuttering, manufacturing on deaths door BUT is financial services the shining knight.

It’s hard to know if Financial Services is a safe bet. The stock market is in turmoil and the banking and financial sector has strong ties to the construction and housing. For example Start Mortgages announced on Friday that it is cutting its workforce by 10% which indicates that the demand for loans is slowing fast. This has a direct knock on effect for banks but also financial services providers such as insurance.

I think Financial Services will remain a pillar of the economy. Developments and announcements such as Citco Fund Services are encouraging and would indicate strength within this sector despite the uncertainty globally.

Careers and Jobs will increase by 180,000 in Northern Ireland if plans go ahead to reduce corporation tax rate to 12.5% (similar to the Republic). Not only are we shopping in Newry and Belfast but according to some analysts we could soon be working there too. Will Inward Foreign Investment into the North compliment the South or cause further pain and job losses? Will job announcement like this week in Tralee soon be a rare event? Many would argue that they already are. Businessmen, politicians, IDA and Sir Anthony O’Reilly think it will be a benefit for the whole Island.

Careers in Northern Ireland.

So what would be the benefits for jobseekers working in the North. I will list some that spring to mind but feel free to add to the post.

1. Beef Sausages
2. Better roads
3. Potato bread and Soda’s
4. Better work life balance – No more M50 or Mad Cow Roundabout
5. Tennent’s and Harp (only joking)
6. IKEA

Recruiters are making much noise about the fact that the internet is now a key tool they use to check out potential hires. I take this with a pinch of salt as I know many agencies and companies recruit staff. Most don’t even check qualifications or references so why the sudden uptake in candidate checking online.

Having said all this it might be worthwhile to Google your name a see what search information actually appears. Research has indicated that 62% of British executives were signed up to Facebook so Ireland must have a similar percentage. This would mean that there is a lot of personal stuff up on the net. This would also mean that many of those actually hiring would have a profile so jobseekers can actually check out a potential boss.

Will networking sites impact your career prospects? – the jury is still out. Anyway I don’t use them so I am alright Jack.

Rather than focusing on how internet usage might affect future jobs I think employees should focus on how internet misuse can cost immediate jobs. FACT: Internet misuse during work hours can cost you your job. There are many high profile examples such as the senior executive in a leading Irish bank who lost his job as a result of researching night time activities for a trip to Vegas on a work pc.

The moral of the story is keep social networking but not during work hours.

Interview Skills Training

When you are changing jobs do you care about corporate social responsibility? Do you analyse a potential employer’s stance on the environment or impact on the environment? According to one Sunday paper we now consider this as an important factor when making career decisions. We are attracted to and choose organisations that look after mother earth.

I have been working with jobseekers for years, individuals starting out on their career to those at various rungs of the corporate ladder. I have never had this discussion. Ok – one time a girl indicated that she did not want to work in the pharmaceutical sector as she was against animal testing. Many (myself included) pay lip service to the subject. We talk the talk but do we always walk the walk. Do I unplug every plug before I go to bed at night? Have I ever put a milk carton in the black bin when the blue bin was beside it? Do I drive to the local shop when it is 10 minutes walk away? At the end of the day for most the decision to take employment will normally be based around money and package or work life balance factors such as location. Corporate social responsibility is a “would be nice” factor but certainly not an “essential” factor.

On another point, do organisations really care? Call me a cynic but is it not all about the dollar. I sometimes think that organisations spend more on PR to get the message out that they care than they actually spend on helping the environment. Do companies want to be seen to care or do the actually care?

It’s official – we all knew it but the facts now prove it. It takes Irish workers an hour on average to get to work each day. This is twice as long as it did 5 years ago. In 2003 we took about 29 minutes to get to our job but now it takes 55 minutes. That means that we are traveling for the equivalent of 12 working weeks a year. Even more depressing is the fact that a survey before Christmas indicated that only 6% of Irish workers survey loved their job.

What can you do?

There are two options available. Try to find a resolution with your employer. Many employers appreciate the hardships on staff caused by daily commutes as many suffer with their staff. There are many possibilities to explore such as remote working, flexi-time or a condensed working week. If this is not possible the other option is to find alternative work.