Careers and Jobs

Read about this new announcement at Irish Jobs News

2008 Update – 132 people losing job on a daily basis

20,392 employees have been made redundant over the fist seven moths of 2008. This equates to a 36% increase on the same period last year. DETE figures released do not make happy reading for the government or workers in Ireland. More worrying was the fact that 3,914 of the redundancies came in July which is further proof that the job market is in freefall.

What surprised me was the breakdown of these figures. Much spin has been put on the fact that the construction sector has created most redundancies but 6,531 females have been laid of which was higher than I expected. 13,861 men were affected by redundancy.

So where are the redundancy black-spots?

It is no surprise that Dublin has suffered the greatest with 7,500 of the redundancies falling in this region. This was followed by Cork with 1,853 redundancies and in excess of 1,000 in Galway and Limerick. Other counties with significant redundancies included Louth with 698, Waterford with 844 and Kildare with 940. Further north Monaghan has suffer 403 redundancies so far this year.

Retail Sector boom or over saturation?

Many experts are warning that the retail sector could be about to face some serious challenges as sales and footfall are declining BUT retail space is growing at an alarmingly high rate. It is expected that Dublin will miss out on things but other regions will struggle.

Major retail projects in Ireland

Dundrum Town Centre extension (Dublin) – 50,000 sq.m
Opera Centre (Limerick) – 37,160 sq.m
IKEA (Dublin) – 30,500 sq.m
Parkway Valley (Limerick) – 23,225 sq.m
Rockbrook, Sandyford (Dublin) – 21,467 sq.m
New Shopping Centre (Longford) – 20,000 sq.m
Brewery Centre (Waterford) – 20,000 sq.m
Academy Street SC (Cork) – 20,000 sq.m
Parkway Retail Centre (Limerick) – 19,821 sq.m
Laois Town Centre extension (Laois) – 19,680 sq.m

Retail Jobs – Cork, Limerick, Longford, Waterford, Laois & Dublin

If things pick up in the Retail Sector these locations will create a large volume of new jobs in the retail sector. What is great for potential employees in the sector is that these developments are spread across the country in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Laois, Longford. There will also be potential new jobs in what seem to be a great success – Dundrum Town Centre. I’d say I must be the only person yet to visit it BUT my wife makes up for that.

Retail Jobs – where to find them!!

If you are looking for work in the Retail Sector we did a previous post on retail centres and jobs. Many shopping centres now advertise jobs on their own website. I know Dundrum & Blanchardstown do BUT you might check out the above developments. Otherwise there are the usual job search strategies.

CV Preparation – Preparation equals interviews

I keep banging on about how essential CV preparation is for career success. FACT: CV preparation will improve your chances of securing interviews. FACT: Cutting corners with your CV will equate to missed opportunities. I regularly meet jobseekers who will have every excuse for not preparing their CV properly. The usual suspects like time, money and know-how. Well let’s address these reasons.

CV Preparation – Know-How

I agree with this point in that most jobseeker do not understand CV writing or the principles behind and impact CV. There are many websites with unlimited information about designing a CV. Be careful though as much of this information serves the purpose of attracting you to the site and it is normally text book stuff and dated. I think we all know the type of information that should be on a CV such as personal details, education and work experience BUT it is CV Layout, CV Format and CV Content where jobseekers fall down. If you take one point away from this post it is to put yourself in the shoes of the recruiter when writing a CV. Identify what information they are looking for and ensure that this is evident on the 1st page of your CV. There is much more to CV preparation than this but you will find some good CV advice on this site.

How much time does it take for CV Preparation?

A skilled professional could probably knock up a CV in 2-3 hours BUT for an unskilled person it can take longer. Factors such as seniority and level of experience will impact this. Most time will be spent on CV preparation such as analysing the role you are applying for and what the client wants. Then identifying how you meet these requirements. You will then have to decide on how best to construct CV Layout and CV Format. Physically writing the CV will depend on your typing skills. Remember that one CV does not fit all jobs so preparation will be required for each job you apply for. Again once you understand the principle this should not be too time consuming.

CV Preparation – How much does it cost?

Really there are too options – “no frills” and professional. Many jobseekers prepare their own CV. The cost to them is time and effort. Once prepared they can seek feedback from a variety of free resources such as friends, family, HR professional, career guidance, FAS. Will this work? Absolutely!! Many jobseekers secure new employment through a self written CV. The other route is to source a CV expert and get professional CV support. The cost will depend on the service provider BUT it may not be as much as you think. Lets just say I went out on a night out in Dublin a few weeks back and I could have easily paid for CV preparation service.

Measurability provides a professional CV writing service to jobseekers across Ireland. They service all roles, all levels of the organisation from Graduate to Executive across industry sectors and business functions.

Need a professional CV? Contact Measurability now!!

Measurability will help you

• set the right positive tone with your CV
• produce a strategically targeted CV
• project a professional image and confidence
• clearly outline achievements and results
• highlight experience qualifications and key skills

Professional CV Writing Service across Ireland – CV Advice & Preparation

It does not matter where you are based in Ireland – Measurability can help you. CV design is facilitated via phone and email so there is actually no need to meet. Measurability services 32 counties – Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon, Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow, Clare, Cork, Kerry Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Tyrone, Derry, Antrim, Armagh, Fermanagh & Down.

Professional CV Writing Service for all Sectors

Measurability offers CV writing services for all industry sectors including Banking & Finance, IT, Construction, Pharmaceutical, Call Centre, Manufacturing, Medical Device, Software, Retail, Engineering, Public Sector and much more.

Career Coaching & Interview Coaching

Measurability also offers career coaching services, career tests and interview coaching services to jobseekers in Ireland.

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?

There are fears of job loss at shannon-based firm Unbrako Europe SPS International following its sale to a US firm. Workers were informed of this news on Monday when they met the new owners. SPS has been based in Shannon since 1960 so is an established employer in the region. The company operates in the manufacturing sector making socket screws and fasteners for machinery and equipment.

Other news this week that will send shivers through munster is that Dell has closed a plant in Austin with the loss of 900 jobs. Dell is a huge employer in Limerick and Dublin. Dell is currently exercising global cost cutting and plans to reduce headcount by 10%. Hopefully Limerick and Dublin miss out on the job cuts.

We will keep you posted on other job news stories and relevant career, cv and interview advice for job hunting in Ireland.

There is much more to CV writing than simply listing everything you can about your work experience, education, skills and hobbies. It requires a focused approach putting more emphasis on the recruiter than you. 95% of all CV’s fail because they lack focus.

CV Format & CV Layout TIPS

You must avoid using the first person pronoun – Start sentences with action verbs or power verbs instead of first person pronoun. Examples of power verbs include; managed, developed, created and organised.

Keep your sentences short - CV’s need short, crisp statements and don’t get carried away. Remember that statements do not have to be complete sentences.

Use plain English – Don’t believe the urban myth that bigger words create a bigger impression. I saw a cover letter the other day with the word “sterling” and not used in the currency context.

Use bullet points – Bullet points make it easier for the reader. Paragraphs can be daunting. There are pro’s and con’s for both but my research with clients concludes that bullet points come out on top.

General to Specific – Organise you information that it flows from general to specific points.

This CV advice was provided by Measurability. Measurability writes CV’s for jobseekers at all levels of the organisation and across industry sector. Measurability write CV’s for clients nationwide Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Meath, Louth, Kildare, Wexford, Wicklow, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, Waterford, Galway, Sligo, Roscommon, Mayo, Leitrim, Kilkenny, Longford (and the other county I cannot seem to get – ha ha)

Following on from the post yesterday I have done a bit more research on how to find retail jobs in Ireland.

There are a few key agencies who recruit for retail jobs – Eden Recruitment, RightFit 4 Retail, Excel Recruitment, Star Retail. You can also get access to loads of jobs on the jobboards including EmployIreland and retailjobs365.

Remember my advice on the previous post. Visit shopping center websites as many of them see to advertise all open vacancies on their sites. I think this is a great idea BUT also a great resource if you seeking work in Retail in Ireland.

I pointed out Dundrum & Blanchardstown Shopping centres BUT there are many similar centres around Ireland. The Jervis Centre in D1 does not list jobs but it does list all the shops and contact details – missed opportunity I guess as these shops are probably paying elsewhere to find staff.

We post a variety of career and job advice on this site. We post about new job creation in Ireland but we also post the negative jobs news. Negative job news has been dominating the media in Ireland as there have been quite a few redundancies over the last 12-18 months. I have worked with many employees affected by redundancy and you would be surprised at the mixed reactions. The fact remains that redundancy can affect an individuals confidence and self esteem. If you have been affected by redundancy you can seek support of your own back BUT quite often companies will put supports in place. This is normally called “outplacement”.

How does outplacement help employees?

Basically outplacement consultants help employees to navigate the difficult waters post redundancy. Organisations normally offer staff outplacement support to help them transition into new employment, education or training.

Typically outplacement will be in 1-1 or workshop format. The agenda will cover areas such as support to move on from redundancy, career direction, career assessments, cv design, job search strategies, interview coaching and preparation.

There are many providers of outplacement services in Ireland. Ideally your company will organise this BUT if your company is not providing support you can seek this support yourself.

If you are an employer and require more information about supporting your staff.