where are all the jobs in ireland? Advertisers be fair!

stefanrasiak

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Why is it so difficult to get a job in Ireland



I moved to Ireland around 3 months ago and have found it really difficult to find work. As someone who has previously owned his own business, is hard working and worked 7 days a week I find the situation here totally frustrating and demoralising. Since arriving here I must have applied for at least 60 jobs which has resulted in just 2 interviews for positions which frankly I am over qualified to do. Not a great conversion rate I know given the experience and qualifications that I have. I have got to the stage where I have even dumbed down my CV! I am sick and tired of responding to advertisments full of spelling errors posted by people who you would think would Know better and not even being given the chance to show what I can do. It does't give you much confidence. Most frustrating of all though is the countless number of applications that are made to which you never get the courtesy of a reply. When you consider the amount of time and effort and expense put in to send in CV's and applications I don't think this is fair. Surely it is not too much to ask to get some sort of acknowlegement. So often you are just left wondering and I think is time to name and shame these companies and organisations small and large who don't seem to care and cant be bothered and I'm prepared to start the ball rolling. I have a long list I'm sure there are thousands of others out there with similar experiences.

Berty

You're just shy of 4 years too late.

See below. Already a discussion about it.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055011993

Fo Real

OP what country are you from?

And also the employer is the one who decides if you're "overqualified" for the job. You come across as having a snobbish attitude; that some jobs are "below you".

stefanrasiak

From the UK. When you have been a manager with 120 staff working for you and you put in for a job stacking shelves believe me you are over qualified. Do your really think I'm going to put in a CV with my managerial experience for such jobs (hence the dumbing down) and then have to face the questions as to why I'm putting if for a supermarket worker.Having had discussions with some employers they seem to want kids who they can kick around. There are good experienced people out there who have lots to offer. I am not too proud to do pretty much most things to put food on the table.

gandalf

3 Months? That actually is not that long. I have just lost my job (well my role was no longer needed) but I have had friends working in the same industry who were looking for jobs for over six months. They were extremely experienced and this is in a section of the industry where I know there are some jobs available and the activity is picking up. Companies are taking their time to make any hiring decisions especially with talk of our economy in tatters.

Why did you come here? What made you think that you would get work quickly when we have 450,000 people unemployed? Did you research the actual situation here before you moved?

Unfortunately at the moment it is an employers market and yes you have to put up with misspelt adverts and companies who do not reply to you. Also I would take the jobs advertised by agencies with a pinch of salt as well as most of their jobs are fake or duplicated. I expect to be back in employment by the New Year but that will only be through contacts that I have in the Industry that I have worked in over the last 16+ years.

stefanrasiak

From the UK. When you have been a manager with 120 staff working for you and you put in for a job stacking shelves believe me you are over qualified. Do your really think I'm going to put in a CV with my managerial experience for such jobs (hence the dumbing down) and then have to face the questions as to why I'm putting if for a supermarket worker.Having had discussions with some employers they seem to want kids who they can kick around. There are good experienced people out there who have lots to offer. I am not too proud to do pretty much most things to put food on the table.

gandalf

stefanrasiak wrote: »

From the UK. When you have been a manager with 120 staff working for you and you put in for a job stacking shelves believe me you are over qualified.

If you have that experience why are you applying for shelf stacking roles?

Surely you can apply your managerial skills in the areas that there is some growth in the economy.

I know if I was an employer and I felt someone had the experience you do I would be reluctant to give you an entry level position as well for several different reasons.

Do your really think I'm going to put in a CV with my managerial experience for such jobs (hence the dumbing down) and then have to face the questions as to why I'm putting if for a supermarket worker.

At the moment it is wise to tailor your CV for every job you are applying for.

I do get the impression that you feel that a "supermarket worker" position is beneath you from your attitude on this thread, maybe employers are picking up on this vibe as well.

Also bear in mind the more "entry level" the position the more competition that you actually have.

Having had discussions with some employers they seem to want kids who they can kick around. There are good experienced people out there who have lots to offer. I am not too proud to do pretty much most things to put food on the table.

That of course is a possibility. Why would a manager want someone in an entry level position whose experience could be construed as being better than theirs?

stefanrasiak

I actually came here 3 months ago but have in actual fact been looking for work from the uk on jobsites for much longer. I have had a home here for 7 years but having sold up in the uk decided to invest my future and my money here. So is that so bad? This country does actually have a lot going for it which you would know if you tried things on the other side

gandalf

stefanrasiak wrote: »

I actually came here 3 months ago but have in actual fact been looking for work from the uk on jobsites for much longer.

Irish Jobsites are not worth anything. Most of the jobs are false and those that are real tend to be duplicated across them all. Half of the jobs I have applied for I have heard through my contacts and have not been advertised on Job Sites.

I have had a home here for 7 years but having sold up in the uk decided to invest my future and my money here. So is that so bad? This country does actually have a lot going for it which you would know if you tried things on the other side

No that's commendable but did you actually expect to come back and waltz into a job given the current situation here. I worked for 20 years here in Ireland and this is the worst I have ever seen it and that includes the dark days of the early nineties.

stefanrasiak

Of course I did't expect to waltz into a job. I realise there is a long list before me. But given my desire to work, contribute, and use my experience and I go back to my original point.

gandalf

As I said I lost my job the other week so I am in the same boat as you. I too want to work, I have done so for the last 20 years with only a short 3 month stint unemployed back in 1991 before this. I expect to be jobless until the new year at the earliest though unless I land a job by the end of this month which is doubtful at the moment.

What industry have you worked in? Have you set up a professional profile on linkedin? Have you kept in touch with your contacts in the UK and asked them to keep an eye out for jobs here for you? Have you talked to your friends and contacts here?

dan_d

The op actually has a point.I know what he means about being over qualified.I am applying for everything, but there are some things that I just know an employer is going to look at my CV and say 'no, totally overqualified'.It's a complete catch 22...on the one hand everyone is saying 'apply for anything going' yet on the other hand, many employers in shops, offices etc look at a CV of someone with a professional qualification and a lot of experience and rule you out because they figure you're totally over_qualified and you'll be gone as soon as something better comes up. It doesn't matter what your opinions of a job are, if you've applied for it you're obviously prepared to do it, but you don't even get a chance to state your case.

stefanrasiak

I now have about 7 different versions of my CV's on my computer and select one for the job I think is going to give me the best chance of at least getting an interview.

stefanrasiak

3 months is not a great deal of time but on the other hand when you have absolutely no money coming in it is an eternity. I didn't come here to go on the dole and don't imagine I could claim social welfare anyway. Too much of that goes on where I have come from

stefanrasiak

I recently attended an interview for the new Penney's store in Killarney. I think they were looking for around 80 new people or so the press said. You tend to think great you must have a chance until you attend what is a mass recruitment. They hired a fancy hotel and had a room with something like 12 desks all interviewing at the same time. This process lasted for 2 days solid so you can work out how many people were interviewed over this time. Is it really so difficult to find quality people?
Likewise with the Buy Lo set up. This time only looking for around 8 people and looking around their set up in Tralee things are done on a shoestring. But once again posh hotel interviews over two days and then the interviewer even said they were going to repeat the process the following week. You then get a nice letter remarking on the high calibre of candidates so how come they are still advertising. Who's time are they wasting next?

MingulayJohnny

stefanrasiak wrote: »

From the UK. When you have been a manager with 120 staff working for you and you put in for a job stacking shelves believe me you are over qualified. Do your really think I'm going to put in a CV with my managerial experience for such jobs (hence the dumbing down) and then have to face the questions as to why I'm putting if for a supermarket worker.Having had discussions with some employers they seem to want kids who they can kick around. There are good experienced people out there who have lots to offer. I am not too proud to do pretty much most things to put food on the table.

While bosses\managers can't actually kick employees around I think you are right to a certain extent. They seem to prefer to have kids who are usually less assertive that they can bark at from time to time. I know this from personal experience working in a shop.

I've also noticed that certain employers down the country prefer to employ Eastern European people so they can work them into the ground as they have them in a vulnerable position. I'm not connected to retail at all nowadays but from talking to friends the only areas that don't seem to be hit too hard are IT & call centre jobs. You'll see a lot of jobs been given to family members and closed circles of people at the moment. While it's not really fair you can't really blame people for being desperate.

stefanrasiak

Also I have stopped using all the companies and organisations that haven't given me the time of day. Why should I give them my business?

stefanrasiak

Why do Penneys keep advertising for Weekend Managers at Tralee and Killarney. Must have been running this for about the last 4 months. Why can't they get anyone for this? I tried but despite the 7 years I had running my own retail outlet they said I don't have enough retail experience!

Scambuster

You didn't do your research very well. Employment will be very hard to come by for a long time to come.