No luck in job search despite 5 years of work exp!!!

thehegdes

Hi,

I moved to Dublin about 2 months ago. How long does it take for a person with 5 years exp to find a decent job in Dublin? I have done everything that I could - looked up the job sites everyday, posted my Cv to all the job agencies, talked to them.. Not a single interview call till today

Whats the best option to look for a job in Dublin? I think I am now in a state to accept any kind of job that will pay me something and in the mean while help me get rid of my boredom. Am I loosing my cool too early?

My work exp in brief:
* 5 years as a developer in embedded domain
* Proficient in C and assembly coding
* Domain knowledge in VoIP
* Domain knowledge in Audio Codecs on DSP for set-top boxes
* Bachelors degree in electronics

With these details, can anybody suggest me how I can go about looking for a job in Dublin? Also, where can I find work from home kind of jobs (any type of computer job is OK)?

Hoping to get some helpful suggestions..

Dubh Geannain

I'm going to find myself in that situation pretty soon myself I think albeit without so much experience (only a couple of years experience here in electronic/manufacturing area). I'm sick to the teeth with my current job in Galway and plan on handing in my months notice on Friday. I haven't even got a new job lined up and have been looking for 2 months myself in Dublin (gf lives in Dublin u c).

I have had a few phone calls myself, most from recruitment agents, but not a sniff of an interview yet.

I'm sure you already know all the possible sites available but have you tried techstaff.ie and eolas.ie? For getting an odd home job maybe try nixers.ie

the_syco

You try CPL yet? They're good on the IT front. Other than that, try to find a recruitment company that deals with that area.

Other than that, "brush up" on your skill set by doing an exam that you know you'll pass. Just something thats new to get the recruitment agencies eye when scanning your CV.

homeOwner

thehegdes wrote:

I have done everything that I could - looked up the job sites everyday, posted my Cv to all the job agencies, talked to them.. Not a single interview call till today

My work exp in brief:
* 5 years as a developer in embedded domain
* Proficient in C and assembly coding
* Domain knowledge in VoIP
* Domain knowledge in Audio Codecs on DSP for set-top boxes
* Bachelors degree in electronics

With these details, can anybody suggest me how I can go about looking for a job in Dublin?

Ok first of all, you need to figure out what sort of company is going to hire you. With VoIP and embedded programming experience you are not really suited to say working in a financial company. Get a list of companies that are in your area of expertise and apply to them directly. Check out their websites, call their HR departments. Dont rely on agencies to work all this out for you. They are most likely sending your cv to any comapny looking for a programmer and basically word matching your cv against a job spec. You need a more targetted approach. Once such company that might be interested is Marconi (or Fore systems?), if they are still around.

thehegdes wrote:

Also, where can I find work from home kind of jobs (any type of computer job is OK)?

Well this is the holy grail of IT jobs isnt it. Good luck finding one of those.:p

bringitdown

There are plenty of startups and more established firms in the VoIP arena.
Perhaps a little less in the DSP/codec arena however I know is at least 2 large MNCs and two/three smaller irish companies in this area directly. Some names: Avaya, Lake communications, Xilinx, S3 Group, et al.

I prefer to avoid agencies and apply directly. Do some research, the market is healthy and you have (it appears) a good level of experience.

Trawl the job sites and see who is recruiting, some agency adverts can give away who the company they are recruiting for is - see location and job description then apply directly.

5 years in the industry you should also have contacts up here - use em!

T'aint that hard!

beerbaron

the_syco wrote:

You try CPL yet?

Make sure you use plenty of lube before you sign up with that shower

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

r3nu4l

I don't know about IT but in pharma, many companies don't even use recruitment agencies and will automatically reject applciations from agencies.

As bringitdown said, try targetting companies directly. Call, ask for Human Resources department and explain that you are interested in making a speculative application but that you'd like to tailor your CV to any specific vacancies that may exist. Then send in your CV, wait about 3 days and call them to see if they received it.

EDIT: There's nothing wrong with using both approaches, direct and agencies.

thehegdes

Thanks for all your inputs. I definitely have done all that I could through the agencies but with not even a single interview call in my basket. Let me now try contacting the companies directly. But guess, I will have to be very patient with this approach.... well, do i have any choice?

r3nu4l

One other thing thehedges, when you apply for jobs advertised do you write up a separtea cover letter for each one? Another thing you should be doing is tailoring your CV for each job application.

Example.
You are skilled at packing apples, packing bananans, eating oranges.

You see a job for an orange eater available.
When you apply, your CV should expound up on the sheer brilliance of your orange eating abilities, from removing the peel in one go to squeezing the pips out with your tongue. It should be up at the top pf your list of skills.

Next should come the packing apples bit, relate it to orange eating someway... apples are similar size and shape to oranges so it would help you line up the oranges before you ate them...

Stupid example but you get where I'm going. If you aren't doing it already tailor that cover letter and CV to each application. You can do this with agencies too.

thehegdes

Thanks "Renewal".... was a very illustrative example

Jokes apart, I get what you say. Till today, I just tailored/highlighted my cover letter and just had one common CV. Going forward, I will tailor both my CV and cover letter as per the job requirements.

thehegdes

Is anybody aware of "www.nsd.ie"? I stumbled upon this website and found it useful. It lists all the software companies in and around Dublin and also gives option to serach for companies based on keywords.

kmick

Don't just go through agencies. There are a couple of ways to look up companies of interest.

1) Go to Irishjobs.ie and look up the company section. Then look at all of the minisites for those companies. Then look at their website directly. Then apply directly.

2) Go here http://www.software.ie/Sectors/ISA/ISADoclib3.nsf/wvMembers?OpenView
Nearly every Irish Software company is there. Then look at their website directly. Then apply directly.

Dubh Geannain

kmick wrote:

1) Go to Irishjobs.ie and look up the company section. Then look at all of the minisites for those companies. Then look at their website directly. Then apply directly.

All my time using this site and I've always just gone straight into the search. Bad habit of mine, I suppose. I seem to filter out the side menus of many websites. I think it's a result of this part usually containing adds.

Anyway thanks for pointing that out.

BostonB

If your CV doesn't work, change it.
If your sales pitch (you selling yourself) doesn't work change it.

Don't rely solely on the job sites & job agencies. A lot of the adverts aren't real or are duplicates. Go through friends, family, colleagues, apply directly to companies. Find out & research the companies who use your skills and apply directly. Basically do your homework don't think you can do it all via Job sites they are only a small % of the jobs. Why limit yourself to only a small % of the potential jobs?

gbh

It does take time - they say the average is four months to find a new job.

Some people are lucky or good at job hunting and can get a job in a day.

However, you should look at your job seeking as a positive thing. You are learning the dos and donts, what not to say in interviews or put in your CV etc. I would say follow up, follow up, follow up, with whoever you are applying to or the agencies you are working with.

Glowing

If its any consolation, I'm finding the IT industry very very quiet these past few months. I'm contracting, and having difficulty finding something for when I finish up in my current job in two weeks! - never had a problem in the past ......

Moonbeam

Personally dealing with CPL is not an experience that I ever tend to repeat.

On irishjobs.ie you can get a lsit of the companies recruiting,this maybe of help to you.