Moving to Dublin - Job Hunt Not Going Too Well

Katja

Hey everyone,

I'm a 23 yr old girl and in 6 weeks or so I am moving to Dublin on a permanent basis. My partner of 3 years is Irish so it was about time I packed my stuff and bought a one-way plane ticket

My problem is that I can't find a job. I've a BA Hons degree in Business Management. Have an 18 month customer service experience in the local city council's information centre. I'm about to apply to do a post grad diploma in HR Management at the National College of Ireland.

The HR sector is what I wanna move into. It was partially covered as a part of my BA studies so now I want to further my education. I've applied to something 40-50 jobs via various recruitment websites. I'm not aiming at managerial jobs or anything like that, only HR Admin or Admin jobs that require no experience (well at least that's what the ads say) and so far I've gotten 40-50 refusals, not even a single interview

I know I have no experience in HR so I guess that is the reason for all these rejections. It's really starting to get me down At the moment I really don't know what to do anymore.

I'm thinking of e-mailing a few recruitment agencies and looking for some advice from them. Maybe even make an appointment for early June. Will that get me any further? Maybe the problem is that I am currently not in Ireland, yet I have an Irish phone number and address on the CV. I don't really want to move before I have an interview or two lined up.

Does anyone know how to get into HR? Or what I am doing wrong?

Sorry for the long post. Any piece of advice is appreciated. Thank you xxx

kmick

Well the jobs market is slowish over here at the moment. Also HR seems to be very much supply heavy as there are more candidates than positions. Have you tried to get some contract work first to gain experience? Also if you are prepared to contract at say reception work or basic fund admin work there are plenty of jobs out there. Good luck at any rate.

AARRRGH

Does your cover letter say you aren't in Ireland?

Do you need a work permit?

Katja

Thank you, Kmick! Contract work is something I haven't tried. Thanks! Will look into that! Gotta start somewhere

Katja

dublindude wrote: »

Does your cover letter say you aren't in Ireland?
Do you need a work permit?

Nope, I've an Irish address on both CV and cover letter. I don't need a work permit as I'm a EU citizen.

AARRRGH

Will you e-mail me a copy of your cover letter and CV?

I am info at staff dot ie

I will have a look and give you feedback.

Katja

dublindude wrote: »

Will you e-mail me a copy of your cover letter and CV?

I am info at staff dot ie

I will have a look and give you feedback.

Alright! Wow, thank you Yeah, maybe it's the CV and cover letter that's not getting me any further.

AARRRGH

It could be. It could also be the jobs the recruitment agencies are advertising are fake. They do this just to collect CVs.

Would you consider temping?

Katja

Personally I think my cover letter sucks, it's too long. I'll mail you everything a min! Thank you again!

At the moment I'd consider any kind of job but doesn't temping require a bit of experience?

Edit: sent you that e-mail. Thanks.

AARRRGH

OK, I just replied there. I think my advice will help you.

Katja

Thank you so, so, so very much! It definitely is a LOT of help Thanks xxxx

AARRRGH

No problem!

board om

Hey OP,

HR is very difficult area to get in to unless you have previous experience. you might find if you applied for customer service positions you would have no problem becuase you already have experience in that area, but HR is a different story. what you could do is apply for HR Admin positions and things like that. the money might not be amazing but it will lead you on the right road to eventually getting in to HR.

if you are having no luck doing that then what you could do is apply for a customer serivce position and sit it out for 6 months or a year. that will get you some Irish expericne on your CV. then start appplying for general HR roles agaiin. with the Irish experince on your CV which should help.

all the best

Katja

Thank you, board om

a relatively low salary doesn't bother me at all. Everyone has to start off at the very bottom anyway. Dublindude already pointed out that one of my problems is not having a previous job experience in Ireland so no-one really wants to take a gamble on me.

I know I'll find something. I'm keeping my chin up

the_syco

Katja wrote: »

I've a BA Hons degree in Business Management.

From what country? Also, have you tried looking for a job in that sector? Finally, try popping your CV off to "le creme" (google it). Mate got a few temp jobs from there.

Supercell

I think thats excellant advice from board_om, especially in the big multinationals its very possible to move jobs once you are in as long as you excel at the one you are in.

I've lost count of the amount of people I've seen switch to totally different roles in my own company, but they were all good people and deserved the chance - one I doubt they would have gotten had they applied straight out for the role they ended up in a year or so later.

Best of luck, and keep focused, I'm sure you'll get the right role for you eventually

Katja

Thank you guys for the tips! I know I'd move up the ladder but I just gotta get in, you know? Thanks again xxx