Fas overseas graduate programme...

magicwand

Hi,anyone any experience of the "fas overseas graduate programme" or heard of friends who have done it?

magicwand

Anyone?

pow wow

Click.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055275699

killerwatt

Hi
I was in this program from 1997. I was in a batch of 70 that went out to Japan and Asia in general. Aside from those that got married I was one of the last to come back, in 2004.
The experience was fantastic. FAS OGP did (do) a great job. The company I was with was quite hard to get used to and after 2 years I went solo as a contractor in Japan, having fulfilled my original contract with my sponsoring company.
Having come back, I realise that the experience was absolutely fantastic. Given the opportunity anyone should grab hold of the chance to do the OGP. It will open so many doors and introduce you to so many people you will not regret the decision.
I cant say enough about the OGP folks. In my day Maire someone and John someone, cmon its ten years ago for me... In Asia, if thats your target area, there is so much to see to do and experience. Its a life experience that should not be ignored. Take the chance!

magicwand

Cheers for the reply killerwat,what was the interview process like? was it hard to get on and did u have industry experience before you started it?

killerwatt

Hmm..its ten years ago.
The FAS side was ok. They asked detailed enough questions, but they want to vet out people that will not do the full 2 yr stint. They want the program to be a success and see that as far as they are concerned - their grads do fulfil their contracted obligations and dont bottle out because they have found themselves in a strange country and get homesick.
The company interviews were more detailed. They did into your personal life quite a bit. And they want to be sure you've no long term girlfriend that you'll run back to - for example.
I didnt get my first company. The 2nd one went well and I moved there in the october.
Do's: research the company. observe the etiquette and cultural crash course that FAS put on.
Don'ts: Never be afraid to say you dont know something. Doing this means the interviewer knows the exact limits of your knowlege. This is only a good thing..for many reasons.
(That sounds a bit preechy..wasnt intended)
The FAS crash course is tough. My one was in DCU. It was very good and well worth throwing yourself into. It will save you a lot of stress and anxiety if you do well there.
thats all that springs to mind right now... The interview wasnt the hardest part. It was adjusting to the lifestyle change. By that I mean separation from family, friends and familiar things like tv..it took a while butI remember getting the internet in and watching the 6 oclock news was a huge thing that made home seem v v close.

killerwatt

Ow -sorry. I had no industry experience. I was a new grad. My contract was contingent on getting my degree though. The interviews were all in Jun/Jul if I remember.

dan_d

I know a group who are heading for texas for a 6 month stint today, I think it may be to do with a postgrad though, I'm not sure.It's definitely through FAS however, and they seem to be great, they organise everything.Enquire and they should give you some details.

Corcs001

I know this is an old thread but im just wondering do you need an honours degree for this programme or would an ordinary qualify?

friendface

Corcs001 wrote: »

I know this is an old thread but im just wondering do you need an honours degree for this programme or would an ordinary qualify?

Hey Corcs,

I'm pretty sure you need to have an honours degree to be eligible. (See http://fasogp.fas.ie/Overgrad/FAS%20OGP%20Programme%20Description.pdf)

I applied to this myself about 2 months ago and have an interview next week. Any advice from recent applicants? Did you find the experience of moving to Asia daunting? I think it sounds like a great opportunity but would feel a bit better about it if I know other Irish people in the area when I moved out first (if I was offered a place). Also, how difficult was it to learn the Chinese language?

buccsboyo

Hey
How did your interview go ? Do you know how many were interviewed? I did an interview for some of the marketing positions I got the feeling that there weren't too many positions available this year

friendface

buccsboyo wrote: »

Hey
How did your interview go ? Do you know how many were interviewed? I did an interview for some of the marketing positions I got the feeling that there weren't too many positions available this year

Hey, I had my interview on Friday and managed to pass that stage. Got an email back from them that evening to confirm I had passed. I was applying for an engineering position and was told that there were very few jobs as well. They were really keen on weeding out any candidates that were not fully committed to the opportunity though and that was stressed a lot throughout the interview. I don't know exactly how many were interviewed altogether but I reckon there could have been about 20 or so engineering candidates. However, that is just an estimate.

They also weren't sure about funding for the programme. I guess they could be a prime target for cuts in our mini-budget next month.

How did you get on with your interview?

buccsboyo

Ya wasn't sure about the funding thing myself ? Are they i.e paying a percentage of your wages? I thought the interview went ok, got to the next stage so hopefully there will be positions available

friendface

buccsboyo wrote: »

Ya wasn't sure about the funding thing myself ? Are they i.e paying a percentage of your wages? I thought the interview went ok, got to the next stage so hopefully there will be positions available

Well from what I understood, the company generally pay for flights, accommodation and all of your wages. If the company don't pay for flights, FAS covers the cost. I think all of the details are agreed between FAS and the host company well in advance of the placement. However, I wouldn't think FAS have to fork out any money towards wages.

The guy interviewing me said that in China, international grads are paid significantly more wages than native Chinese grads so these would probably be the first positions they would axe. Hopefully there will be a few positions available anyway. Would be a great experience I'd say.

Congrats on passing the interview and good luck with getting a position. Might be talking to you in Japan in 6 months time :pac:

MrSteve

Any of you lot heard anything back from OGP jobswise or is it even going ahead??

rebel105

someone i know from an elec eng background did this programme and they (and several others that went out there) ended up giving up their job after about a year because the work they were getting was really monotonous assembly type work that they felt they were getting no experience from.

so be wary.....