Speech and language therapy graduate needs advice on getting experience/job

m9934

Hi,
I'm looking for advice. I'm a speech and language therapy graduate. I studied in the UK and finished my course this past July. I moved home to Ireland and have been having a hard time finding a job or even trying to get volunteer work in a speech and language therapy department. As I studied in the UK I feel I am out of the loop with regards how things work here, how I can get my foot in the door somewhere. Does anybody have any suggestions please?
Thanks.

discus

Check out the voluntary services organisation... www.vso.ie

They need SLT placements abroad, they might take ya.

Mrs OBumble

I don't wanna sound harsh - but did you really have to move back to Ireland?

eastbono

JustMary wrote: »

I don't wanna sound harsh - but did you really have to move back to Ireland?

I know your a moderator but this attitude is truly apalling. My daughter did her post graduate year in the UK and got a job there and is lucky enough that she is being kept on again come the start of the school year in Sept. Not everyone who studied in the Uk is lucky enough to be in a sought after profession and in a situation where they can support themselves while applying for jobs there.

m9934

JustMary wrote: »

I don't wanna sound harsh - but did you really have to move back to Ireland?

Yes I did. I didn't have a job. I had just finished college and was broke so I moved back home. I've been looking for work outside of Ireland too. Any helpful suggestions are appreciated.

Mrs OBumble

eastbono wrote: »

I know your a moderator but this attitude is truly apalling. My daughter did her post graduate year in the UK and got a job there and is lucky enough that she is being kept on again come the start of the school year in Sept. Not everyone who studied in the Uk is lucky enough to be in a sought after profession and in a situation where they can support themselves while applying for jobs there.

If you have a problem with a post, please use the report-post function, and one of the other moderators will look at it.

In this case, the cold hard fact is that Ireland has a recruitment embargo on in the public sector, meaning that Ireland is probably the least likely place on the entire planet where the OP is likely to find professional work. S/he may be looking for jobs overseas too, but again, the harsh reality is that most employers won't consider applications with foreign addresses - and if s/he is broke, the cost of travel to overseas job interviews will be an issue.

I'm sorry if that attitude offends you, but I'm quite big on this forum giving people the truth, rather than feel-good answers that aren't true.

sugarplumkin

I'm sorry to hear you're having a hard time getting a job, but from talking SLTs, what I can gather is once you graduate you will need to volunteer for a while before you will be able to get a job. A lot of organizations are low on funding and have huge waiting lists for SLT so would be really grateful to have any type of help, it's just getting in which is tricky as there's so much red tape and regulations.

Maybe try calling into all your local clinics and organizations to talk to someone in person as they can see you're serious and it makes a better impression. Unfortunately a lot of places take students from specific universities on placement etc so they might be unwilling to give places to people outside these unis as they have agreements with them. But from personal experience with volunteer work, when you contact them they might say they can't give you anything but meeting in person sometimes helps them make an exception to their usual procedures If not, they are always very helpful and willing to give you advice and names and numbers to contact to help you out.

m9934 wrote: »

Hi,
I'm looking for advice. I'm a speech and language therapy graduate. I studied in the UK and finished my course this past July. I moved home to Ireland and have been having a hard time finding a job or even trying to get volunteer work in a speech and language therapy department. As I studied in the UK I feel I am out of the loop with regards how things work here, how I can get my foot in the door somewhere. Does anybody have any suggestions please?
Thanks.

Plus one for going in and talking to the head of the SLT department in some organisation.... most people are only too delighted to talk to you but remember there is a complete ban on any recruitment to the public services and that includes any services providers that are funded by the HSE.

There are some private SLT providers might be an idea to search that out and offer to do some unpaid work for them.

If you are going to do some volunteer work be smart about it have your garda clearance, your paper work, professorial membership etc all ready

good luck anyway.

Mrs OBumble

mariaalice wrote: »

If you are going to do some volunteer work be smart about it have your garda clearance, your paper work, professorial membership etc all ready

You cannot get garda clearance yourself: the organisation that you will be working or volunteering in has to get it for you.

Also, since the OP studied overseas, it's likely that s/he has spent more than two years in the last five living outside of the island of Ireland, and thus may have difficulty getting garda clearance at all. The policies seem to vary from time to time, but at least some of the voluntary-sector agencies apply this one.

eastbono

Actually you can get garda clearance yourself.

timeforachange

eastbono wrote: »

Actually you can get garda clearance yourself.

No you can't. I have looked into this thoroughly and spoke to many many people about this. Your employer/organisation has to seek your garda clearance.

eastbono

My daughter was able to get one 2 years ago to take the the UK with her.

Mrs OBumble

http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=66

Garda Vetting is conducted only on behalf of registered organisations and is not conducted for individual persons on a personal basis.

and

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/monitoring_and_surveillance_at_work/garda_clearance_for_employees.html says:

Garda vetting is not the same as obtaining a Police Certificate which is provided by the Gardaí to people in Ireland who need them for a range of reasons. These reasons may include including employment abroad or starting businesses abroad or in order to obtain a visas for another country, or for foreign adoptions. You can find further information in our document on Police Certificates.

shakedown

Hi there, some advice from working in the area myself...

Firstly, make sure you have all of your documentation in order, specifically your validation to work in ireland (see www.iaslt.ie) and I would recommend membership of IASLT as the national professional body - it will keep you in the loop in relation to jobs and events etc and can offer networking opportunities as well as contacts for possible volunteer posts.

Secondly, in relation to recruitment the morartorium does not apply to SLT so there are some jobs coming up, though not many. Go on to www.hse.ie to see if you can find out when the next round of interviews are for the staff grade panels. They happen every now and again and are the only route for getting a HSE job. There are also job opportunities in the voluntary bodies (e.g. some hospitals and disability services) and for those you need to keep an ear to the ground and an eye on the papers (e.g. Sunday Independent) and on the net.

There are some opportunities for volunteering in order to keep your skills going and manage your cpd. The best route for this is to contact local agencies or places where you would like to volunteer, depending on your areas of interest, and speak directly to the SLT manager there. If she can't give you the opportunity directly she may be able to point you in the right direction.

For a job in the health service you do need Garda clearance through the agency you are volunteering with and this can be time consuming. Also, you may have to get your own indemnity insurance - but this is straightforward enough.

Anyway, I hope you find this helpful! Best of luck!

mysay123

I am wondering if you qualify as SLT can you or is there much work in the private sector? Perhaps she could do some work herself advertising and perhaps going a bit cheaper than the going rate so to speak?? You can also volunteer in school they would love to have you for advice and guidance wouldn't that count as relevant work experience?

AstridBean

JustMary wrote: »

the harsh reality is that most employers won't consider applications with foreign addresses - and if s/he is broke, the cost of travel to overseas job interviews will be an issue.

This is untrue. My first graduate job was in the UK, having just finished college in Ireland in 2009 and living at home in Ireland. My having a foreign address was no problem, clearly. What a defeatist attitude. Plus, I was reimbursed most of my interview costs, and some places will offer the opportunity to interview via Skype/

The OP might not have been in the financial position to stay in the UK after graduating, and might not have had anyone close to her who was in a position to loan her the money.

So, you might be big on the truth, but what I quoted from you there isn't the whole truth. I'm not being "feel-good" in my post. This is my experience.