Internships

omen80

Hi all,

I applied for a couple of jobbridge internships last week. Both were in web development and said no previous experience necessary. I have a degree in Computer Systems and have dabbled in web development before. One company got back to me saying I was not successful and the other hasn't got back to me yet.
Is it difficult to land one of these positions? Anyone got any tips?

Thanks....

msg11

omen80 wrote: »

Hi all,

I applied for a couple of jobbridge internships last week. Both were in web development and said no previous experience necessary. I have a degree in Computer Systems and have dabbled in web development before. One company got back to me saying I was not successful and the other hasn't got back to me yet.
Is it difficult to land one of these positions? Anyone got any tips?

Thanks....

What a joke, that intership thing is. A joke. They are meant to train YOU up and mentor you for the time they are with you. And they have to cheek to ask you for experience you shouldn't need experience you should just need an interest.

If they want experience then they should be looking for real workers that have been trained and have the experience.

snowflake1989

msg11 wrote: »

What a joke, that intership thing is. A joke. They are meant to train YOU up and mentor you for the time they are with you. And they have to cheek to ask you for experience you shouldn't need experience you should just need an interest.

If they want experience then they should be looking for real workers that have been trained and have the experience.

Completely agree!!,

Delancey

msg11 wrote: »

What a joke, that intership thing is. A joke. They are meant to train YOU up and mentor you for the time they are with you. And they have to cheek to ask you for experience you shouldn't need experience you should just need an interest.

If they want experience then they should be looking for real workers that have been trained and have the experience.

Really sums it all up , these internships are displacing real paid jobs out of the economy and the same goes for their previous incarnation - the WPP 1 & 2.

snowflake1989

It is also an easy way for companies to get cheap labour!, whilst giving the impression they are doing good for the economy by upskilling our labour force!!Cheap labour and no guarantee at the end of a paid job!

msg11

snowflake1989 wrote: »

It is also an easy way for companies to get cheap labour!, whilst giving the impression they are doing good for the economy by upskilling our labour force!!Cheap labour and no guarantee at the end of a paid job!

Not attacking you here! But it's not cheap for the company it's completely free.. How this helps anyone is beyond me. I say for every 1000 jobs 1 person will get hired by a company.

An I bet it will always be the same company's doing the hiring!

aFlabbyPanda

Just to jump in here as someone trying to fill one of these internships the amount of replies we have got is a joke. It appears to me that people don't want to work. We've had about 15 replies, at least 5/6 weren't even eligible for the jobsbridge offer and about 3/4 were going to have to relocate because they didn't check to see where the job was located. The rest of the people were unsuitable for the position (the rest were foreign nationals who's english wasn't good enough to handle customers over the phone, its a tech support job). We are a small company with less than 10 staff and I thought this would be a great chance to train and hire someone who would want a better opportunity. So far I agree that its a joke.

msg11

BrianjG wrote: »

Just to jump in here as someone trying to fill one of these internships the amount of replies we have got is a joke. It appears to me that people don't want to work. We've had about 15 replies, at least 5/6 weren't even eligible for the jobsbridge offer and about 3/4 were going to have to relocate because they didn't check to see where the job was located. The rest of the people were unsuitable for the position (the rest were foreign nationals who's english wasn't good enough to handle customers over the phone, its a tech support job). We are a small company with less than 10 staff and I thought this would be a great chance to train and hire someone who would want a better opportunity. So far I agree that its a joke.

No offence , but put word out that you are willing to hire and train a person for money even minimum wage and I am sure you will find CV's coming in from people just out of college.

Not take this post as having a go at you. It's just most with exception to a few of these 'inter-ships' are companys chancing there arm big time. Filling peoples minds with hope that at the end of the 9 month 40 hours a week there is a job. Only to be told sorry, best of luck in the field of work.

aFlabbyPanda

My issue is that through the years I've grown tired of paying money on wages on training people and then either have them leave or find out they aren't good enough. Having to go through the whole process every few months is tiring and costly. At the moment I can't afford to pay someone min wage as things are tight enough as it is.

Yes I can see how large companies can and will abuse the system. However for someone like us its in out interest to keep the person on after the internship process. If we let them go we have to wait another 3 months and then go through the whole thing again. for a small company its just too much in this economy. We can only have 1 intern at a time. (you can have 1 for every 10 full time employees).

donegal11

BrianjG wrote: »

Just to jump in here as someone trying to fill one of these internships the amount of replies we have got is a joke. It appears to me that people don't want to work. We've had about 15 replies, at least 5/6 weren't even eligible for the jobsbridge offer and about 3/4 were going to have to relocate because they didn't check to see where the job was located. The rest of the people were unsuitable for the position (the rest were foreign nationals who's english wasn't good enough to handle customers over the phone, its a tech support job). We are a small company with less than 10 staff and I thought this would be a great chance to train and hire someone who would want a better opportunity. So far I agree that its a joke.

What sort of job did you have on offer? And whats wrong with people relocating to do the internship would that not show commitment to do the job?

aFlabbyPanda

donegal11 wrote: »

What sort of job did you have on offer? And whats wrong with people relocating to do the internship would that not show commitment to do the job?

sorry I phrased that wrong. What I meant is that they were living too far and would have had to relocate (but didn't want to) to take up the position.

It was helpdesk job, link here in case anyone is interested.

http://goo.gl/taEhF

donegal11

^^ more like they went for the inteview wondering would you top up there payment perhaps, because your work address is clearly stated. Out of interest did many graduates apply?

aFlabbyPanda

donegal11 wrote: »

^^ more like they went for the inteview wondering would you top up there payment perhaps, because your work address is clearly stated. Out of interest did many graduates apply?

1 only I think but they got offered a job with VMware before we got to them. And speaking of interviews, I'm sick to death of people not turning up at all with no contact to say they aren't coming.

baaaa

If you have less then 10 staff you can't qualify for the scheme so I don't know how you do?

donegal11

baaaa wrote: »

If you have less then 10 staff you can't qualify for the scheme so I don't know how you do?

Yes you can, even if your only a sole trader you can qualify now.

ourtrail

In fairness, the majority of recent grads would be under 22 which means they qualify for only €100 JSA so the internship would find them working 35-40 hour weeks for €150, minus travel and lunch costs from that and its not really worthwhile. Of course the experience is invaluable but not if the internship is just not financially viable.

breadmonkey

So you're just using the scheme to offload your training costs onto the taxpayer?

aFlabbyPanda

breadmonkey wrote: »

So you're just using the scheme to offload your training costs onto the taxpayer?

yes, that's it exactly. :rolleyes:

breadmonkey

BrianjG wrote: »

yes, that's it exactly. :rolleyes:

BrianjG wrote: »

My issue is that through the years I've grown tired of paying money on wages on training people and then either have them leave or find out they aren't good enough. Having to go through the whole process every few months is tiring and costly.

You're freerolling off the taxpayer. If the intern turns out to be good - fantastic, you'll hire them. If not, you can get rid without having spent a cent on training them up. If you have a vacancy, fill it by paying an appropriate wage.

yourpics

BrianjG wrote: »

My issue is that through the years I've grown tired of paying money on wages on training people and then either have them leave or find out they aren't good enough. Having to go through the whole process every few months is tiring and costly. At the moment I can't afford to pay someone min wage as things are tight enough as it is.

Yes I can see how large companies can and will abuse the system. However for someone like us its in out interest to keep the person on after the internship process. If we let them go we have to wait another 3 months and then go through the whole thing again. for a small company its just too much in this economy. We can only have 1 intern at a time. (you can have 1 for every 10 full time employees).

You cant afford to pay someone. Has it occurred to you that people may not be able to afford to work for 40 hrs a week for buttons??

aFlabbyPanda

yourpics wrote: »

You cant afford to pay someone. Has it occurred to you that people may not be able to afford to work for 40 hrs a week for buttons??

yes but you see that argument is invalid because at the moment the state will pay them to sit on their arse and do nothing. I end up training them. These are not qualified people with experience applying for the internships.

yourpics

yourpics wrote: »

You cant afford to pay someone. Has it occurred to you that people may not be able to afford to work for 40 hrs a week for buttons??

This is one of the issues I have with the internship on offer.

Also, there seems to be no vetting when it comes to posting these internships.
There is plenty of examples here on boards in that mega thread.

I can give one example, where an internship was advertised locally which got my attention, it was for a "Database Administrator", in the description it stated that the intern would gain valuable experience in word, excel and powerpoint and no experience is needed.

If Fas or Solas were to even do a google on the role of a "Database Administrator" they would release that the description couldn't have matched that which was posted, and if anyone was to do this, and then place it on their C.V and look for a position with that title, they would be certainly laughed at and not considered.

Whilst I know things are difficult out there, employers have also got to release that this scheme only dilutes the economy further.

I've graduated this year, yes I am sitting on my arse here, not for the love of it, though I am doing 2 Certs at the moment and I am continuously engaging in projects which consume every cent I have and all of my time.

My concerns with these internships, is the fact that this is just another political package initiated to give an impression that there is a plan; the delivery of these internships by Fas (Solas), really wouldn't it be far better if Colleges and Universities had direct control, who then could liaison with industries and provide adequate mentorship.

thehomeofDob

Gonna pipe in here from my perspective in work as a full time employee. Last year I joined this company who was starting up a new division - it started with just two full time employees. Within about 3 or 4 months we were tight on workload and needed additional labour in the form of an admin and another technical staff member. Due to the size of the company as a whole we were able to get 2 people on the WPP. One on a 6 month contract and one on a 9 month contract.

At the time, there wasn't the revenue being generated to justify the expense to hire two employees, however the guy on the 6 month contract has been hired and the girl on the 9 month will probably be hired within the next month - as the business has grown to accommodate paying them. We've just recently taken on two guys with the internship programme and I'm sure both will have jobs by the end of the contract.

On top of that all four were supplied with a company phone that gives them free calls and texts for their personal use, and the first guy on WPP was given a company van to get him in and out of work at no extra cost to himself. All travel costs have been paid for as well.

I understand that for most the internship programme is a joke, but there are companies out there who can't afford to hire but are growing and this is a great way for them to do that and be at stage where they can hire the intern at the end of the contract.

yourpics

BrianjG wrote: »

yes but you see that argument is invalid because at the moment the state will pay them to sit on their arse and do nothing. I end up training them. These are not qualified people with experience applying for the internships.

I am a qualified person and its ridiculous that an employer can get what amounts to free labour. My qualifications were far from free! So maybe now you can understand where I am coming from!

yourpics

thehomeofDob wrote: »

Gonna pipe in here from my perspective in work as a full time employee. Last year I joined this company who was starting up a new division - it started with just two full time employees. Within about 3 or 4 months we were tight on workload and needed additional labour in the form of an admin and another technical staff member. Due to the size of the company as a whole we were able to get 2 people on the WPP. One on a 6 month contract and one on a 9 month contract.

At the time, there wasn't the revenue being generated to justify the expense to hire two employees, however the guy on the 6 month contract has been hired and the girl on the 9 month will probably be hired within the next month - as the business has grown to accommodate paying them. We've just recently taken on two guys with the internship programme and I'm sure both will have jobs by the end of the contract.

On top of that all four were supplied with a company phone that gives them free calls and texts for their personal use, and the first guy on WPP was given a company van to get him in and out of work at no extra cost to himself. All travel costs have been paid for as well.

I understand that for most the internship programme is a joke, but there are companies out there who can't afford to hire but are growing and this is a great way for them to do that and be at stage where they can hire the intern at the end of the contract.

If you have the workload to justify a new employee but cannot afford to pay a new employee you have obviously underpriced the job to start with!

Fair play to your company though for the van and phones!

aFlabbyPanda

yourpics wrote: »

I am a qualified person and its ridiculous that an employer can get what amounts to free labour. My qualifications were far from free! So maybe now you can understand where I am coming from!

yes but the point of the internship is to give people training and experience that they can't get at the moment, not hire qualified people for nothing. youre mixing the 2 scenarios.

I can't afford to hire a qualifed tech (min wage wouldnt get me someone good enough). However I'm willing to invest time & money training the person so in 9 months time I can give them a job @ min wage for the training & experience I need.

I'll need to give the person a phone, transport, laptop, etc so its hardly like they just turn up and start working.

yourpics

Brian, do you know is it possible to do another job bridge placement if you don't get employment at the end of the placement??

aFlabbyPanda

Not sure to be honest. I do know as the employer we have to wait 3 months before we can accept another one.

billy the squid

BrianjG wrote: »

yes but you see that argument is invalid because at the moment the state will pay them to sit on their arse and do nothing. I end up training them. These are not qualified people with experience applying for the internships.

It is the people who have experience and have no need for such an "internship" that are joining the dole queues.

Offer a real job, and someone might apply for it

Your ad seems to have been removed now, so the point is moot.

aFlabbyPanda

billy the squid wrote: »

It is the people who have experience and have no need for such an "internship" that are joining the dole queues.

Offer a real job, and someone might apply for it

Your ad seems to have been removed now, so the point is moot.

yeah its that easy just to magic up the money to pay someone. advert is still active but the link i posted doesnt appear to be working. ref is INTE-623161 for anyone interested.

mcmanaman

I recently secured an internship position and I have two questions

A) Is a paid position a definite at the end of 6-9 months ?

I have a few contacts at recruitment agencies who email me jobs regularly enquiring as to my interest. What should I say to them given that I'm on the internship ?

Thanks, MC

kate.m

...do internships have to be for graduates? Just a question.

wexfordia

kate.m wrote: »

...do internships have to be for graduates? Just a question.

It probably helps but I'm sure they look at your experience most of all.

aFlabbyPanda

mcmanaman wrote: »

I recently secured an internship position and I have two questions

A) Is a paid position a definite at the end of 6-9 months ?

I have a few contacts at recruitment agencies who email me jobs regularly enquiring as to my interest. What should I say to them given that I'm on the internship ?

Thanks, MC

A, No, an offer of employment is not guaranteed.

B, Its up to you if you want to explain that you are doing an internship but If you get offered a full time job then I'd suggest you take it.

donfers

if a person has worked a few years in one job and wants to shift their career to another job then the internship scheme could help them to get experience/training but does the scheme discriminate against non-graduates? i.e. unless you are a recent graduate are you more likely to be ruleds out?

mcmanaman

BrianjG wrote: »

A, No, an offer of employment is not guaranteed.

B, Its up to you if you want to explain that you are doing an internship but If you get offered a full time job then I'd suggest you take it.

This has been playing on my mind. Should I keep applying for positions even with me being on the internship ?

shinesun

I started a internship a few weeks ago, and have got offered a place in college now.I understand you can give a weeks notice to the company but how does this work with Social Welfare pay. Does social welfare payment stop for 8 weeks or how does it work? I would really appreciate any advice on this. Thanks.

aFlabbyPanda

donfers wrote: »

if a person has worked a few years in one job and wants to shift their career to another job then the internship scheme could help them to get experience/training but does the scheme discriminate against non-graduates? i.e. unless you are a recent graduate are you more likely to be ruleds out?

No, but you need to be in receipt of social welfare to be eligible. Qualifications have nothing to do with.

mcmanaman wrote: »

This has been playing on my mind. Should I keep applying for positions even with me being on the internship ?

I wouldnt see why not given you are technically still unemployed.

mcmanaman

BrianjG wrote: »

No, but you need to be in receipt of social welfare to be eligible. Qualifications have nothing to do with.



I wouldnt see why not given you are technically still unemployed.

Thanks Brian.

AnnyHallsal

mcmanaman wrote: »

Should I keep applying for positions even with me being on the internship ?

You absolutely should. An internship is not a job, it's a band-aid on a dreadful problem.

shinesun

Anyone?. Thanks

mcmanaman

AnnyHallsal wrote: »

You absolutely should. An internship is not a job, it's a band-aid on a dreadful problem.

How are the company offering the internship likely to view a person applying for jobs ? What if I'm offered an interview for a full-time position elsewhere ? My parents, and in particular my mother, think the internship is just short of a job.

AnnyHallsal

mcmanaman wrote: »

How are the company offering the internship likely to view a person applying for jobs. What if I'm offered an interview for a full-time position elsewhere ? My parents, and in particular my mother, think the internship is just short of a job.

You're still encouraged to seek paid employment: it says that in the Job Bridge FAQs, and the employer is obliged to give you time off for interviews.

"Just short of a job": That depends absolutely on the internship provider. They are not obliged to offer you a paid position at the end, though some do. That's for you to gauge.

msg11

shinesun wrote: »

I started a internship a few weeks ago, and have got offered a place in college now.I understand you can give a weeks notice to the company but how does this work with Social Welfare pay. Does social welfare payment stop for 8 weeks or how does it work? I would really appreciate any advice on this. Thanks.

Depends on the company, 2 weeks notice is usually the going thing. I also think you have to get your social welfare switched over to a return to education supplement or something along them lines. Best ask the welfare officer.

scholar007

omen80 wrote: »

Hi all,

I applied for a couple of jobbridge internships last week. Both were in web development and said no previous experience necessary. I have a degree in Computer Systems and have dabbled in web development before. One company got back to me saying I was not successful and the other hasn't got back to me yet.
Is it difficult to land one of these positions? Anyone got any tips?

Thanks....

Internship - thats gas! Must be able to use own initiative (because the boss is a bloody plonker and never there) fast paced environment (because you will always be fighting fires aka no forward planning) exciting place to work (see previous) promotional opportunities (if you last long enough and are thick skinned enough to deal with the politics) must be good at dealing with people (see previous).

omen80

I have an interview with a company for an internship next week. How quickly do you start after that if successful? Is there a lot of processing that needs to be done by SW?

Naresh Babu Vemulapalli

Hi All,
Could you please tell me any ones know how to get intern ships in Dublin.I am studying Griffith college Dublin.I completed Exams.I am going to do my project in Oct.

omen80

Naresh Babu Vemulapalli wrote: »

Hi All,
Could you please tell me any ones know how to get intern ships in Dublin.I am studying Griffith college Dublin.I completed Exams.I am going to do my project in Oct.

For the jobbridge internships you need to be on social welfare benefits for 3 months. Go to www.jobbridge.ie

mcmanaman

I'm starting my internship this week. Just a few other questions.

*While companies differ what generally should one expect during an internship in terms of workload and hours ? On the FAQ section on the JobBridge website it says a minimum of 30 hrs and a max of 40 hours.

*In terms of finding a full-time job does having internship on the cv help ? There had been a two year gap on my cv which was getting hard to explain away so hopefully this will help.

Any other advice or tidbits of information are most welcome. Thanks.

MC

Pembily

yourpics wrote: »

I am a qualified person and its ridiculous that an employer can get what amounts to free labour. My qualifications were far from free! So maybe now you can understand where I am coming from!

No but they were a lot cheaper than in other countries!

Stuxnet

I have an 8 month internship with Intel coming up ! I'd be happy to do it for free, it'll be a priceless experience, & Im really looking forward to it...but just wondering out of curiosity what kind of salary to expect ! Its not a factor for me ! but just wondering...any ideas