Why so difficult?

smartsense

I am a Chinese business lady just moved to Ireland. With 9 years experience in trading business, including 5 years of experience working as a marketing manager in a multinational company. Actually I was one of the co-founder and I was involved in every process in business, looking for office/staff/supplier/product/client, promoting brands, dealing with key clients, attending exhibition and arranging shipment. My boss is Jewish, together we made a great success in last 5 years.

Well, it's my little background. Recently I got my work permit in Ireland and start to look for jobs online. Though I believe with my experience is qualified to manage a team, but I am willing to start from the beginning as a sales/purchaser here in Ireland (I worked in the USA before. ), unfortunately, no any response from most of the companies (I can't work in another city as I'm Dublin base), I understand there are many excellent people also looking for job. I feel frustrated mostly from the agents, though 90% of them give me very positive reply, still I'm surprised to find out that a few of them did not check my CV seriously. I feel frustrated because I can't even get a chance for an interview. This is very different in China.

Is it really that hard to get a job in Ireland？Or it's just a bad time? Is there a lot of trading companies here in Ireland? Maybe I am not competitive here? Should I attend any course?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

antoinolachtnai

That line of business is all about contacts. You need to get to know people. Ideally you would get to know people in your particular sector, but really you just need to get to know as many people as you can.

Another thing is that it takes time to get a job in Ireland. There are no quick decisions.

In some sectors, the recruitment agents have a lot of sway and a lot of contacts, but in other sectors, not so much.

The fact that you are not getting any interviews at all leaves me concerned that your CV might not be presenting your skills well.

Another problem is that you might seem like too much of a generalist and you would be better off focussing on one particular area of expertise, like sourcing.

dbran

Have you had somebody check your CV over for grammar syntax errors etc, preferably a native English speaker.

I know in cases where English may not be your first language it may result in a poorly written CV which may look fine to you but comes across as a lack of attention to detail by an employer. ie will I have to spend all day correcting your spelling to the extent that I might as well do the job myself.

Just my 2 cents though.

Best of luck

dbran

CelticRambler

smartsense wrote: »

Recently ... start to look for jobs online. ... I'm surprised to find out that a few of them did not check my CV seriously. I feel frustrated because I can't even get a chance for an interview ... Is it really that hard to get a job in Ireland？

Yes, it is 'that hard' to get a job (in Europe, not just Ireland). One problem with looking on-line for work, and putting your CV online is exactly what you have already noticed: the recruitment agents don't check your CV. Instead, the CV is scanned by a computer program for certain keywords and the agent only gets to see CVs that the computer thinks match the requirements for any particular job. As the other contributors have said, you should think about getting someone to review your CV to see if your experience is presented in a way that can be understood by the computer.

Even so, there is still the problem that you probably have 'too much' experience. Most big corporations do not want people with a wide range of experience: they want a 'perfect match' for the role, nothing more, nothing less (and then complain that they can't get 'appropriately qualified' staff) Smaller companies, as was pointed out above, are more likely to recuit someone that they know through existing contacts rather than going through an agent.

Look out for networking events in Dublin and the surrounding counties. Even if you don't find a job offer, you might see an opportunity to create your own business.

Running your own business before is often a red flag for employers because they feel like you might not be able to toe the line, or that when a good opportunity comes along you will jump and do that. Probably want to avoid highlighting that.

NotaSheep

Sli Nua Careers (google them) do a free CV check - I'd say that might reveal some areas that you might improve on as the CV screening process can be very harsh - unfortunately its first impressions that count and you need to captivate them from the get go. I would also strongly recommend to change the CV for every job application in order to accentuate the strengths, skills and experience most relevant to that job. The way I see it your Chinese background and international working experience is a great strength - look for companies looking to expand internationally, make best of your international network of contacts. Best of luck.