Are you a school-leaver looking for advice and inside information to help you make the best decisions about your future? Career Path Expo wants to help you make the right choice before you finish school and venture into 3rd level education or the workforce.
Career Path Expo is the new online exhibition for school-leavers in Ireland and has everything you need to know about education, skills and careers – giving you the full range of information about universities and colleges, 3rd level and PLC courses, apprenticeships and career opportunities with companies that employ school-leavers.
Taking place online on the 10th and 11th of March 2021, the event features two full days of webinars, talks, live Q&A sessions with college experts and career advisors. All for free!
Join us for information about a huge range of courses, apprenticeships and jobs on offer from the comfort of your classroom or home via laptop, tablet or smartphone.
Career Path Expo is the perfect opportunity for you to engage with universities, colleges and course providers in Ireland and the UK, alongside providers of apprenticeships, employers offering careers for school-leavers and graduates of 2nd level education.
And it’s completely free to attend.
Register now and find your future.
The brand digital agency based in Northern Ireland will create new jobs over 18 months having won three new Irish contracts and one in the UK, totalling more than €10m.
While the agency currently employs more than 50 staff across three offices in Dublin, London and Belfast, its entire staff was relocated to its 20,000 sq ft office in Belfast in March, with teams spread across all four floors.
The company, with a client list that includes Rory McIlroy and Ed Sheeran as well as large corporates such as Queen’s University and Bank of Ireland, is looking to fill the new positions over the next 18 months with 10 roles required with immediate effect.
The available roles include a senior designer, a digital project manager, a senior animator as well as roles in client and finance services.
Mammoth won contracts with National University of Ireland Galway, University of Exeter in the UK, Tourism Northern Ireland and Irish renewable energy supplier, Bright.
Co-Founder of Mammoth, Jeremy Poots said the new contract wins were particularly important against the backdrop of Covid-19. “Now we have an immediate need to add a wide range of new positions for designers, developers, data analysts, film producers, animators and client services.”
Mammoth’s other co-founder, Paul Martin said the agency won the new contracts as a result of its specialisation in digital transformation and brand re-invention.
“Due to Covid, clients are having to dramatically re-invent and reposition their business offering very rapidly for this new world,” he said.
“Our large team across brand, digital, social, video and analytics are uniquely placed to take these campaigns to market through social media and advertising campaigns helped by a recent investment in a new purpose-built video and content studio, with an ‘infinity curve’ wall and portable kitchen for food shoots at our new flagship HQ in Belfast.”
Both co-founders believe that, while 2021 will be a turbulent year, there will be a resurgence of demand and “increased acceleration in adapting to the new digital world”.
“We are now urgently looking for quality people keen to develop their careers, with the opportunity to work on exciting projects,” they said.
To learn more about the roles currently available click here.
It’s hard to figure out what direction to go in when it comes to working. Trying to decide what job you look for can be incredibly hard and indeed, disheartening. The more you know about jobs that interest you, the more likely you are to land one that will fulfil your desire to work. Start by asking yourself a few questions that are key to help you decide where you want to go with your career.
The first question is to actually determine if it is a job or a career that you are looking for. Ask yourself are you looking for a promotion and opportunities for career advancement, do you enjoy your current job but just need a different environment, do you feel like you need a new challenge and are you looking for a job that will simply pay the bills or have you a detailed career plan?
The next thing to establish is what you actually enjoy doing. Working at something you love is important because you will feel more motivated and encouraged to work. Decide what your best skills are and how they tie into your interests.
Whether you will be able to start working straight away from these skills or if you need to take up a course in the field, establishing them are crucial in finding the right job for you.
Next, you need to decide what type of work commitment you’re looking to take up. For those looking for opportunities to advance your career, permanent jobs may suit you best. Temporary jobs can help you easily transition back to work or help you widen your experiences. Like temping, contracting can offer increased flexibility and the opportunity to develop new skills.
Internships offer practical experience usually over a period of 8-12 weeks. Apprenticeships allow you to learn a craft or trade through hands-on experience. Graduate schemes are for those who have just finished a college degree. Volunteering allows you to learn new skills and experiences that will benefit you going forward.
After you’ve decided on what kind of job you’re looking for, you need to decide where it is you want to work. It’s important to consider commute time in terms of how long you will be spending getting to and from work each day. It could be an idea to consider relocation and if it’s a viable option.
Decide next who you want to work for. Establish what type of organisation appeals to you and what you want and don’t from an employer. Consider if you would like to work for a small company or a well-known one. Establish if you would like to have training opportunities. Finally, consider the company’s culture and if it’s the right fit for you.
Although it can be hard to land a job with the exact salary you want, it’s good to have some kind of idea of what jobs are within your range. You may have to accept a job that’s slightly below your desired salary. However, do not sell yourself short either. You may have the opportunity to negotiate your salary when the time comes that you’ve been offered the job.
You’ve created the perfect CV and brushed up on your interview skills, but now what? Where do you go from here? Well, it’s time to find a job that you will love. Unfortunately, this is not the easiest thing to do. Regardless of what stage in your career you’re at, there are a few things to consider before you start looking for jobs.
Firstly, you need to decide what it is you want to do. Look at your skills, abilities and of course your interests. Research what jobs require what you can offer and begin to understand what routes are available for you to take.
It can be a good idea to take on work experience or an internship to help you decide what job you want without having to commit to a permanent role. It’s crucial that you are realistic with what you choose, however.
Remember that some careers may seem glamorous and attractive but aren’t always as they seem. Go for the job, not the lifestyle.
For some, they can start the job they desire straight away. There are many jobs that will allow you to do this. Taking on a temporary role in your desired career path will allow you to begin work straight away as well as allowing you to craft the skills required.
Temporary jobs are ideal if you can’t commit to more serious roles and will allow you to start working straight away. However, there are also permanent roles available if you want to start working immediately.
If you need to start working but feel like you lack in experience, do not panic. There are many different routes to take that will help you enter the working world. Along with internships, volunteering and apprenticeships are excellent options that will help you become more attractive to employers.
It will also demonstrate your willingness to get involved with projects and that you’re motivated. To help you figure out what path you wish to follow, create a plan of the steps in your career that will you need to take. It could mean you need to apply for entry-level jobs or even taking on a course in the field.
If you’re looking for a job but don’t have the right qualifications, it can be hard to stay ahead of the competition. Taking up study in your chosen field can seem impossible if you’re someone who needs to start work ASAP.
However, taking up a course in your chosen field is now easier than ever. If you’re able to take on full-time study, great! Do not fret if you can’t. There are now many part-time courses that cover a wide array of topics.
As well as that, courses are adapted to those who want to take on a course between working. Home study or distance learning courses operate in whatever way you want. They allow you to learn what you want to learn at a time and pace that suit you.
For those that don’t see rigid full-time work as an option, there are many different routes to take. You could become a freelancer in your field, work from home or take up jobs with flexible hours. Roles like these will allow you to balance work with your lifestyle.
Check out our list here to determine what kind of jobseeker you are!
Keeping your CV concise is essential. In terms of length, 2 pages long is ideal. However, if you’re someone who has a long and detailed career history, it can be hard to sum it all up. It’s important to keep your application as attractive to an employer as possible.
There are a number of ways to do this, even if you have a long career history. First of all, make sure to be ruthless with it. Cut down anything you can and really think of what you’re including. Ask yourself, will this add to my chances of getting the job? If the answer is no, you don’t need to keep it in.
As well as that, look at the description of the job and tailor your CV accordingly. Cut out anything that's not overly relevant. This will not only save space, but it will also help your CV to seem the most focused and most fitting for the job.
Use this tactic when it comes to your previous job positions. Your first job working in a supermarket will not have much bearing on your ability to work as a doctor. If you have a number of different positions in retail that you want to include, list them as “Various retail positions (date - date)”.
You can also do this for jobs that are not relevant to what you are applying for. It could be a position in another field. It could be a position from which you moved to a more senior position. Whatever the case may be, if it’s not going to change the employer’s minds on whether to hire you or not, it’s not needed.
Having a long career history doesn’t always mean that you worked from job to job since you were 17. You could have a number of gaps in employment. It could be gap years, career breaks, sabbaticals or even a hiatus to raise your family.
Cleaning up your CV when you have had a long career history will stand in the favour of job gaps. By this, we mean that you can easily draw attention away from any gaps in employment. You can also use dates to your advantage by leaving the months out and only including years.
Show how you have been proactive with your time off. List volunteer work, courses or hobbies you took up during this period. Use your cover letter to explain the gaps in your CV. Check out our post here about how to explain gaps in your employment for more information.
If you’re someone who has hopped from job to job, combine similar roles together in order to keep your career history concise. Make sure to highlight the most relevant skills and accomplishments from each job, however.
Some industries or job positions will expect job hops, but it’s always good to explain them in your cover letter regardless. It’s essential to specify job hops in the case of being made redundant, to show that it was an involuntary move.
You should also let them know if it was a natural progression of your career to move jobs. Ambition, determination and a willingness to grow will be demonstrated.
Finally, if you have a had a number of short-term positions that have not added to your career progression, leave them out altogether.
Working from home is the ideal situation for many people. It means you avoid commuting to and from work, you can improve work-life balance and in times of uncertainty like we find ourselves in now, it means you can be safe in your own bubble. Whatever your reasons for working from home are, here is how you can find remote work.
The first step is to find out what’s right for you. Despite the perks of remote work, it’s not actually suited for everyone. It’s important to take time to access what your situation is.
You need to ask yourself are you self-motivated enough to stay on task, will you be lonely or left out, will you be able to get the right balance between work and home life and will you be able to communicate effectively over the phone, video call or emails.
It’s essential to be sure you’re doing it for the right reasons too. Your employer will be able to tell if you are motivated or if you just want to slack.
Secondly, it’s important to access whether or not you’ll be able to stay in touch with your team in the office. Being tech-savvy is crucial to this. You don’t need to be an expert in every form of software, but knowing the basics is necessary.
Set up social media accounts, a blog or website to keep in touch with people in a professional way. Build up your network and remote working opportunities will become more attainable. After all, your employer may be best friends with someone you interact within your network who may put in a good word for you.
Next, it’s important that you have the right skills for the role. Your technical ability will come into play with this, but it’s vital that you have general valuable skills that will show you’re worthy of the job. For example, trustworthiness, autonomy and a love of the job will make you attractive.
Show self-motivation and great communication on your CV and cover letter. Offer some examples of your work or projects you’ve worked on to show your initiative. If you can prove to them that you can in fact deliver, then do!
Finally, versatility is key when it comes to remote working and finding opportunities is no different. There are many ways to find remote work such as through job forums or even social media. Just make sure to do the necessary research on any job opportunities or companies you come across. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
When you’re happy with the job you’re in, you could ask your employer if remote working is an option. If it is not, you could instead ask for more flexible working hours and access the options available to you from this.
Getting the opportunity to try out remote working in this context means that you’ll get to figure out if it is right for you. You can then make any transition to remote working jobs that you desire with ease. You will be able to show future employers that it doesn’t phase you. Becoming a freelancer could also be a viable option for you.
Need help with your CV? Check out our post here!