Navigating your way through physical and virtual world of job seeking can be a daunting and sometimes confusing experience. Employers use a variety of methods in their mission to source graduate talent. Therefore you will need to combine a range of strategies to secure that ideal job.
Traditional job search approaches such as advertising on jobs pages, recruitment fairs and online jobs websites are very common approaches, however, a range of newer and more interactive digital platforms are increasing including, LinkedIn, Twitter.
There is no singular best way to navigate successfully however, a good starting point is to have insight into the general approaches by your preferred industry to recruitment and develop techniques to support you in your application.
A really useful to start off by having a conversation with a member of our Careers & Employability Centre - make an appointment with a Careers Adviser today.
We recommend that you attend one of our regular Careers Clinic and Employability Workshops, and to find out more about these. Check out DkIT Careers Connect to find out more / book a place.
Applying for Advertised Opportunities
There are many job search websites and by spending time initially setting up profiles and familiarising yourself with top job search websites you will quickly learn what sites best suit your career ambitions.
High quality graduate and internship opportunities are advertised on our own DkIT Careers Connect and the gradireland.com sites.
Please note, specific industries will often use industry /skill specific websites; for example for social care/youth work/ social justice positions the Activelink a good resource, while the Engineers Ireland Jobs Desk is useful for engineering roles.
Other useful job search websites include:
- www.irishjobs.ie (general job search site)
- www.jobsireland.ie (general job search site)
- www.jobalert.ie (general job search site)
- www.indeed.ie (general job search site)
- www.publicjobs.ie (public sector jobs in Ireland)
- www.nmbi.ie (medical nursing Jobs)
- www.construction–jobs.ie (construction jobs)
- www.hoteljobs.ie (hospitality/catering jobs)
- www.greenjobs.ie (environment related jobs)
- www.targetjobs.co.uk (graduate jobs/internships in the UK)
- www.prospects.ac.uk (graduate jobs/internships in the UK)
- www.jobted.ie (Find jobs from all career sites in Ireland)
Speculative Applications
This is where you approach a company who you would like to work for, even though they have not advertised a specific job position. This can be a very successful approach, especially if you have had some informal/formal previous contact (eg. chat at a recent careers fair, heard about them following a campus presentation or a previous work placement). You would need to have done your homework for this speculative application and prepared a strong tailored CV and Cover Letter. See link here on GradIreland website on Speculative Applications.
Again we recommend speaking with a DkIT Careers Adviser or accessing DkIT CV & Cover Letter resources.
Careers Fairs & Recruitment Events
DkIT’s Careers & Employability Centre promotes a range of general and discipline specific Careers Fairs, Recruitment Events and Industry Presentations over the course of the Academic Year. These events are extremely useful for all stages of your job search whether that is company fact finding, professional networking or job seeking. Key events to take note of include:
- DkIT Careers & Industry Day - 13th November 2018
- GradIreland Fair – 3rd October 2018 (bus can be booked from Careers Centre)
- For a list of Employers Presentations throughout the year please click here
Professional Networking on Social Media
Linkedin is one of the most useful job search sites available to students and graduates. Employers are increasingly using Linkedin to advertise positions and to seek out talent directly from their LinkedIn Profile. In addition, it can be used as a way of researching information on companies you are interested in (and the people who work for these companies).
For notes on how to develop a strong LinkedIn profile and make the most of the additional job search tools on LinkedIn please attend our regular LinkedIn Workshops or make an appointment with a Careers Adviser.
