Sourcing job vacancies

 
The traditional method of sourcing job vacancies is looking in the jobs or business section of newspapers. Most newspapers have job sections and the most popular national newspapers for advertising nationwide job vacancies are:

• The Irish Independent – Thursday
• The Irish Times – Friday
• The Sunday Independent

If you would like to find a job in your local area then it is recommended to check the local weekly newspapers. When cutting out a job advert from a newspaper, write the date and the newspaper it came from on the advert to mention in your covering letter.
For a list of newspapers check:

1. The IPA Administration Yearbook and Diary (available at your local library) or
2. Online newspapers in Ireland
3. Nowadays job vacancy websites are more widely used.

Speculative applications

 
Speculative Applications – you might send a Covering letter and Curriculum Vitae to all the employers you would like to work for. If employers are looking for temporary or short –term staff, they may interview you instead of advertising the job vacancy.

Contacts and networking

 
Contacts and Networking – Make contact with people connected to the area of work you are interested in. Let them know you are looking for work in the area. You may find out about temporary or short-term vacancies, be able to get work experience and/or hear about job vacancies about to be advertised.

INTREO

 
INTREO is a new service from the Department of Social Protection. Intreo is a single point of contact for all employment and income supports designed to provide a more streamlined approach, Intreo offers practical, tailored employment services and supports for jobseekers and employers alike. 
 
Check with your local office for job vacancies and advice on job hunting.

Recruitment Agencies

 
Recruitment Agencies – some employers contact recruitment agencies to recruit staff on their behalf. However, as a source of job vacancies recruitment agencies are most suitable to jobseekers with relevant work experience

Making an application for a job

 
The job advertisement or employer will tell you how you must apply for the particular job vacancy. The typical methods of application are by;
Curriculum Vitae / Covering Letter and or Application Form provided by the employer

Work Experience

You may find that a lot of job vacancies look for people with experience. You should apply anyway as sometimes employers will choose the person with the right set of skills and qualifications over someone with experience. You might also look for work experience opportunities by:

• Contacting employers you would like to work for.
• Contact your local INTREO office – depending on your unemployment status, you may be eligible for one of their employment programmes. Alternatively they may have Traineeship (Employer sponsored training and work experience) opportunities.
• If you are considering taking another course, check to see if it includes a work experience placement.
• Contact your local Volunteer Centre. They may have voluntary work opportunities in the area in which you would like to work.
• Recruitment Fairs – Watch out in the local or national press for recruitment fairs, when employers come together to promote their vacancies to job seekers. These are typically geared towards graduates. The term graduate usually refers to people who have successfully completed courses between levels 6 and 10 on the NFQ, even though a person finishing any course might be called a ‘graduate’ of the course.