How to tailor your CV for the Irish job market

Are you looking to start a new job in Ireland? Did you just move to the Emerald Isle, or are you just looking to change jobs in Ireland?

It is important to note that there might be some differences between your home country’s CV pattern and the Irish one. There are some vital information you must add to your CV to gain a little advantage.

According to John Carr, a career consultant in Dublin, most people would think that a well-done CV is what is going to get them a job, when the real purpose is to secure an interview.

Securing that interview is a two-step process which Babylon Radio breaks down for you;

The basics

The CV must be brief and interesting. A busy recruiter is going to spend around 20 seconds looking at it, and in most big companies the CV goes through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

The ATS is going to look for keywords related to the skills, experiences and qualifications that the available position requires.

This system helps the recruiters hire professionals by narrowing the number of applicants and ranking them based on how well their CV scores based on the job description.

So, instead of reviewing all the applications individually, the recruiter can choose to read only the ones that the ATS identifies as a good match. That is how your CV can guarantee you an interview.

If you are applying for a job that doesn’t require too many skills and qualifications, like a waiter, barista, cleaner or kitchen porter position, for example, your CV must not have more than one page.

If you are applying to a role that requires more specific skills, then you may consider a two-page CV.

What you should NOT add to your CV

Do not include your age, nationality, objective, lower visa status and your marital status. For example, if you have a stamp 2, you shouldn’t add it until you are being interviewed.

However, if you have a stamp 4, that allows you to work full time all year round, then you can put it on your CV.

Also, if you aren’t fluent in English, you should not mention that on your CV. But, be sure you are applying to jobs within your fluency of English.

If you live in Ireland long enough, you will reach a proficiency level, but try to respect your own learning process and rhythm.

What you should add to your CV

You should put your address, because if the recruiter sees that you are living in Dublin or any region close to the job, they know they can call you for an interview.

You should put your qualifications, like graduation and degrees, and your experiences.

If you do not have experiences that are exactly related to the position you are applying for, you can do what John Carrs calls “transferable experience”.

You can use experiences you had in the past and adapt to this job you are applying now. The same thing applies for the skills.

“You should google the skills required to the job you are looking for, see the ones that you have and put them on your CV,” says Carr.

Carr also believes it is worth putting your picture, since most Irish people do not put it in their CV’s, it is something that you can do to stand out.

But remember, it has to look professional, show from your shoulders to the top of your head and it should preferably be the same one on your Linkedin profile.

The optional information is: hobbies, interests, achievements and volunteer work. Remember, you are trying to be interesting and call the recruiter’s attention.

If you do not have interesting hobbies or interests, it is not worth mentioning them. For example, you cannot say your hobby is clubbing if you applying for a job as an accountant.

When you put your qualifications and experiences, rank them from the most recent to the oldest one. Put the month and year your started to the month and year you finished. If it’s your current position, you can just say “present”.

John Carr encourages foreigners to use the qqi.ie website to consult the equivalency of their diploma and what NFQ (National Framework of Qualifications) level they have in Ireland. For example, a bachelor’s degree has a level 8, a postgraduate or masters have a level 9 and doctoral has a level 10.

Typography

Also, when you write about your experience, mention what position you had and your duties. It is good to put the duties in bullet points, about two or three, and if you worked in a company that is not known in Ireland and can briefly explain the company’s field.

The font you should use is calibri or times roman and the font size should be 11.

Make sure you do not have spelling mistakes. You can ask for a teacher or someone with a good level of English to proofread your CV and check for errors.

Once you are finished, it is time to send it through jobs websites or hand them to managers at places where you would be interested in working. Good luck!