For many young Irish graduates coming out of third-level education, finding steady employment is the priority.
You may willingly forego comfort and independence for opportunity. Your field might be highly competitive, and it can be hard enough trying to get your foot in the door somewhere without considering things such as internal mobility and work-life balance.
It can be difficult for a graduate, who may lack formal experience in their industry, to understand their own expectations for a job.
Orla O’Dwyer, a career development consultant at Trinity College Dublin, says figuring that out should be one of your first steps. “I’d always say to people before you accept the job or anything, think about what is it that you actually want,” O’Dwyer says. “It’s different for all of us. You might say: it’s not acceptable for me to work really long hours. But you need to know that first before you take the job and then you need to do a little bit of homework on it.”
READ MORE
A tried-and-tested means of preparing for a job interview is to reach out to someone who works, or has previously worked, in the company you are hoping to join. While you may want to focus on advice around how to impress your prospective employers, this is also a chance to get an honest appraisal of the workplace.
“I would say that’s an essential part of any kind of job hunt process,” O’Dwyer says. “Right from the start of it, try and find some people that you know in the workplace and ask them questions. There are things you can do. You don’t have to actually know someone; you might meet someone at a career fair. Think about the questions you want to ask around workplace values and culture.
“How do they get on? Do they like it? Do they enjoy it? Every university and college has an alumni association and usually has [a way for you to] make contact with them. Seek out someone from your course or someone who went to your college who’s working there. You can even search on LinkedIn and find people [that way].”
LinkedIn is the dominant force in professional social media, but there are other digital avenues for researching an employer. Glassdoor is an American website that facilitates job recruitment and allows employees to post anonymous reviews of their workplaces, including a rating out of five stars and information on salaries, benefits and culture.
It is important to take these reviews with a pinch of salt and remember that one individual can experience a workplace very differently to another. Perhaps the biggest window into a company comes during the interview itself. If it happens in-person, you will get a helpful flavour of the environment, and wherever it is conducted you should be given a chance to ask questions.
“It’s usually the final part of an interview,” O’Dwyer says. “So really think about what questions would you like to ask and put them in a positive manner. If you feel something like continuous education and further training is really important to you, you could pose that. You know, you have to use that with caution. You don’t want to be going straight in there and saying how many holidays do I have or things like that.
“But there’s an opportunity for you to ask something. I think there are other opportunities that maybe aren’t so obvious in the interview process too, like when you get to the premises and you have a good chance of having a little look around. Seeing how other people talk to each other when you’re waiting at reception and getting the vibe out of it that way. Did you feel comfortable [in the interview]? Really reflect on that afterwards and think about what you saw when you got there.”
You can gauge some red flags from a job description and from available information on a company’s structure. Words like change and transition may indicate a more dynamic, chaotic environment. If that sounds like a very bad fit for your skill set, you may want to reconsider the role.
On a formal level, your rights can often be overlooked as an entry-level employee, and it is always a good idea to research them.
Roisin Boyle is a legal rights official with Siptu, Ireland’s largest trade union. “As a new employee, the most important thing to establish is clarity,” Boyle says. “Clarity around your terms and conditions. Under the Terms of Employment Act 1994, you’re entitled to a statement within five days of starting. This statement must set out specific provisions in relation to the duration of your contract, when you will be paid and how many hours per week you will be expected to work.
“Then within a month of starting, you’re entitled to a more detailed contract of employment with even more information surrounding your terms and conditions. These documents are not provided to employees more often than you’d think, and when they are provided, they often exclude some of this vital information.
“It is important for all employees to have received these, but it is even more important for graduates or entry-level employees as they are often working in more precarious roles under fixed-term contracts. If a disagreement should occur later, an employee will then have these documents as a reference point for what is expected of them.”
An employment handbook is another important document that can help to provide clarity around workplace policies. Here, you will find information on your holiday and sick leave entitlements, as well as job specifications.
“A job specification can often be dismissed by graduates or entry-level employees as they focus more on performing well in the interview and securing the position. As a trade union official, I would always advise new employees to ask for a copy of any collective agreement that may exist in the workplace too,” says Boyle.
Once you make it through the hiring process and start your new role, both Boyle and O’Dwyer recommend seeking a mentor. This person can be influential in helping you to develop your skills as you gain experience. If red flags pop up, they can be a voice of support and guidance.
“From my perspective, the best mentor is always the shop steward,” Boyle says. “They can be a supportive confidant. If you experience stressful situations or challenges within your role, which graduates or new employees often do, the shop steward is someone you can go to that knows the culture of the workplace and can help you navigate it informally and formally, if necessary.”
Ultimately, this is your likely to be your first significant job, and there will be speed bumps. In some ways, red flags can be positive at this stage of your career because they teach you more about your working life.
“I’d say: don’t go in there and give up [when you find] a red flag,” O’Dwyer says. “Make sure you give it a good chance. That’s the first thing. You know, try and make the most of the opportunity when you’re there and then if you do decide that you can’t do it and it’s not for you, that’s fine. That’s an okay thing to do because there’s learning in that. Now you know what you’re not willing to put up with.”
