Students are turning to the web in huge numbers at the moment to search for graduate opportunities and summer internships, according to new data released by LinkedIn.
This data, based on past behaviour of LinkedIn’s Irish student members, suggests that the second week of June is when job-seeking activity begins in earnest. Students have had a break after exams and, now, the real work has to begin.
LinkedIn spokesperson Wendy Murphy says it’s going to be tough out there for graduates during the ‘student scramble’. “Our data shows that Irish students are typically focused on exams during the academic year, with the majority only pursuing job opportunities and internships after their exams have finished.
“As a result, there is typically fierce competition for the positions that are available, which means that students have to try and stand out from the crowd.”
Murphy offers some tips on how to do just that, including perfecting your LinkedIn profile and completing each section, making sure to post a profile photo, and aiming to ‘network to get work’.
That’s all well and good, but there’s one other important box for graduates to tick – picking the right company. We’ve put together a short list of some of the top companies across Ireland offering graduate positions right now.
Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments is an online trading brokerage and multinational financial services company. Fidelity has offices in Dublin and Galway.
Life at Fidelity is “busy, ever-changing, diverse and fulfilling“, with a “flexible work environment, great benefits, a great work-life balance[…] and a great social club”. The atmosphere is “genuine“, and “everyone is willing to muck in and offer assistance or advice on getting work done”. Fidelity “fosters a culture of innovation, encouraging new ideas and technologies that keep things exciting”. The company “takes care of employees’ career growth and makes training accessible”, something that has recently been touted as the biggest source of job satisfaction. The Fidelity experience is truly global, with offices in Asia and the US bringing an international flavour to an already “multicultural environment“.
Fidelity Investments is currently hiring software developers and QA engineers on its graduate programme.
FireEye
With offices in Dublin and Cork, FireEye — a leading company in cybersecurity — offers graduate roles in Ireland’s two tech capitals.
The company’s corporate environment focuses on “creativity and freedom”, with employees at all levels receiving a fair hearing when it comes to ideas and no ‘bureaucratic BS’ getting in the way of the work. The company’s dynamic atmosphere lends itself to a diverse workload. That workload offers “lots of challenges” for employees, though the work-life balance never becomes overpowering. FireEye’s “flexible work hours” help to minimise work stress, allowing for personal time during the week.
FireEye is currently hiring for the following graduate roles:
- Technical roles (Dublin, Cork): technical support, software development, QA automation and incident response/network forensics
- Business roles (Cork): finance, accounting, sales and HR.
Intel
The internet of things (IoT) and chip giant Intel is a huge graduate employer, offering positions in Leixlip and Shannon.
Intel is multicultural, challenging and friendly. It “fosters diversity”, having invested US$300m to increase the number of diversity hires over the next five years. The company hosts innovation sessions, during which team members can come up with ideas and try to implement them as research projects. Each member of staff is encouraged to play by the rules, but be creative. According to one employee, Intel offers “infinite opportunities”. Work hours are flexible, and telecommutes are possible. The company also offers a number of recreational facilities on campus, and employees enjoy a healthy social calendar.
Intel is currently hiring for the following graduate roles:
- Bio-process manufacturing technicians
- Process technicians
- Operations technicians
- Media processing PAEs
- Electronic engineers
- Facilities engineers
- Industrial hygienists
- Software engineers
- Product development engineers
- Product quality engineers.
Pramerica
This Letterkenny-based business and technology operations provider offers employees a really inclusive workplace. The workforce is diverse, bringing a lot of different cultures into the mix. Every person on the “extremely talented, innovative and creative workforce” helps the others grow. Employees enjoy a close bond, becoming almost like family, and employees and management are dedicated and supportive. Most important of all: “Pramerica ensures its employees feel a sense of belonging”.
Pramerica was voted one of the Top 15 Best Workplaces in Ireland and the Top 25 in Europe.
Pramerica is currently hiring graduates for the following positions:
- Associate business continuity analyst
- Associate model risk management (ERM).
Storm Technology
Storm Technology specialises in Microsoft enterprise software, hiring a wide variety of IT consultants for its Dublin office.
According to one employee, those staff members are “wonderful people doing excellent work“. Enthusing about his colleagues, he continues, “everyone in the company will welcome you and be available to help, from the CEO to the colleague sitting next to you”. Another employee says, “I always feel motivated and excited to come and work for Storm“. Others are enthusiastic about the day-to-day challenges and the support of colleagues, or the multicultural staff. Some just say that Storm “challenges your ideas on a daily basis and pushes you to think and learn and grow your experience”.
Storm Technology is currently seeking graduates to take on roles in: enterprise solutions, CRM, SharePoint, support and development.
- Enterprise solutions
- CRM
- SharePoint
- Support and development.
Tableau Software
From its offices in Dublin, Tableau Software creates interactive datavis products, delivering business intelligence and analytics.
“Tableau is a company that is trying to retain its start-up feel.” Employees at the company report feeling important and valued, and not separated from management. The company offers fantastic job satisfaction, with one Tableau employee saying, “every day we are as happy to come to work as if it was our first day”. This may be partly due to the great staff cohesion and community spirit: “People here care about each other and work as part of a team. We share ideas and knowledge among ourselves.” The fact that Tableau’s Irish presence is relatively new is also a factor, allowing employees to “learn and play our part in building the company together“. There are numerous training and learning opportunities. Employees try to maintain a fun environment, enjoying social events whenever possible.
Tableau Software is currently hiring graduates in technical support specialist positions.
Looking for more news on IT jobs and tech careers? The companies listed above are part of Silicon Republic’s Featured Employers campaign, comprising top tech employers recruiting right now for roles in Ireland. Click any of their names for further information.
Updated 25 June 2015 at 14.24pm to clarify the locations of Fidelity Investments’ offices.
Graduate image, via Shutterstock
