Thousands of students attended the annual Gradireland Graduate Careers Fair, which took place in the RDS last Wednesday.
The annual event is an opportunity for undergraduate and postgraduate students to engage with different employers from a wide range of businesses and learn information about potential employment prospects upon completing their degrees or masters.
A multitude of businesses, including Intel, Aer Lingus, KPMG and Jameson, were present at the fair and offered advice and information to students throughout the course of the day.
Gavin Lynam, a promoter for Gradireland, believes the fair is really important to make students more aware of what jobs and opportunities are available for them when they graduate. “I personally think there should be events like this every few months”, he said. “Today is huge for any student who walks in here, there is so much opportunity to be found.”
Commerce graduate Sarah O’Donnell attended the fair last year and is now working as a paid intern for Enterprise Rent A Car Ireland. She thinks that attending this fair played an important role in helping her to get an internship with the company. “I think an internship is so important when you’re going out to the working world – the fact this one is paid is obviously going to attract a lot of students here”, she said.
Many businesses who took part at the fair explained to students that their particular field of study was not a crucial factor for the jobs being advertised. Jannis Hogander, an Area Manager for Aldi, explained that “we’ll take anyone on with a 2:1 degree or over in any discipline once they have the skills to work in a challenging and fast-paced environment”.
The fair also hosted talks and seminars throughout the day on topics such as life for students after graduating, what it takes to be successful in a professional job, and how to make your CV stand out from the crowd.
Students who missed the event or are looking for advice can visit Gradireland’s website (www.gradireland.com) for comprehensive information on all job sectors.
Michelle Townsend