An Evening With USI and 800 Students In Dublin Castle

By February 18, 2016For Companies, For Talent

Recently Jobbio had a chance to attend the Student Summit in association with USI. We met an impressive number of 800 students looking to start their careers at startups. We were also met by a number of innovative startups looking to connect with relevant people and start attracting talent.

The startup scene is booming, there’s no doubt about that. It has seen a considerable rise, especially in the recent years. At the event, I had the privilege of being a guest speaker where I shared my own learning experiences with these young inspiring graduates and covered a myriad of topics with them.

Startups in Ireland: How to define different types

When you are looking at startups, it’s important to acknowledge the different types in the market. Namely indigenous Irish startups vs. Global startups currently setting up a base here. They both have pro’s and con’s, from the variety of work their team do to the blueprint of success they can (or can’t) follow. My key message with regards to beginning a career in a startup is how flexibility, hard work and commitment to the core value of the business is key to your success.

Why the opportunities are missed 

Learning  about a business or indeed, a career in a ‘black and white’ world is incredibly difficult. Many graduate job seekers struggle to recognise companies outside the mainstream leaders. Culture and personality fit continue to be key indicators for Talent when judging what companies they wish to work for – but more often than not, this was lacking in job advertisements. This is where Jobbio comes in; it is a platform that makes finding startups with the most recent opportunities, easy and efficient.

How Jobbio aids Job discovery and application        

On the night, it was striking how the students, I had a chance to chat to, agreed unanimously that CVs hold them back from applying to jobs. It’s been proven that up to 60% of millennial job seekers are keen to apply online, whilst the old-fashioned way of recruitment is one of the barriers they are facing even before starting their careers. The old method of recruitment (i.e. paper CVs) especially jars with Startups which by their nature need flexible employees. Resources are tight but tasks are plentiful – meaning they need employees who can adapt and take on any duty.

The Startup environment seeks out creative minds with a bunch of skills that simply can’t be presented on a piece of  paper. The competition is high, so presenting yourself in the best light becomes key to standing out. Having this in mind, I explained Jobbio and the fact that it creates a digital Bio which allows the student showcase their full skill set in imagery and video as well as links to their blog or portfolio. It is the tool that enables the ever social generation to connect their formal experiences and education with their social selves, i.e. social media channels, blogs, webpages.

Thinking outside the box is imperative to an engaging bio.

Throughout the night, discussions from Startups Deposify and UsherU along with established brands like Twitter showed the landscape of careers in Ireland and how tenacity and passion are keys to building and retaining a successful career. See you next year Student Summit!

 

Author Jobbio

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