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Column Improve your prospects of getting a job in Ireland’s digital sector

Ireland’s vibrant tech scene offers young Irish people a wealth of opportunities. Stephen McIntyre – Twitter’s Head of Sales/Operations for Europe, Middle East and Africa – shares some industry tips.

IRELAND’S VIBRANT TECH scene offers young Irish people a wealth of opportunities. Over the past decade some of the world’s top tech companies have made Dublin their home, alongside a burgeoning indigenous startup community. More recently, digital and social media firms have emerged as popular choices for people setting out on their careers.

As a result, I’m often asked by parents, teachers and students how young people can improve their prospects of getting a job in Ireland’s digital sector.

It should go without saying that if you’d like to break into a new field, you should gain some experience before you even apply for the job. The nature of web technologies makes this straightforward if you have the passion and are willing to put in some work. Whether you’re in college or already working, there’s nothing to stop you becoming a social media expert in your spare time.

But what about the job application and interview process itself? I’ve spent much of my career in internet companies, at Google for six-and-a-half years and now at Twitter, where we’ve built our European headquarters from a handful of people to more than 100 employees in the past 18 months. Over these past eight years I’ve interviewed more than a thousand candidates from all around the world.

My conclusion is that while there is no such thing as the perfect candidate, the most successful ones do have common characteristics.

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Attitude, attitude, attitude

Above all, it is attitude that distinguishes the best candidates at interview and indeed the highest-performing employees at work. Natural intelligence, relevant experience, technical expertise, good industry network – they’re all important of course. But when you start out, and long after that, the characteristic that most defines you in your professional life is your attitude.

This is not about pasting a grin on your face and having a firm handshake. It’s about the way you respond to adversity, the way you channel your energy, the choices you make. Do you embrace new things, push yourself to achieve, volunteer without being asked, look for the silver lining in every cloud? Or do you complain about others, make excuses, and wait to be asked before you act?

Good interviewers will discover all of these things in a 30 minute chat. In fact, they’ll probably be able to spot it from clues on your CV within 30 seconds.

Self-awareness

Another defining characteristic of great candidates is self-awareness. Being open to feedback is crucial – other people observe things about you, good and bad, that you find hard to recognise in yourself. A great way to learn more about yourself is to experiment in the early stages of your career. That doesn’t mean job-hopping — it’s always preferable to stay in a role long enough to make a real impact and earn a reputation — but it does mean pushing the boundaries of your job and trying new things.

If you’re an intern in a tech company, you could volunteer for an assignment that gives you project management skills. Or if you’re a trainee accountant in a small firm, you could become the social media expert and volunteer to use social tools to win new business.

People with high self-awareness know what they’re good at, what they’re bad at, and they know what motivates them. They have a set of personal values — a non-negotiable understanding of what’s most important — that guides them through life. This is a lot to ask of someone in the early stages of their career of course. It takes lifetime to hone these senses. But the best candidates show evidence of self-awareness early in their lives and it is strikingly clear in interviews.

The best subjects to study?

Another common question I am asked is “what’s the best subject to study if you want to work in a company like Twitter?” This of course depends somewhat on the role. You’re unlikely to get a job as an accountant or lawyer without some formal education in the area. But for many of Twitter’s jobs there is no perfectly matching degree course. It matters less what you study and much more how you build on it afterwards. People in our team have studied subjects as diverse as microbiology, archaeology, law, and psychology.

I studied engineering myself and I’m a fan of broad-based Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) courses. They give you a grounding in how to manipulate numbers and how to problem solve — two skills that will not become obsolete over time — and they can serve as a springboard into a variety of fields. It’s certainly worth considering that some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs studied computer science in college, not business. And it’s undeniably true that numbers play a large part in the vast majority of senior executive roles. So if you’re wondering if maths is worth all the effort, my answer is yes.

The technology landscape is shifting rapidly. In such a fast-moving environment, creating a precise career plan for yourself is not only difficult, it’s self-defeating. Make ambitious goals for yourself by all means but be flexible and try to enjoy the journey wherever it takes you. I spent the first six years of my career traveling the world and designing cellphone networks. No career plan could have envisaged the path that lay ahead of me. Your career is a personal journey that is as unique as your fingerprint. Half the fun is carving a route that excites and challenges you.

And remember – the job you’ll end up doing in a decade probably doesn’t exist yet.

Top tips for job applications in tech companies

The CV

  1. If you’re not Barack Obama, you don’t need a 3-page CV. Especially early in your career, a short CV (1-2 pages) is more appropriate.
  2. Tailor it to the job. Think about what makes you suitable for this particular role and adjust the emphasis of your CV accordingly.
  3. Be concise, relevant, and distinctive. Design your CV so that the main points are obvious within 30 seconds. Don’t waste space on irrelevant information or generalities.
  4. Never lie. If you don’t speak Spanish, don’t say you do because you’ll probably be caught. But worse than that, lying on your CV is a terrible professional habit to get into.

The interview

  1. In advance of the interview, research the company’s vision, products, and business model.
  2. Predict the predictable questions. Don’t memorise answers but think about how you’d answer the most common interview questions.
  3. Listen carefully to the interviewer. Answer the question asked, not the question you wish had been asked.
  4. Give examples. These are hard to think of on the spot so prepare in advance. Examples that demonstrate key characteristics like initiative, achievement, collaboration, leadership, innovation and passion will always work well.
  5. Use the interview as an opportunity to learn. Ask questions to which you want to know the answers rather than questions that you think make you look smart.
  6. Be yourself. It really is better not to get a job by being yourself than by pretending to be someone else.

Stephen McIntyre is the Europe, Middle East and Africa Head of Sales/Operations at Twitter.

Twitter Dublin recently announced that plans to double the size of its Dublin office to more than 200 people by the end of 2014. People interested in finding out more about employment opportunities at Twitter should visit https://twitter.com/jobs/positions/ and follow @JoinTheFlockEU on Twitter to hear about new positions as they come available.

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17 Comments
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    Mute Daniel Skelton
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:20 PM

    I’ve said many times, will keep saying it: corporations like Meta are NOT your friend in any way.

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    Mute Kev Barnes
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:26 PM

    @Daniel Skelton: I don’t think anyone ever has thought of a corporation as their friend… When was the last time you went for a coffee with a corporation?

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    Mute Daniel Skelton
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:30 PM

    @Kev Barnes: True, but I consider ones like Meta to be the lowest of the low. You can’t get any lower than them.

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    Mute mani mus
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:42 PM

    @Kev Barnes: you’ve never seen someone scrolling of Facebook in a café?

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    Mute Shane Cormican
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:57 PM

    @Daniel Skelton: good man Daniel does that mean other corporates are?

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    Mute Alex
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:22 PM

    @Daniel Skelton: TikTok is even lower than meta is it has been created specially to make our youth dumber.
    It should be 100% banned.

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    Mute Kev Barnes
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:27 PM

    @mani mus: I have.. But that doesn’t make your phone your friend

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:29 PM

    @Kev Barnes: Our leaders do it all the time.

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    Mute Tom Conmy
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:52 PM

    @Kev Barnes: Badum-tsshh

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    Mute James Groden
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:04 PM

    You should be over the age of 18 to own a smart phone. They are one of the greatest scourges to enter society and I’m not being over dramatic when I say that. They allow bullying of kids to continue at all times, they give kids incorrect perceptions of their image and create very harmful addictions.
    It is frightening how many parents give kids as young as 6 or 7 unfiltered access to some of the worst aspects of society.
    No access, no problem.
    If you think your child needs a phone to contact you, then buy a non-smartphone.
    But an entire ban would take peer pressure out of the equation.

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    Mute Steve O'Hara-Smith
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:19 PM

    Ban the sale of advertising on the internet and this problem will vanish.
    All the social media companies depend on advertising and use addictive interfaces to drive up “engagement” and numbers so that they can charge more for advertising.

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:30 PM

    @Steve O’Hara-Smith: Good idea, would go further and ban data minning too.

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    Mute Steve O'Hara-Smith
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    Jun 20th 2024, 2:31 PM

    @Thesaltyurchin: Harder to define but yes indeed.

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    Mute Jb Walshe
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:37 PM

    You could probably add some adults to that as well.

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    Mute Ger Whelan
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    Jun 20th 2024, 2:11 PM

    @Jb Walshe: like you?

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    Mute Clare Power
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:57 PM

    There should be a new poll…Do Irish judges attend Andrew Tate seminars? To give a man a clap on the back for attacking a women that he admitted to….the wheel is rolling backwards.

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    Mute Roman Walczak Sadlowski
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:55 PM

    An outright ban is needed until 18 years of age. Also social media should not allow the posting of so called news links or any links of that matter. It used to be about photos, sharing of nights out and socialising and sharing memories.. Politics, Screwing with our children’s minds was not part of it.. or screwing with adults minds for that matter.

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    Mute Etcher
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    Jun 20th 2024, 4:47 PM

    @Roman Walczak Sadlowski: Outright ban wont solve anything. The social media companies, specifically X, Meta and Snap need to ensure anonymous accounts are not possible. If you want a social media account you need to provide proof of identification. As soon as all these cowards online hiding behind their keyboard know there is attribution behind every one of their posts it will stop overnight. Literally within 24 hours harrassment, doxxing, bullying, far-right nonsense, fake news and video posts etc will cease.

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    Mute Tom Newell
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:54 PM

    Society is doing a bang up job of doing the damage already without social media. The current and next generation will have some mess to clean up from the damage thats been done and I dont evny them.

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    Mute Brian Keelty
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:19 PM

    But not quite as much as the current government are.

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    Mute Mary Kelly
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    Jun 20th 2024, 3:15 PM

    It’s so sad to see a group of teenage friends together just looking at their phones….no messing about, talking, slagging or laughter. My teen years in the early 90s were spent talking with friends and others my age, about everything and nothing, getting bored, slagging each other off, arguing and making up again…walking for hours or sitting around.
    No child under 13 needs a phone. As a parent it is hard, but you have to lay down the law and say
    No. My 12 year old has no phone, as I have told him his friends all live in our estate, he can walk over to them if he needs to talk.

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    Mute Argus Romsworth
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    Jun 20th 2024, 12:43 PM

    Just behind substance abuse

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:33 PM

    @Argus Romsworth: Reckon if you count the profits (lets no pretend that anything else matters here) that tech bros are making way more than the narcos.

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    Mute Eddie Garvey
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    Jun 20th 2024, 2:19 PM

    Not a hope of any action here. Money and profit is what our society value, child/people’s welfare are only considered if it doesn’t affect the bottom line. Have you not scene all the betting companies concern for problem gambling . If your winning your account is restricted, if your losing, bet away.

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    Mute JP
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:29 PM

    They are very addictive. An addiction is only bad news.

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    Mute Steve O'Hara-Smith
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    Jun 20th 2024, 4:33 PM

    @JP: Facebook was designed by psychologists to be addictive, that’s the main reason it crushed Bebo, MySpace etc.

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    Mute Setanta O'Toole
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:41 PM

    Most of the most mentally unstable people i see on social media these days are 40+. The ones harrassing td’s and guards and librarians and such.

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Jun 20th 2024, 1:33 PM

    Least we forget, THIS is a social media space.

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    Mute Laura H
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    Jun 20th 2024, 5:08 PM

    You can say ‘ban smartphones’ until you’re blue in the face – gen z (hope I got that right) life revolves around social platforms – I had an argument with a friend back in 2018 about the detrimental effects this behaviour would have as I had been reading articles on it – basically they stated that the young ones wouldn’t know how to adapt to social situations, that they wouldn’t be able to decipher facial expressions, body language.
    It’s not just about the bullying aspect, it reaches far deeper. Images on social media are heavily filtered and, especially for girls, can make them feel insecure and lack confidence in comparison to what they see on screen.
    It was hard enough for me growing up, I was bullied but it was in person, was dealt with, the end. Online is endless.

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    Mute Gerald Kelleher
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    Jun 20th 2024, 4:14 PM

    Stop bullying kids by dumping anxiety on them.

    https://climatekids.nasa.gov/kids-guide-to-climate-change/

    The June Solstice happens today, and the Green party, rather than run with experimental theorists who imagine climate is one thing as long-term weather, teaches students that Ireland has a maritime climate as one topic among many within the Earth science of climate.

    I never mind those who try to throw their weight around in the comments as though this is a schoolyard. I need adults in the room and in the Journal.

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    Mute P. V. Aglue
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    Jun 20th 2024, 4:49 PM

    @Gerald Kelleher: Nooooo! The winters coming

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    Mute P. V. Aglue
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    Jun 20th 2024, 4:53 PM

    @Gerald Kelleher: they left out the elnino effect in the climate change guide.

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    Mute Sill Scoundrel
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    Jun 20th 2024, 7:37 PM

    @Gerald Kelleher: I really wish researchers in social science hadn’t started using the term “climate anxiety” when surveying young people. Psychologists don’t want that term used. The vast majority of young people and children who report concerns about climate change in these studies do not have anxiety. Anxiety is complicated and it is generally rooted in the child’s early childhood experiences and the attachment styles of those who care for them. You could stop telling children that carbon emissions trap radiation tomorrow and I doubt it would have any impact on the numbers of children being treated for anxiety. I don’t care about the models. There are many excellent reasons to clean up our act and pursue renewable energy resources that don’t require you to buy into global warming. Young people are rightfully concerned about how human actions are impacting our environment. They aren’t mad, we are polluting the planet at a rate that can’t possibly be good, we have volumes of hard evidence demonstrating the mounting negative consequences to humans (children in particular) and we should stop.

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    Mute Gerald Kelleher
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    Jun 20th 2024, 8:09 PM

    @Sill Scoundrel: At last, a reasonable person even if climate research covers many topics.

    The environmental party should protect society from academics looking for funding while supplying hysteria.

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    Mute Wayne Shoes
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    Jun 20th 2024, 10:25 PM

    I absolutely love social media

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    Mute Padraig O'Brien
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    Jun 20th 2024, 7:35 PM

    Not as big a threat as the scary wary pilots!

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