job hunting... (Merged)

michilin27

ive made it through to assessment centre for the company il really wanna get into!!!

jammin_2

In need of some advice!..

My wife and I move to Waterford about 3 years ago. Life is ok down here, but it's time to move on. Neither of us are from Ireland, and we never intended on staying here as long as we have. Also, we have a 7 month old baby boy and I'm not sure that ROI is the best place to bring him up. I'm English and my wife is from Singapore.

We were thinking of moving to England (we've never lived there together, we came straight to Ireland from Singapore, 3 years ago), but the violence etc. over in England is a worry. Personally, I moved out of England 4 years ago, and when we go over for holidays now and then, I can really see how it's changed.. for the worse.

Northern Ireland, on the other hand, seems like a great place to live, and to bring up our son. Every time we drive up for the day, shopping or sightseeing, we really love it there.

So, two things really:

1. Do people agree that NI is a great place to live? (I'm possibly asking a biased audience here, I know)..

2. Can anyone recommend somewhere to work? I'm currently working for a major ISP in Waterford, in the tech support department. Could do something similar, or not. I'm really not fussed. I've a full and clean driving licence, and would consider driving for a living. Or office work. To live though, I've worked out that I'd need to earn a minimum of £16k. Possible?

Thanks for any suggestions..

Pretani

there's plenty of job vacancies in telesales, wages are good with some jobs offering upto 30k. They usually ask for a clean license also.

Here's a few to have a browse at

http://www.recruitni.com/pages/category.aspx?CatID=14

brandyslad

Hi there,

The North is good at the minute, peaceful in most places, if you are looking for a job in I.T Belfast and Derry are your best bet. For jobs get the obfinder in the Belfast Telegraph on a Friday or the Sunday Life on a Sunday. It is cheaper up here, we live near the border and it is a good 20 to 30% cheaper for food shopping up here, also cars, insurance etc are cheaper. The only thing more expensive is fuel really. If you have any other questions, just ask and will see if I can reply, ok.

brandyslad

Meant to say Jobfinder not obfinder!!!

mikey9863

I wouldn't bother moving to Northern Ireland, if I had half the chance I would be long gone...........Beautiful scenery and colourful history but cost of living is absoulutely crazy. I was born and bred in Northern Ireland and after forty years have had enough and if I could get someone to buy my house I would invest in another European country, where the rip off society does not exsist and people take pride in their existance

belfastgirl23

It's like anywhere, good things and bad things. I do like it personally and would recommend it.

The jobs issue in NI is probably different from what you have encountered before. We have very very strict legal requirements here which mean the following:

Do not ever apply for a job unless you meet all of the essential requirements. They cannot shortlist you, legally they lay themselves open to major problems if they do.

Virtually all jobs in public sector etc are advertised in the Belfast Telegraph and Irish news. Headhunting can still happen in the private sector though unless the companies are dependent on gvt grants in which case they will be expected to observe fair employment rules as above.

What is it about ROI you don't like by the way? Might help us figure out whether NI is the best for you...

jenny-wren

Most days I wonder why anyone would choose to live in Northern Ireland. Ok it's said that the people are friendly and the scenery is fantastic. Those people mustn't have travelled to the places I've been!

You shouldn't have too much difficulty getting a good relevant job. I know someone who has just finished a computing degree and had no problem walking straight into a job.

Me ... as soon as I win the lottery, I'm gonna find a country to move to where it doesn't rain for nine months of the year :rotfl:

Pretani

I don't understand all the negative posts, there are some gems of places in N.Ireland. The small towns and villages are the places to reside as the larger towns and citys have become a warren of ghettos, it's the same everywhere. Places like whitehead are ideal locations to live in while commuting to Belfast.

SnowyOwl_2

I moved here from England about four years ago. My biggest nightmare is finding work, and that is still ongoing. To give yourself the best chance of finding the opportunities you really need to live in Belfast or within commutable distance from it. Check out https://www.nijobs.com and https://www.jobcentreonline.com where lots of jobs are advertised. If you would consider a role working in the NHS have a look at https://www.hpssjobs.com.

A recruitment agent told me recently that recruitment usually picks up again in September after the summer holidays. I know from experience that looking for a job in November or December is difficult as the market goes flat before Christmas. The busiest times seem to be right after New Year, between Easter and July, and September/October. Not that there won't be jobs advertised at other times, but if things are a bit quiet when you look don't let it put you off as it does tend to be seasonal, so just keep going.

If I could go back and make my decisons again I think I'd choose to live somewhere like Holywood, Bangor, Hillsborough, Moira or Lisburn because of proximity to Belfast and the biggest choice of job opportunities.

I think your salary expectations are realistic - though don't sell yourself short! I was quite shocked at how expensive it is here - not especially cheaper than London except for the price of houses.