Judith Bellmunt explores the struggles students face in Dublin’s job market, from unanswered applications to systemic barriers for international students.
Ignorant and naive, I thought I would get a part-time job in Dublin if I applied early enough.
Over summer, I emailed my CV to all the bookstores and cafes in my surrounding area. I applied to all the Tesco’s and Aldi's nearby, through their nuisance of an online system. I applied to anything I could find on Indeed, and of course, I emailed my CV to stores at Dundrum and places around campus - a rite of passage for UCD students, I imagine.
The outcome? No interviews, no rejection email, no answer; nothing. That is, wiith the exception Tesco - which kindly sent me an email rejecting me from every single store I applied to. Like myself, I know many other students trying to get jobs since summer, now despaired, frustrated and tired. The University Observer decided to interview students to see their experiences in the Dublin job market.
A student from English with Creative Writing stated that, “The process of job hunting as a student quickly goes from exciting to soul crushing, as your CV enters an inbox along with hundreds of others, probably never to be read. You’re lucky if you get rejected, because it means someone actually read your CV. 90% of the time you’ll never get any form of response.” The student added further, “Some companies now screen CVs with AI, so you’re wiring your CV to stand out to a human, while also ticking all the generic boxes and keywords an AI is coded to look for. ” While the student attempted to apply to jobs in-person, multiple businesses told him they only accept applications online. At first he applied to jobs that looked interesting to him, but, after a lack of responses, eventually began to apply to anything he thought he could do. “I now have a stable job, but I got it the way that 60% of the students I know who have jobs got theirs - through knowing someone in the business.”
One student in English Literature shared how they sent exactly 150 CVs on Indeed, along with printing and distributing exactly 100 in person. She received an answer from only one job. After the interview, she did a trial shift, where she was given no training, and was left with no further contact from the business following her trial. Echoing the previous students’ experience, she states that she was eventually able to get a job through a personal connection - her roommate's girlfriend. Again, knowing people seems to be the only way to get a job in Dublin.
Getting no response from jobs is an issue lots of students complain about. Another student studying English Literature described how she approached the manager of a restaurant she frequents about the potential of job opportunity, and despite being encouraged to apply, she received no response or acknowledgement after she sent the CV and a follow-up email. “The thing that bothers me isn’t not getting the job as much as being completely ignored,” the student remarked, calling experience a “lack of human decency” on behalf of the potential employers.
The impact of being repeatedly ignored, or soft-rejected, in the job market is undoubtedly detrimental to students. One student in Law commented, “After the submission of countless job applications, the inherent rejections eventually became too defeating to bear, and [she] admittedly retreated from jobhunting for a while.”
Similarly, another student in English with Creative Writing shares how she’s been discouraged to try to look for a job in Dublin altogether, because of the competitive nature of the search. The student also commented that it is difficult to gain employment due to her housing circumstances - she rents digs accommodation that is only available five days a week, and thus has to go home every weekend.
One student in Classics, English, and History shared that, “Despite having worked in my home country every summer at cafes or as a receptionist,” she has struggled to gain employment, as employers request that applicants have experience in Dublin. “It almost seems as if it is done on purpose.”
Wedge, an Economics and Politics international student from America, shared another issue that international students face. “Essentially to apply to a job, you need a PPS number, and to get a PPS number you need to show proof of need,” - proof of need being having a job. “How the hell am I supposed to get a job if I need a PPS number, and to get a PPS number I need a job?” He goes on to say “Unless you manage to find a job that’s absurdly patient, or willing to work through the paperwork on emergency tax, it seems like there’s very little way of succeeding in the job hunt.”
He mentions that he feels lucky to come from a country where wages are on par, and often times higher, than in Ireland, so he was able to use savings from summer jobs back in the US. He argued this isn’t fair for students that come from countries where this isn’t the case, limiting their opportunity to have “a world class education so many of us take for granted.”
In a country with one one of the highest rates of students in third level education, and in a country undergoing a cost of living crisis, the difficulties of gaining employment as a student is an issue that feels underrecognised.