Post 36 - Gaelic Football

I blogged about Hurling a few month ago and now is time to talk about the other Irish sport: Football. Don't get confused this is not the Football played by Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo (this one is called Soccer in Ireland). And even if you can use your hands this is not American Football either.

This is pretty much like Hurling but in Football you just use your hands and feet to score goals with a normal football. I think it is fair to say that this is highly physical and it requires great football skills. Most kids have played Gaelic Football in school and they are very proud of it. There are many clubs in Ireland and like with Hurling it all finish with the All Ireland competition in Croke Park.

County Kerry is known as being the equivalent of Brasil in GAA. One of their best player is Colm Cooper and he is a scoring machine.

Dublin is also a good team and they have the big advantage of playing at home in Croke Park. One of their best players is Bernard Brogan.

Gaelic Football is highly entertaining and I strongly recommend a visit to Croke Park where the atmosphere is absolutely unreal!

Gilles

Post 35 - 6 Nations Tournament

February is the launching of the 6 Nations Tournament! What is this?

Every year the 6 main nations of rugby in Europe (Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, France and Italy) play against each other across the months of February and March. This is the 6 Nations Tournament! It is a very prestigious and high level competition.

This year is very particular and crucial since all nations will try to take benefit from the tournament to train and build a strong team in order to be ready for the World Cup which will be in England in September 2015.

Rugby is a very famous sport in Ireland.

Irish professional rugby teams is divided in 4 different team which are:

·         Leinster (Blue jersey and the main city is Dublin)

·         Munster (Red jersey and the main city is Limerick)

·         Ulster (White jersey and the main city is Belfast)

·         Connacht (Green jersey and the main city is Galway)

Those teams are playing during the whole year in the two main competitions which are the Rabodirect Pro 12 and the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

Ireland plays usually in green jersey with a “clover stamp” on the chest. They won the last 6 Nations Tournament and they are favourite to win the competition this year too!! Let’s go!!

Post 34 - Christmas in Dublin - Celebration Days!

Well into the Christmas countdown here in Ireland...  less than a week to the big 25th of December! As mentioned by Gilles in the previous post, every night is now a mix of Christmas Jumpers and Festivities.

Having had the chance to spend Christmas in the country, here are some little traditions you may find intriguing, exciting and enjoyable.

How many of us would be rushing through the streets of our hometown to buy the last minute presents and table decorations... On December 24th, getting ready for an evening of big festivities around the table with the entire family...
Well, not in Ireland! December 24th is another great excuse to meet all childhood friends down the PUB! When most of the Irish who go home for the holidays, Christmas Eve is the perfect opportunity for a great catch up with friends and neighbours down the good old local pub. No family party or gift exchange, just another great night of pints and laughter!

Following another night out, December 25th in Ireland starts with a strong coffee, a shower and maybe a fry-up before getting ready for the traditional Christmas family dinner.
A traditional Irish table would have a big roast turkey, roasted potatoes, carrots, parsnip, the good old Brussel sprouts and stuffing. Desert would usually include a Christmas pudding made with mix fruits, sugar and obviously more alcohol (stout or whiskey). It is important not to forget the mince pies for everybody to nibble on.
Presents are open before or after dinner depending on the family traditions.

December 26th is another important day for Ireland. As most of us Expats would have to think of going back to work, Irish people would be enjoying another day off spent with more family members and dinner celebrations. Being a Bank Holiday in Ireland, St Stephen's day mark the beginning of the Sales! Yes, an entire day off to shop and exchange your unwanted Christmas presents. Ideal no?

So, if you are spending Christmas in Ireland... Do not hesitate to follow all these traditions, I can assure you... You will barely miss home!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Post 33 - Christmas in Dublin, PARTY!!!

Christmas is a big deal in Ireland and the festive season starts from mid November till the end of December. Irish people love to go out and meet friends and family in the run up to Christmas. At work everyone is busy with Team Night Out and Christmas Parties. I have to say that I really love it, I always loved Christmas but in Ireland it seems to be a bigger version of it. However I have never spent Christmas Day in Ireland so I don't really know what it's like in an Irish family (Leslie will tell you more about this in another post).
Oh and by the way here they call the big red man Santa (for Santa Claus), not Father Christmas!

Dublin city council is really trying to get a great festive spirit and there are lots going on:

• Christmas lights

•  Christmas Market on Stephens Green

• Christmas tree on O'Connell Street

• They even have a Radio station that only plays Christmas song!! http://www.christmasfm.com/

• Christmas jumpers are a must have and this is great fun to wear one of those...
  
   

Merry Christmas everyone and be good if you want Santa to bring you something nice :)

Gilles

Post 32 - An amazing Food Blog: French Foodie in Dublin

I have been in Ireland for almost 9 years and one thing that annoyed me when I first moved here was that I could not find all the food and food ingredients I was looking for. Things have changed now and I know where to go to find all the stuff I love.

When I discovered French Foodie in Dublin's blog, I was really impressed and since then I follow this blog everyday: http://frenchfoodieindublin.blogspot.ie/

FFID as she calls herself has an amazing talent for finding news places where to eat, sharing recipes and taking great pictures. She is now organizing Cinema and Food nights and tours of Dublin. Everything she is doing seems to be a great success.

Here are a few tips if you are a foodie in Dublin (French or not):

• Great bread: Hansel and Gretel Bakery and Patisserie, 20 Clare Street, Dublin 2
• Great cheese: Sheridans Cheesemongers http://www.sheridanscheesemongers.com/
• Great food hall: Fallon & Byrne http://www.fallonandbyrne.com/
•  Great food magazine: Food & Wine Ireland

Gilles Cognard, another French Foodie in Dublin :)

Post 31 - Weekend away : London

Dublin is great and the city is not so far from London, UK, a proper British accent! So, why not going to London for a weekend? Not too bad would say an Irish guy! Indeed London is lovely, London rocks and London is massive, the city will fit to all kind of people!

If you arrive from Gatwick airport you will have to take the train to Victoria station (15 pounds) and then the tube to go where your hostel/hotel/flat is! You can get accommodation through airbnb or hostelworld, easy booking!

London ok, but for what? You can go to Twickenham for a Rugby game, to Brick lane and try excellent yummy Indian food, to Hyde park to meet with squirrels, to Buckingham palace to watch the guard change, to Big ben to take the imperial buses, to Leicester square or Piccadilly circus to go shopping, to spend hours and hours in the National Gallery and then to Camden town to party in a very friendly atmosphere!!

A lot of connections from Dublin airport, I recommend to change euros in pounds in Dublin’s post office to avoid taxes. Let’s go for a totally different weekend! Enjoy it!

Florian

Post 30 - Never pay an apartment deposit without seeing the apartment

The housing market in Dublin is going through a difficult time at the moment because there is not enough apartments to rent. This is creating a difficult situation for whoever is currently moving to Dublin. I have been following a French community on Facebook and I can see that lots of people are struggling to find a place to live.
However it seems that people always manage to find an apartment. It is important to have a back up plan (hostel or friends...) and to be patient.

One of our candidates recently got a big problem with a landlord and I wanted to share this with you. The landlord had a place to rent online and our candidate wanted to secure this place. So he paid the deposit without meeting with the landlord or seeing the place. Then when he was supposed to get his keys the landlord told him that she was on an unexpected business trip and would only come back to Dublin the following Friday. Then she emailed him on Friday saying that she would only come back on Monday and now she has disappeared with his deposit...

We are investigating this issue and will try to help our candidate to get his money back but it seems that this is happening a lot.

Be careful who you are dealing with and never pay a deposit without meeting with the landlord and visiting the place!

Post 29 - Hurling

I never heard of Irish sports before I moved here but this is a huge part of Irish culture. They have 2 main ones: Football (I will blog about this later) and Hurling. I think Hurling is the most spectacular one. This is highly physical and all players carry a wooden stick called Hurley so this can get pretty dangerous... Apparently this is a very old game that has been played for over 3,000 years.

This weekend it was the All Ireland Finale (all county have a team and compete with each other). This was Kilkenny against Tipperary. Kilkenny is one of the best team in the country and won the All Ireland 34 times... However this time they did not win, they drew and there will be a replay!

The big change this year is that the games are now live on Sky Sports so this is available in the UK. I don't think that many countries will start playing Hurling but this is definitely a sport that deserves to be on TV. The finale is played in Croke Park (which has a capacity of over 80,000 people) and the atmosphere is absolutely amazing!

Have a look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBx7ZsjziHQ 

Post 28 - The IFI (Cinema in Dublin) Temple Bar

I love movies and when I first moved to Ireland I was living in City Centre. I discovered this fantastic little place called IFI in Temple Bar. This is a great cinema that shows lots of International movies. Being French I got to see lots of French movies but also the best of Spanish, German or Italian cinema.

Now they also have a little café/restaurant and shop that sells DVD and books.









I would strongly recommend to anyone to pay a visit: http://www.ifi.ie/
6 Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2

Post 27 - Dublin Bikes and Bike to Work scheme

Ireland like most European countries are trying to encourage people to exercise more and to avoid traffic jam in City Centre. For those reasons, the government has set up 2 scheme and both of them are pretty good and highly successful:

• Dublin Bikes (http://www.dublinbikes.ie/)

This is a great way to get from one place to another. The subscription cost only €20 a year and every first 30 minutes of your journey is free. There are lots of stations around Dublin and more bikes will be available very soon. 

One issue though for being a user myself is that sometimes there are no bikes available or that there are no space free to leave your bike. In both case you have to wait or go to the next station.

However this is overall a very successful project and the bikes are well looked after.

• Bike to work scheme (http://www.biketowork.ie/)

The bike to work scheme is a great scheme to help people to buy a brand new bike and safety equipments worth up to €1,000. You can repay monthly through your salary and save up to 52% in tax. I have used this scheme myself for a bike I rarely use to go to work but this is a great plan.

Post 26 - Irish beers

Here is an interesting subject. Irish people are number 4 in the world when it comes to beer consumption with 90 litres a year per person. It is not bad but nothing compare to the world champions: the Czech drink 159 litres a year per person! There is a good reason if Irish people drink beer: they make nice beer and the most famous of them all (Guinness) is drunk all over the world.

When you come to Ireland you have to try some of those:

• Guinness, the most famous Stout in the entire world - it is delicious and most people are very surprised when they try it for the first time. It is very creamy and not strong at all (4.2 degrees). Pouring a Guinness takes a bit more time because the barman will need to do a "Double Pour". That's part of the pleasure to drink a Guinness.

• Smithwicks, this is an Irish Red Ale from Kilkenny. This is highly available in Dublin so no excuse.

• Kilkenny, this is an Irish Cream Ale and this is also delicious!

• Murphy's,  this is the direct competitor to Guinness from Cork. It is not as easy to find as Guinness but give it a go when you find it, it is lovely.

• Beamish, this is another Stout from Cork. Again you won't find this in every pub in Dublin so get one when you see the logo.

In addition to those big brands there are a few micro brewery in Ireland. Try them all :)

• Porterhouse (http://www.porterhousebrewco.com/brewery.php)
• Galway Hooker (http://www.galwayhooker.ie/)
• Eight Degrees (http://www.eightdegrees.ie/)
• 9 White Deer (http://9whitedeer.ie/) 

Post 25 - What our candidates think about working in Dublin

I am back in Dublin after 2 weeks of holidays in France. So sorry for not posting for 2 weeks but I was way too busy :-)

I am coming back with a video. We have asked our candidates what they think about their experience in Dublin: enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHP3mT6qDTY&list=UU3e1t8jWDiSFAz7ZO8Bpy5g

Post 24 - Where to go: Dublin, Galway, Cork or Belfast?

When moving to Ireland most people choose to go to Dublin but there are different options and it is worth considering all of them. Dublin does not suit everyone and some other cities may be a better option for you.

• Dublin (1.100.000 inhabitants)

Pros:

- It is the capital of the Republic of Ireland but it is not too big

- It is pretty safe

- Lots of young people

- There are lots of work opportunities

- Dublin is well connected with a big airport and it makes it easier to go home when needed

- it is very multicultural and it is easy to make friends

- lots of stuff to do (cinema, restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, theatre, zoo...)

- Lots of language schools and Universities (UCD, Trinity College...)

Cons:

- it is very expensive

- some people think it is not very Irish compare to the west part of Ireland

- it is a big city and you have to be careful where you go / who you talk to like in every big city

http://www.visitdublin.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin

• Galway (77.000 inhabitants - Republic of Ireland)

Pros:

- It is close to Connemara and Burren, beautiful landscape

- Lots of young people (Galway University)

- Some great companies (SAP, Bioware, Smartbear, HP, Zenimax, Wayfair...)

- small airport in Shannon

- you can live next to the sea

- it is cheaper than Dublin

- Lots of pubs playing traditional Music

- It is the most Irish town in Ireland

Cons:

- it is a small city

- Dublin city Airport is 2h drive or 3h in a bus

- the weather is "challenging" (it is quite rainy to say the least)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway

http://www.galwaytourism.ie/

• Cork (200.000 inhabitants - Republic of Ireland)

Pros:

- Medium size city

- Lovely surroundings (Kinsale)

- English market is great (http://www.englishmarket.ie/)

- Lots of good companies (Apple, Big Fish, McAfee, BMC, Trend Micro...)

- small airport (http://corkairport.com/home.aspx)

- it is cheaper than Dublin

- people are very friendly and very proud of being from Cork

- Great Guinness Jazz Festival (http://guinnessjazzfestival.com/)

Cons:

- it is a small city

- less work opportunities than in Dublin

- people have a very strong accent

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cork_(city)

http://www.cork.ie/

• Belfast (580.000) - United Kingdom

Pros:

- It is quite big and there are lots to do (http://www.titanicbelfast.com/)

- Some great companies (Allen & Overy, Teleperformance, Seagate Technology...)

- Very young, cool and stylish city

- Free healthcare (UK)

- Rich history

Cons:

- Tensions/violence between Protestants and Catholics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast

http://visit-belfast.com/

Post 23 - Meet with my German colleague Ive

Today it is France against Germany in the Football world cup so I felt like inviting my colleague Ive Rauhut on my blog. I have been working with Ive for about 4 years and she has been very successful. Some may say that the German are hardworking and well organized and I cannot deny those 2 qualities to Ive. she is very passionate about what she does also and this is probably another reason of her success.

Where are you from?       Germany

What do you do in your spare time?  Socialising, hiking, travelling, attending sport events

For how long have you been in Ireland?  Almost 4 years

What makes you stay here?  Friends, culture, job opportunities

Why did you decide to move to Dublin? Because I couldn’t find a job in Germany and Dublin offers plenty of great opportunities for German speakers

What is the main difference with Germany?  The culture, landscape, English environment, multilingual companies are based here, you meet people from every country

What do you like most about Dublin? International events and the easy-going attitude

What is your favourite spot for food in Dublin?  Yamamori &  Zakura

What is your favourite part of Dublin? Portobello and Rathmines

Do you find it easy to make friends in Dublin? Yes – mostly with international people though

For how long have you been in recruitment? 4 years

What do you like most about Multilingual Recruitment? The contact to candidates, to help them to change their lives in finding them a job and to build relationships with international companies. You also get to know different cultures and you can be part of a candidates next chapter in their life.

What do you like most about working in Ireland? The multilingual environment

What tip would you give to a candidate who just arrived in Dublin? To be patient and flexible, opportunities are definitely in Dublin, you just need to find the right one :) 

If you wish to contact Ive: ive.rauhut@cpl.ie 

Post 22 - Music & Ireland

One thing that struck me when I moved to Ireland was the passion of Irish people for Music. It is impressive how they love going to concerts, they are not afraid to sing on any occasion and they know their stuff. And when I say "They" it is not only the young ones, everyone has a passion for music. It is not a big surprise then that they have so many famous singers and bands...

Concerts in Ireland are quite unique, the atmosphere is unbelievable and bands love being here. There are a few Music Festivals and this is quite special: www.oxegen.ie; www.electricpicnic.ie

Have a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M93slbgla7Y

Here is a little list to name a few great artists:

• U2, that's the obvious one
• The Cranberries
• Ronan Keating
• Sinead O'Connor
• The Script
• BellX1
• The Pogues
• The Frames
• The Corrs
• Van Morrison
• Rory Gallagher (Jimmy Hendrix was asked one day what it was like to be the best guitar player in the world and he replied: "I don't know you would need to ask Rory Gallagher" - that says it all!)

Post 21 - Father Ted

Ok this is not a post about Recruitment at all but if you are going to move to Ireland you need to know the culture a little bit. When I first moved to Ireland my English was not great and I was struggling when watching TV but when I watched Father Ted for the first time I knew I was going to love it. This program is quite old (1995) but this is still huge in Ireland. All the characters are very funny and this is only a pity that there are only 25 episodes.

Basically this is the story of 3 Catholic priests who lives together in Craggy island, off the West Coast of Ireland:

• Father Ted Crilly
• Father Dougal McGuire
• Father Jack Hackett

They live with their housekeeper Mrs Doyle who always wants to serve them tea.

A few famous people have played part in it:
- Graham Norton
- Pat Short...

Watch this on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFTgkibl7DU 

A few quotes to make you want to watch them all:

Dougal: God I've never seen a clock at 5 a.m. before!

Dougal: Do you believe in God, then Ted?

Mrs. Doyle: Pat was just wondering if he could put his massive tool in my box.

Mrs. Doyle: I'm so excited. Taking on three bishops all at once. I can't wait.

Mrs Doyle: Won't you have some cake, Father? It's got cocaine in it. Oh no, hang on, it's not cocaine, is it. What do I mean now? - the little things... Raisins!

Ted: Now concentrate this time, Dougal. These (pointing to plastic cows on table) are very small; those (pointing out of the window) are far away...

Ted: Dougal, how did you get into the church in the first place? Was it, like, 'collect 12 crisp packets and become a priest?'

Ted: So there he is. Risen from the dead. Like that feller.... E.T.

Dougal: God, I've heard about those cults Ted. People dressing up in black and saying Our Lord's going to come back and save us all.
Ted: No, Dougal, that's us. That's Catholicism.
Dougal: Oh right.

Ted: So... let me get this straight. You were up on an old man, riding him around and whipping him. For an hour.
Dougal: Yes.
Ted: You realise that image will stay with me for the rest of my life?

Mrs Doyle: Now come on Father, what would you say to a nice cup of tea?
Jack: FECK OFF CUP!!!!!!

This gives you an idea of the Irish sense of humor. Yes they are mostly Catholic but they are not afraid to make fun of themselves! 

Post 20 - The best websites for Multilingual jobs

Ok your CV is done, you are in Dublin ready to interview, all you need now is a job to apply to. There are a few sources that most recruitment agencies and employers use. On top of that it is always good to have a solid Network of friends and colleagues/ex Colleagues who can refer your CV.

• Top Language jobs (http://www.toplanguagejobs.co.uk/)

This may not be very well known but this is a serious website for multilingual recruitment. You can set up a profile with your CV and also apply for job advertising. This is a must do for candidates looking for Multilingual roles.

• CPL (http://www.cpl.ie/)

CPL is a big Recruitment agency and my team has 20 multilingual recruiters and we work with big clients in IT, Customer Service, Sales, Online Marketing... We will assist you to tailor your CV and prepare for an interview. Each consultant place about 100 candidates a year so we have a solid experience. 

• Monster (http://www.monster.ie/)

It used to be the best recruitment site... It is not as good as it used to be but this is still a good place to leave your CV as the database is used by most agencies.

• Jobs.ie (http://www.jobs.ie/)

Most agencies and employers advertise on Jobs.ie and this is the leader in Ireland. This is definitely a great place to find jobs and also a great way to get to know more about the market place.

Post 19 - Meet with my colleague Lenka, a Czech Recruiter in Dublin

This week this is Lenka's turn. She only started in a the team a few months ago and she is working closely with Dali (see post 15). She is from the Czech Republic.

Where are you from? 

Czech Republic, a very small village (300 people J)

What do you do in your spare time?

Keep fit (gym, tennis, swimming), meeting with friends, travelling

For how long have you been in Ireland? 1 year and 2 month

What makes you stay here?

Great job, my boyfriend (which I met here), the hospitality of locals J

Why did you decide to move to Dublin?

Because of a job offer

What is the main difference with The Czech Republic?

Obviously weather, then geography and people’s mentality

What do you like most about Dublin?

It’s international, quite small (you can basically walk everywhere), lots of water (the sea, canals, river), easy to access (the airport is so close), clean and green

What is your favourite spot for food in Dublin?

I like all good steak restaurants J

What is your favourite part of Dublin?

Grand Canal area, Dublin 2

Do you find it easy to make friends in Dublin?

Yes, a lot of people came here alone only with a job offer in their hands, everyone is looking for the same thing – socialize, get to know new cultures, travel, make new friends.

For how long have you been in recruitment?

At CPL 2 month but before I worked in recruitment in London for 1,5 years.

What do you like most about Multilingual Recruitment?

I am multilingual myself and I believe in the saying: more languages you speak, more personalities you have. Interesting candidates, the best companies in the world as clients.

What do you like most about working in Ireland?

Ireland as a country is beautiful – I like to get to know it step by step and (as I already said) the hospitality of Irish people J

What tip would you give to a candidate who just arrived in Dublin?

Speak to your colleagues, join every social event you can, go to the streets, speak to people and you’ll see you will like it from the first moment ;) 

If you wish to contact Lenka: lenka.rokosova@cpl.ie  

Post 18 - Social Media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Viadeo, Google+ and Xing)

Social Medias are everywhere now and this is a good way to apply for jobs. It is important that you are well aware that Recruiters and Employers are using this to find candidates and to get information about you. Make sure your profile looks professional and is up to date.

• LinkedIn: If you do not have a LinkedIn profile already I would strongly encourage you to set up one. LinkedIn is used by all Recruiters in Ireland and this is a great way to increase your professional network. This is the number 1 recruitment tool.

•  Facebook: This is an easy way to follow Companies you would like to work for or Recruitment Agencies that can help you get a job. However most Facebook users have pictures they do not want potential employers to look at so I would recommend strongly that you look at your privacy settings if you do not want everyone to access them.

• Twitter: I am not a Twitter user but I know some recruiters who use this a lot so it may be a good idea to give it a go. If you are clever with Twitter you can get access to very influential people...

• Viadeo: I know this is very popular among French candidates but not much used here in Ireland. I would suggest to keep your Viadeo profile up to date and also set up a LinkedIn profile for your time in Ireland.

• Xing: This is the German most popular professional network. Most multilingual recruiters in Ireland are trying to use this but as for Viadeo I would recommend to set up a LinkedIn profile to make sure your profile is fully visible.

• Google +: This is getting bigger and bigger because lots of people are using Google for everything and there everything is integrated. However this is not a recruitment tool such as LinkedIn.

Post 17 - CPL Salary guide 2014

Every year CPL release a salary guide for Employers and Employees.

This is a good way to check if you are getting paid right or if it is time to go elsewhere:

http://www.cpl.ie/salary-guide-2014/offline/download.pdf