Ok, since the new series has started, I haven’t been convinced that these candidates are really Ireland’s best & brightest. However, after last night’s show I’m starting to think Bill has actually changed the format to a documentary, following mental people wearing suits.

All started off well enough with an exciting challenge to create a Mobile App for Unislim. The brief from Unislim was possibly a little demanding but it would certainly give the candidates a little scope for creativity. Then, Bill swapped around some of the team members, just to make it difficult for me to keep track of which team was which….thanks Bill.

It must have been daunting for Louise to come from Spirit, the “young ones”, and be PM for Zest, whose members were probably all older and more experienced. She handled the team well overall apart from Chris, who continues to be the most annoying candidate on the show. He probably did have the makings of some good ideas last night but nobody could stand to listen to him.

All this paled in comparison to Eoin, who was visibly crumbling as PM for Zest from the moment he started. His strategy seemed to be “ah sure that’ll do” and he can’t claim to have put himself under any pressure because his teammates were doing all the work, but nonetheless he became “flustered”. Next thing you know he decides he can’t take it and hops into a taxi and out of the show! You would think he’d have the decency to wait till the boardroom but he probably knew he would have been hung out to dry had he shown his face in there.

Incidentally, last night Connor mentioned that his business is selling wreaths and Christmas trees. Last week we heard Yinka’s business was based on selling hair extensions. No disrespect intended, but these are hardly the innovative and exciting business ideas I was expecting would be necessary to get through the screening process.

Anyway, amongst all this madness, Ruth had let her mouth run away during her team’s presentation and Bill did not take kindly to this when the candidates got back to the boardroom. Both teams had performed poorly, neither paid proper attention to the brief or came up with anything innovative and in the end Ruth was the one sent packing but really, it could have been anyone on the team.

Can anyone pick a winner from this bunch? Leave us your comment s below.

Finally, some twitter comments for inspiration

ederoiste:
#tv3theapprentice A rich tapestry of brainpower Bill has the pleasure of choosing from.

berminghamlaura:
If it were me I'd stop saying Motivation in a UniSlim challenge!

kealycopy:
Was Eoin a joke candidate or was he for real? Mild Tourettes perhaps?#apprentice #tv3

Yes the Irish Apprentice returned to our screens last night and as you know we are big fans here in the office so we’ll be following the show closely again.

What did everyone think of the new set of candidates? It’s hard to find any stand out candidate, although some did stand out for the wrong reasons.
It didn’t take long for me to take a disliking to Chris, the Sub-PM for Team Zest who seemed to think the rest of the candidates were “MY team” and youngest candidate Conor , who started every sentence with “At the end of the day….”.

Nobody ever wants to be the first to go and I felt a little sorry for Aisling, who was the first victim of this series. She was definitely weak as a PM but she was at least level-headed, if not a little bit too nice for her own good.
Of course, if you are going to volunteer to be PM in the first task, you already know your chances are basically 50-50.

Anyway, I don’t know anyone else’s name yet so I can’t give out about them for the moment. So tell us who stood out for you or who’s wrecking your head already?

Here’s what some of the tweeps had to say last night:

@BreffnyMorgan
First time a lady has been fired in round one of any apprentice. I blame the Mary Davis special k dress. #apprentice #TV3Apprentice

@FrankSunTimes
You've got to admit that ham and cheese sambos are pretty innovative #TV3Apprentice

@davidcochrane
Guy on losing #tv3apprentice team says they're "8 of the greatest entrepreneurs in Ireland". They are in their hoops.

@davidokeeffe
RT @rossbissett: Bill's secretary still doing the same job...No ambition #tv3apprentice

We've been lucky enough to feature a wide variety of careers and different sectors in the Career Paths series and this time we have something very different for you. In this installment, we're delighted to feature Ian Sutton, a Project Hydrogeologist who works in Water and Sanitation services and who's work takes him all over the world. We hope you find it as interesting as we did and I'm sure some of you will find his advice and experience very helpful.

Our thanks to Ian for agreeing to be featured and as always, if you have anyone in mind who would like to be featured, don't hesitate to contact us on info@recruitireland.com. Enjoy! 

Profile

Name: Ian Sutton
Age: 29
Birthplace: London
Marital Status:  Single
Children: None
Highest Education: MSc
Institutions attended: Trinity College Dublin, Cranfield University, UK.
Academic achievements: BSc hons, MSc

About You

1) What is your current role?
I’m a project hydrogeologist in the water sector of a multinational company mostly working on consultancy jobs. The work is varied with new interesting projects coming in all the time. We do a lot of work on operational, environmental and water resource solutions for mining companies, government ministries/agencies and water utilities. Work gives me the opportunity to see a lot of interesting places throughout the UK, West Africa and South America.

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry?
I applied for my current job after having spent about 2 years studying for and working in the water and sanitation overseas development sector. I had been a mineral exploration geologist before that. Language skills were a big help in getting my current job, as well as having experience working overseas. I am currently getting technical hydro-experience in the private industry something that I hope to be able to apply to certain aspects of the overseas development sector in years to come.

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry?
3 years.

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role?
From the most recent to the oldest:
• Managed a water supply project in northern Haiti, it involved rehabilitating an old water supply network about 18km long piping water from mountain springs to several villages, a collective of farmers and a large coastal town. In total about 10,000 beneficiaries. It was a real eye opener to overseas development work, although the work required a fair bit of technical problem solving, working and communicating with local communities was by far the most important aspect.
• Gold and coal exploration and drilling supervising geologist based in Mongolia for two years. It was great fun mapping in the wilderness, logging core, and interpreting geophysics among other things. It is a great place.
• Volunteered on the Suas programme providing teaching ideas to NGO schools in Calcutta. Wonderful experience and a great way to get into development type work. Being part of the programme definitely set the tone for wanting to continue along the lines of overseas development.

5) What was the worst job you ever had?
Night shift core logging at a drill rig in minus 20 degrees with no heater and a dodgy stomach. Only lasted two nights thankfully.

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late?
I don’t think it is ever too late to get into a certain role or industry. I have changed industry three times; from mineral exploration, to overseas development, to technical hydro-consulting. It’s good to mix thing up and not to get stuck in one position.
It can be tough to change industries and can often mean taking a pay cut, but at the end of the day the more experience you have over a wide range of environments the more useful you will be either to your own company or someone else’s. Many skills can be applied over a range of industries.

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry?
For hydrogeological consulting and hydrological consulting, and probably engineering in general, get a good technical base so that you are confident in your work. It’s good to start off working in a team where you can learn from your peers.
For overseas work a good way of getting experience is through volunteering initially. People you meet along the way can also lead to work further down the line. Hold onto contact numbers and email addresses.

8) What do you like most about your job?
The variety, meeting new people all over the world and having a balance between travelling to new places and having a base to come back to.

9) Anything you don’t like?
Work can take over your life sometimes, its really important to keep a balance and to relax, when you have a lot of client deadlines it can be hard to do this sometimes.

10) What time do you get up for work?
It varies a lot, when I’m working in the field anywhere from 5am to 7am. For an office day I’d usually get up at 8:00am.

11) Where would you like to retire to?
Ireland with sunshine, a reggae bar in Jamaica, or a Spanish villa! Anywhere with good food, good company and good weather!

12) Favourite website(s)?
Don’t have a favourite, probably BBC if I had to choose
 

13) What would be your dream job?
Successful musician

14) What are your goals or plans for the future?
Practise more guitar!
To continue to find work that I enjoy and that motivates me.

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island?

Guitar
Surf board
Good company
(and maybe a luxury yacht)….

Hi all, following on from our last post, Peter Cosgrove from CPL, has once again kindly shared an article with us. If you are having difficulty landing the job you want or are finding the job-hunt to be a bit frustrating, there is some great advice and insights contained in this article.

Just a quick post to share an article with you. One of our frequent contributors to the Blog, Peter Cosgrove from CPL was kind enough to send us an article he has posted online. The article entitled, "10 Hiring Mistakes Clients Are Making", is presented as a slideshow and contains some great insights for anyone hiring right now.

Ok, so we got a little bit obsessed with the last season of The Apprentice so we haven't featured a Career Paths blog for a little while. However, Career Paths is making it's comeback and this time we're thrilled to be featuring Jill O Sullivan, Editor with Thomas Crosbie Media. Jill gives us a great insight into the world of Editing & Media and has some very useful advice for anyone interested in a career in this industry. Keep your eyes peeled for more Career Paths coming soon and if you know anyone who would like to be featured we'd love to hear from you. Contact: info@recruitireland.com. Enjoy!

Profile

Name: Jill O’Sullivan
Age: 38
Birthplace: Cork city
Marital Status: Married
Children: one, Ronan
Highest Education: University degree
Institutions attended: UCC, DIT
Academic achievements: BA (English and History), Cert in Journalism, Diploma Development Studies

About You

1) What is your current role?  Editor, Thomas Crosbie Media

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry? I completed a Certificate in Journalism, then did a six-week work placement as a reporter with the Evening Echo newspaper..em..14 years ago!

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry? 14 years in the industry, 12 in current role

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role? Reporter and deputy news editor

5) What was the worst job you ever had? Housekeeper in an unnamed five-star Scottish hotel. I won’t say what they found under a bed in a room I had ‘cleaned’!

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late? Decided on journalism at age 14.

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry? Get experience as wide-ranging as you can across all media, but make sure your fundamentals are sound – how to write a well-structured story, fact-checking, contacts-building, multi-tasking, as those things don’t change even though our industry is being transformed.

8) What do you like most about your job? Knowing what news is breaking right now.

9) Anything you don’t like? There’s no aspect of the job that bores me. Information overload and not enough time in the day can be challenges – don’t think I’ve discovered a new conundrum there though!

10) What time do you get up for work? Depends on the shift – a 6am start if on the early shift. Otherwise, my toddler boy is my alarm call.

11) Where would you like to retire to? Ooooo, west Cork I reckon, if not too arthritic in my old age and able to take the damp. Otherwise, France’s Loire Valley for summers and Nelson, New Zealand for winters.

12) Favourite website(s)? Breakingnews.ie of course! Many Irish, UK and US news sites, currently liking HuffPo.co.uk, Poynter.org, but get most news through Google reader. Also TripAdvisor.com and any daily deals site.

13) What would be your dream job? If not in media, a public health education role in nutrition.

14) What are your goals or plans for the future? Re-thinking how we publish and consume news - that’s right, all by my lone self! Also a Four Peaks Challenge and making the perfect chocolate hedgehog.

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island?
A king-sized fine-down duvet in cotton duvet case + matching pillow for the hammock (that’s one);  Men of Destiny by Jack B Yates (to talk to); A Kindle that never loses power (ok that’s luxury and magic), preloaded with 1000s of books.

Hi All, apologies it's been a bit quiet on the Blog this month but we've got an exciting post for you today. RTE's fashion show "OFF THE RAILS" is currently looking for makeover candidates for their upcoming season and have asked us to help spread the word. This could be the ideal chance to look your best at an upcoming interview or starting your new job. Please find all the details below and pass it along to anyone who might be interested:

NEED A COMPLETE STYLE OVERHAUL?

ARE YOU TIRED OF HAVING THE SAME OLD LOOK? DREADING THAT SPECIAL OCCASION BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO WEAR?

BRENDAN AND SONYA ARE HERE TO HELP!

RTÉ’S “OFF THE RAILS” IS LOOKING FOR MAKEOVER CANDIDATES FOR OUR UPCOMING SEASON. IF YOU OR SOMEBODY YOU KNOW WOULD BE INTERESTED IN TAKING PART THEN GET IN TOUCH.

SIMPLY LOG ON TO: WWW.RTE.IE/FASHION/OFFTHERAILS TO DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION FORM

OR E-MAIL:  OFFTHERAILS@RTE.IE

OR CALL:  (01) 2082139

FOR MORE INFORMATION.

It's been announced today that Fas are re-branding to "Solas".

We've just posted a question on Facebook to find out what you think about the change, have your say here: http://www.facebook.com/recruitireland

Well I'm guessing you would need to be living under a rock to have avoided the news that Tom won this year's version of "The Apprentice" last night. It wasn't a huge shock to any of us here, we've been saying for weeks he would be hired. It was just all a bit suspect when he wasn't fired a few weeks back when he fully deserved to be. We did say his business idea must be amazing and I don't know if that is necessarily true considering Sir Alan has decided to go back to his original invention (the nail file) and work with that instead.

The final saw the candidates being interviewed by various experts and entrepreneurs. It was great to see Margaret back again and hilarity ensued when she attempted to get Jim to complete a sentence without using a cliche and his response was "I am exactly what it says on the tin".

Jim was ok in the interviews, I won't say brilliant, he sold his e-learning idea well and is obviously very passionate about education but I think the consummate sales act he has going on and the fact that he had tailored his idea too much to Lord Sugar even including the "AMS" in the name of the brand went against him in the end. You knew he was in trouble when he described one of his interviews as "a walk in the park with people shooting at you and grenades being thrown at you" - another top quote from Macho Nacho.

Suzie fared well with her cosmetics business plan overall aside from her over-ambitious figures and slight naivety when it came to her budgets in general. Sir Alan did say he would do business with her though in the aftershow and he sees a link between the nail file business and her cosmetics business plan so keep an eye out for her.

Helen was the biggest disappointment I think, she presented well and as always was very organised and looked the part. Her business plan though just was not feasible at all, from my understanding she wanted to develop a Reminder Service which would look after small jobs for a busy professional and remind them when they needed to do things such as visit the dentist etc. She did get to the final two with it and then last minute came in and changed her plan to a chain of bakeries. Had she gone in with that there plan originally Tom may not be sitting in the position he is in today.

Tom's business plan was a chair to cure back pain and a method to detect if an employee is likely to suffer from back pain. It went down well overall but there was a distinct lack of detail in his plans, he did know his product and his market well though although as I have already mentioned this business plan seems to be thrown by the wayside now (or in Sir Alan's words "it's being tweaked...a lot") that he has become Lord Sugar's business partner with LS preferring to pick up his original invention and use that as the basis for his business. To be fair though Tom's creativity and passion for invention is what makes him the ideal candidate for this particular Apprentice role.

If you missed the episode I highly recommend you check out the "You're Hired" show, Michael McIntyre was hilarious, well worth viewing.

Here's a little clip;

Good show last night and it was really getting to crunch time as it’s down to the final 6 candidates. The task was a great opportunity for the candidates to display some real business acumen….or not as it turned out.

Unsurprisingly, Melody put herself forward as project manager for her team with her usual level of misplaced confidence. On the other team it was a bit of a battle deciding whether Susie or Natasha would be PM and even when Susie lost out on the role she made a point of saying she wanted her ideas to be heard. As it turned out, what she actually meant was that she was going to go off and re-invest the team’s profits without consulting anyone. Luckily it paid off for her.

The first day seemed to be going relatively well for Tom who was making a killing selling all of his three nodding dogs! Move over Helen, Tom’s got sales skills. Meanwhile, Jim was flogging his umbrellas with an interesting but effective sales technique. I think I heard him say to one foreign person “Tres sophisticated, Si? Oui?”. Still though, you couldn’t fault him he was making the sales and even winning over Nick in the process who not only complimented Jim but even said he “quite liked” him! Whether Jim wins the show or not, that’s a hell of an achievement!

Things weren’t going so well for the girls though. Melody and Helen we’re trying to sell to retailers…..at retail prices. Susie was going door to door selling towels and duvets which was just never going to work. And after spending some time unsuccessfully knocking on doors she decided she deserved a little nap in the back of the car!

Jim seemed to be the only one who properly grasped what the task was about, but despite his pleas to buy more stock Natasha was determined to play it safe. Sir Alan couldn’t have been any clearer in his instructions so Natasha really came across as the poorest candidate this week. Natasha was very lucky that the £100 fine didn’t result in a loss for the team because no doubt she would have been the one getting the sack.

When we were left with Tom, Helen and Melody in the boardroom it was tough to say who was getting the boot because they had all made major errors during the task. However, Helen’s track record couldn’t be ignored so she was safe and as much as Tom seems to be annoying Alan Sugar, we know Tom’s got a great product or business up his sleeve. Melody spoke well in the boardroom at first but once again she just didn’t know when to shut up and whatever doubt might have been in Alan Sugar’s head about letting her go was visibly disappearing the more she went on.

Now, just to let you know folks, they don’t seem to be doing the interview show this year because they’ve reported that there’s only 2 shows left and it looks like another task next week.
Also, now that we are down to the final 5 we want you to tell us who you want to win? We’re starting to regain faith in Jedi Jim!

Here’s some of our favourite Twitter comments about the show:

@elenikyr: After The Apprentice last night, told son to go to bed. He said, 'Thank you for the opportunity'. #theapprentice

@Doctor Bass
Jim on #theapprentice asking the guy carrying the carpet if he'd "like to carry something else" as a sales technique was brilliant!

@nickgendler
Where do they find contestants for #theapprentice? Down to the best 6 and they can't follow a simple instruction - buy, sell, buy more.