The 21st Century workplace needs employees who demonstrate excellent ‘soft skills’ – such as creativity, competitiveness and flexibility – as well as having the relevant technical expertise and academic qualifications.
That’s according to Dr Stephen Brennan, Director of Marketing and Strategy at the Digital Hub Development Agency, who was speaking on Monday at a skills seminar organised to mark the culmination of the Agency’s ‘Best in Show’ internship competition.
At the event, Dr Brennan said the 80-plus digital content and technology enterprises located at The Digital Hub often experience recruitment challenges and, increasingly, are finding job-seekers do not demonstrate the requisite soft skills.
“Everyone in the digital content and technology sector knows there’s a skills shortage in Ireland, with 2,500 unfilled jobs as a result,” he said. “A major problem is we’re not producing enough graduates with the types of skills needed by enterprises in this sector.
“But the required skills-sets aren’t just based on academic qualifications and technical expertise. Employers are also looking for people who demonstrate creativity, flexibility, self-motivation and strong communications skills. The digital sector is generating new types of jobs in an emerging market-place. And job-seekers must respond accordingly.”
Dr Brennan said feedback from businesses located at The Digital Hub highlighted a number of mistakes commonly made by job-seekers.
“Another common mistake – particularly in our sector – is when job-seekers don’t include links to their online profiles on their CVs. If you’re applying for a position in computer gaming, software development or animation, one of the first things the business-owner wants to see is samples of your existing work. So post a show-reel online and include a link to it in your CV.
“Another thing to bear in mind is that job-seekers need to be brave and to stand out from the crowd. Daunting as it may seem, it’s often well worthwhile to just pick up the phone to the owner of a business where you’d like to work, and explain to him or her what you could bring to the table. Even if they don’t have something on offer right now, they might bear you in mind for future vacancies or offer you a work experience placement as a result. Many employers in our sector admire a more forthright approach.”
According to Dr Brennan, government job creation initiatives must include a focus on developing ‘soft skills’.
“There’s no point in up-skilling people to help them enter the labour market if they are ill-equipped to put together a CV or participate in a job interview,” he said. “No matter what their qualifications, job-seekers rule themselves out immediately if they submit sloppy CVs, fail to return calls from prospective employers, or present themselves badly during an interview.
“Up-skilling and training is a waste of time if – at the end of the day – participants lack the basic skills required to impress a prospective employer and potentially secure an interview,” he said.
Gary Mullan, co-owner of Prosperity Recruitment – which specialises in recruitment for the digital and creative sectors – delivered a keynote address at today’s seminar. Mr Mullan has worked in recruitment for over 10 years, placing more than 500 people in roles with clients such as Google, EMI, Disney and Sage. In his address, he encouraged job-seekers to use internships and free online tools to further their careers.
“The people who do well in the digital media and creative sectors are the people who have a genuine passion for what they do,” he said. “Yes, have a good CV, but also have a fantastic online presence. Join Twitter or maybe start a blog – share your knowledge; flaunt your expertise and insights. Enhancing your own brand online is a very good idea. It proves to a prospective employer that you are ‘walking the walk’.
“If you do an internship, get testimonials from bosses and colleagues and place them on your LinkedIn profile. And use any work experience you get as an opportunity to network, build links, and create a good impression amongst people who have the capacity to further your career,” he said.
At Monday’s seminar, the winners of The Digital Hub’s ‘Best in Show’ internship competition were announced. The competition – which is run on an annual basis – invites digital content and technology students to submit samples of their work to be judged by industry experts. The best submissions under five category headings win internships in relevant businesses. In 2011, internships are being awarded as follows:
Animation: Graham Tormey from Dublin, a student at the Irish School of Animation in Ballyfermot.
Audio / Music Production: Conor McGinnity from Co. Louth, a student at DCU; Emer Landers from Dublin, a student at Trinity; and John Neary, from Co. Louth, a student at the Sound Training Centre.
Digital Design: Mary Fannon, from Co. Roscommon, a graduate of the National College of Art and Design.
Film / Video Production: Keith Bogan from Co. Laois, a graduate of Athlone Institute of Technology.
Multimedia: Pedro Bretas from Brazil, a graduate of the National College of Art and Design; David Dooley and Ros Madigan, both from Dublin, graduates of Dundalk Institute of Technology, and Aoife Hester from Wicklow, a graduate of Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
The businesses involved in ‘Best in Show’ were: Areaman Productions, Athena Media, the Digital Skills Academy, Gaumina, Igloo Animations, payByMobile, Red Dog and the Riviera Media Group.
The Digital Hub is an Irish government initiative aimed at creating an international centre of excellence for digital content and technology enterprises. It is located in Dublin’s south-west inner city, and is home to over 80 digital enterprises, ranging from start-ups to well-established businesses, which are significant employers and leaders in their fields. The Digital Hub Development Agency is the Irish state agency that manages the Digital Hub project. Further information is available at: www.thedigitalhub.com
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