Operations Program Manager

How I found this job:
Online through the Microsoft Ireland Careers website

Training provision in this company:
70/20/10 rule
70% of career development is on the job
20% of career development is from others
10% of career development is through training
There are several mandatory training courses each year, however each employee is free to choose various online or classroom based training courses (subject to availability).

Career development / progression in this company:
Very good model in place – there are career models for each job area (e.g. Operations Program Management) which help you define where you are in your current role and what your progression could be to the next level. This is outlined in terms of job roles & responsibilities as well as with competencies that you need to do those jobs (e.g. communication skills, decision making skills, cross-group collaboration, etc). This is transparent and helps me think about where I am and where I want to go. There is an on-going review with my manager of my performance (usually weekly meeting) as well as my career development. Your manager can be your biggest advocate in promoting your good work and getting noticed across the organization. There is also a formal review of your performance at mid-year as well as a end of year review. This is really transparent and positive in that it provides areas for improvement as well as outlining where you’ve succeeded. Your bonus and merit salary increase is linked to this review, so it’s really a performance related company.

Most important skills and knowledge I use in my job:
Communication skills: most people I work with are not in Dublin but sit in Germany or in the USA. Therefore most communication is through email or with conference calls. Therefore you develop your skills through these media. It can be difficult at first but you learn and it’s great if you meet them in person as it helps build the relationship
Analytical skills: roles within Operations are diverse in that we work with many groups in the business (supply chain to finance). This requires the ability to be able to understand and digest data from multiple sources (sometimes conflicting) and make a decision based on that information. Our work is based on data-based decisions – we shouldn’t be using gut feelings but hard numbers if they exist to quantify the extent of an issue.

Most interesting part of my work:
Diversity: both in terms of people but also in terms of the role. I work with people from multiple countries (USA to Germany) so the international aspect is really exciting. In addition, our customers are located across Europe, Middle East and Africa so the challenges in each area can be really different. Within the office in Dublin, I also work with people with really different backgrounds in terms of nationality, age, experience, etc. Finally, within Operations we work with multiple groups from Supply Chain to Pricing to Finance to Sales – this diversity gives us great exposure to most parts of the business.

Most challenging part of my work:
Change: the IT industry is always changing and the pace of this change in terms of new products, updates, technologies is rapid. This means that my job is always changing. I’m sure that what I’m doing today will be different to what I’m doing this time 12 months. Probably within 2-3 years I’ll be doing something completely different if I continue my career development. The other aspect of change is the fact that I’m always learning on the job (70% of my career development is on the job, not classroom training). This means my understanding is always changing – finding the answer to challenging problems can mean using our social networks to find the right contact.

Advice for current TCD students entering the employment market:
Aim high, spend time thinking not only about the job but what kind of lifestyle you want and how the job fits with that. Don’t be afraid talk to people already working, in the area you want to work but also other areas. See what they like and don’t like.

Product Engineer in Test

How I found this job:
Around Christmas of 2003 an email was sent around by the Trinity Careers Service informing us that Kalido were looking for Trinity graduates for September 2004. I hadn't heard of them before, but was quite impressed by their website and the kind of work sounded very interesting so I applied straight away.

Training provision in this company:
I began on a "fast track" course that is given to our clients to familiarize them with the Kalido DIW product, which lasted for a week. After this it was straight down to learning how the product works under the hood and writing tests for it using a .NET API. The product is incredibly clever and therefore complex to understand, but luckily they allowed me to start off small, learning the basics and gradually moving up as I became more experienced, it was a big relief not to be thrown in at the deep end immediately. But you never stop learning here so I'm constantly gaining new experience.

Most important skills and knowledge I use in my job:
Problem analysis is probably the most important skill that I've had to develop, and it will become ever more useful as I progress. Whether testing an existing system, or designing a deliverable from the ground up, I've had to be able to deconstruct the problem and come up with a solution. This can sometimes be difficult, but is always rewarding.

Most interesting part of my work:
The most interesting part of my work so far has been learning about the interoperability of the technologies we use, in particular the .NET languages, which we use quite a lot. More and more however, I'm getting to learn about the principles of software design and good practice, which is a science unto itself and is completely different from the way I worked in College, learning how to design and code well has definitely been a very interesting task.

Most challenging part of my work:
The most challenging part of my work has definitely been the transition from college to the "Real world" in terms of how you work. Learning to work to deadlines and estimate what and how long you're going to need to do something has been a challenge as it's completely removed from the "homework" nature of assignments that I got in college. Again, this is somewhere I've used my new found abilities for problem analysis.

Advice for current TCD students entering the employment market: When looking for employment after college, work smart, as opposed to work hard. That is, tailor your CV for the company you're applying to, and don't make the mistake of throwing hundreds of them like mud to see how many stick. And, probably most importantly, don't form preconceptions about a company until you know as much about them as you can, it may turn out that they're exactly the kind of people you want to work for!

Product Engineer in Test

How I found this job:
Advertisement in Trinity Careers Advisory Service followed by psychometric tests and an interview.

Training provision in this company:
Full internal training on the product the company develop plus the opportunity to take other internal and external training courses where necessary.

Most important skills and knowledge I use in my job:
Good coding practices, being able to pick things up quickly and an ability to balance perfection versus practicality.

Most interesting part of my work:
Getting hands-on experience of a live product in development, working with a product that is inherently complicated but very clever at its basic level, having a sense of responsibility and the knowledge that the work I do can help to make real improvements to the product.

Most challenging part of my work:
Designing tests that are simple to understand but are comprehensive in ensuring that the product works correctly. Working in a development team with all the added pressures of a business environment and trying to keep a sense of perspective on my work and how it fits in to the rest of the company.

Advice for current TCD students entering the employment market: Be open-minded about where you want to work and do as many interviews as possible so that your interview skills will improve. When you finally have an interview for a job that you really want, you will be at your most relaxed and can concentrate on getting the job instead of being nervous about the interview.

Software Developer

How I found this job:
A few months before finishing my studies I registered with some employment websites, in particular GradIreland.ie and prospects.co.uk. From my experience I found that GradIreland was excellent. It was through that web service that I first saw the advertisement for a graduate development position in Murex Advanced Technologies.

Training provision in this company:
During the past year in Murex I have had a lot of both formal and informal training. Through my work in the company I have already learned a great deal. Not only have I have improved my java development skills but I have also learned about and used other technologies used in industry. I have also received formal training in Credit Risk Management and in the practical use of our programs.

Most important skills and knowledge I use in my job:
Obviously I am most valuable to this company as a java developer. Therefore my IT and in particular my development skills are my most important skills at the moment. However, like all jobs I also need good communication and interpersonal skills. Murex Advanced Technologies are in the business of risk management software, so working here I need to be able to quickly learn about this area, understand it from a practical perspective and use this knowledge to further improve our programs from an end-user perspective.

Most interesting part of my work:
I enjoy having to deal with queries from clients, most of whom are large international investment banks. This happens almost daily at Murex. Not only are problems challenging to solve but they also ensure that there is never a dull day in the office. It is really rewarding to see my work being implemented by clients and that it has a practical impact on their business.

Most challenging part of my work:
The most challenging part of working in Murex is dealing with the volume and variety of issues simultaneously. At one time I might helping a colleague with a user interface issue while another colleague may come to me to discuss a database problem. Consequently I have had to develop good time management skills. Not only does this mean meeting deadlines but it also means managing and prioritising my workload as efficiently as possible.

Advice for current TCD students entering the employment market:
Take your time to write a very good CV - never use the font Times New Roman it looks awful!! Take your time finding a job. Perhaps it is not a good idea to be worrying about CVs, interviews and jobs close to final exams. Use every resource available to you to find jobs - especially the Internet. Be prepared for every eventuality in an interview, in particular awkward questions.