SEDA students get top jobs in IrelandAfter finishing their course at SEDA, some of our stu-dents have succeeded in finding well-paying, per-manent jobs in Ireland that match their qualifications and experience. They share their stories with SEDA News.

Working in Ireland has many benefits, including a compet-itive salary, European stand-

ards of living and good opportunities for ca-reer growth and getting further education. But most international students find it hard to secure a permanent job in their area of expertise. The common obstacles are their immigration status, lack of English and the difficulty of proving their qualifications to Irish employers. However some SEDA stu-dents have succeeded in overcoming these challenges.

Anderson Felipe from Brazil came to Dublin in March last year and within two months he was already working as an elec-tronics engineer at Techworks Marine, a marine science and technology company based in Dun Laoghaire. Now Anderson de-velops solutions for data acquisition systems in marine science.

“I found the job offer on FAS and sent my CV,” he told SEDA News. “The com-pany called me for an interview and then hired me. They had been searching for an electronics engineer for months and no ex-perienced engineers had been applying for

the position. SEDA helped me a lot. When I arrived in Ireland my English was interme-diate, and SEDA’s classes helped me to im-prove my listening and speaking skills quite fast, which made the job interviews easier”.

Another student, Philippy Gonzalez,

also from Brazil, found a job in IT after studying in SEDA for six months. He now works as a digital designer in MicksGarage, the biggest online car parts retailer in Ire-land and one of the biggest in the UK.Continued on page 3

Issue 6, May 2012. Copyright: Skills & Enterprise Development Academy

A group of SEDA students on a school trip to Glendalough in Wicklow. See more pictures on pages 10 & 11.

How to find a jobInterview with a career coach and other useful tips

The summer is finally here!Events and things to do in andaround Dublin Page 7Pages 8&9

2 NEWS

You wouldn’t know it from looking out the window, but summer has ar-rived. Unlike the rest of Europe, May, June & July are traditionally known as the summer months in Ireland. It may still be spring in Spain and Italy, but I’m sure all of you know that here in Ireland we’re ahead of everyone else!

It’s been a very cold and wet April, but hopefully the old saying April show-ers bring forth May flowers will prove true this year and we will have a lovely warm month. In the meantime you can put on your coat and scarf and hat and go to Dollymount for a traditional Irish day at the beach.

We have a new competition this month. We’d like to know about your experiences in Ireland and so we have a ‘first impressions’ competition. Write down a few paragraphs or even just a couple of sentences answering the ques-tions ‘What was your first impression of Ireland?’ or ‘What surprised me in Ire-land?’ and send it in to news@seda.ie. Our favourite answer will win a prize. We will publish some of our favourite answers next month, so get writing!

Here at SEDA we have also been planning our Fun Fridays for May and June, so keep an eye on the no-tice board to find out about all the fun things you can do here at the school on

Fridays, such as free conversation class, free excursions around Dublin, Spanish classes and trips to Belfast, Galway and Glendalough.

As ever, we are always looking for articles and cartoons for this month’s edition, so if you would like to write something for the newspaper, email us and let us know what you’d like to write about.

Finally, SEDA will be saying good-bye for a few months to our wonderful teacher Jennifer, who is going to have a baby this month. We all wish Jennifer the best of luck with her new arrival!

Carol’s Chronicle

Date Activity27th April 2012 Wicklow trip with Rodrigats

Conversation class @2.00 with Emma4th May 2012 Spanish class @2.00

National History Museum @2.00 with Rodrigats11th May 2012 Conversation class @2.00 with Emma

Spanish class @2.001Preparing your CV @10.00 with Guilherme

18th May 2012 Spanish class @2.00Conversation class @2.00 with Emma

25th May 2012 Galway trip with RodrigatsSpanish class @2.00

1st June 2012 Spanish class @2.00Preparing your CV @10.00 with Guilherme

8th June 2012 Spanish class @2.00Kilmainham Gaol @2.00 with RodrigatsConversation class @2.00 with Emma

15th June 2012 Spanish class @2.00Conversation class @2.00 with Emma

22nd June 2012 Cork trip with RodrigatsSpanish class @2.00

29th June 2012 Spanish class @2.00Conversation class @2.00 with EmmaDoing a job interview in Ireland @10.00 with Guilherme

SEDA News, copyright: Skills & Enterprise Development Academy (SEDA). EDITOR AND LAYOUT: Viktor Posudnevsky. FINAL REVIEW: Carol Cregg. CIRCULATION: 1 000 copies. ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL: news@seda.ie

Carol Cregg is SEDA’s director of studies

Have some Friday Fun with SEDA!

At SEDA students not only go to classes, they also get to have fun together at the many activities that the school organises throughout the academic year. This month and next there will be something going on every Friday – trips around Ireland, excursions to Dublin mu-seums, conversation classes, Spanish classes and workshops on CV preparation and doing job interviews. Check out the events timetable for the next two months. Any questions, just ask at the reception!

3NEWS

SEDA students get top jobs in Ireland

TIE is a test that assesses your levels of written and spoken English and separate grades are awarded for each part of the test. TIE is recognised by the Irish Department of Education and Science and the exam is also used in Greece, Italy and other Europe-an countries. The test follows the Common European Framework and the TIE certifi-cate is suitable for inclusion in a European Language or Europass Portfolio.

TIE can be taken by learners at any level. To prepare for the test you need to do three tasks and record them in a logbook:

- Carry out a short project on a subject of interest to you

- Read a book of your choice in English at your level

- Follow a news story in the newspapers and/or on TV or radio.

The exam consists of two parts – a speak-ing test (OTIE) and a written test (WTIE). In the oral test you present your project, talk about either your book or news story and talk to your partner to reach a decision based on some material the examiner will give you. In the writing test you are required to produce two pieces of writing. You write about either your book or news story for the first task and for the second you write something which you have not prepared.

The writing test takes 1 hour and the speaking test takes 30 minutes (25 minutes for Junior TIE).

You need to register ten working days before you wish to take the test.

“I advise students to take an English exam at least every 25 weeks, and TIE is a good place to start because it can be taken at elemen-tary level,” said Carol Cregg, SEDA’s direc-

tor of studies. “After gaining a TIE certificate students can progress to Cambridge English exams as well as other tests”.

Take a TIE exam to test your English

From page 1

“To get that job I spent more than 2 months creating my CV and a personal website listing my experience,” Philippy said. “After that I did a lot of research on the internet to find companies in Dublin that work in my area. The company I work for now found my CV on jobs.ie and invited me for an interview”.

Well done to our fellow students! So what would be Philippy’s and Anderson’s advice to others who are looking for work in

their professional area?“Ireland still has good job opportunities

for IT and engineering professionals,” said Anderson. “The labour market is full of job offers, but the vast majority are for experi-enced professionals, so first of all students must show that they have really good expe-rience in their area. Then they have to work on their English because they really push you hard at the interview. Finally, they need to understand that the companies usually do not know anything about visa issues or dif-ferent immigration stamps and you’ve got to

be prepared to explain these and show them that it is possible to hire you”.

Phillipy Gonzales had this to say: “I think they hired me for two reasons. First, I have 9 years of experience in my area. And sec-ond, when they asked me how much money I wanted, I suggested a salary that was low for most IT professionals here. I have used this strategy before with success. At first I agree to a lower salary. Then for the first two or three months I do my best to add value to the company and after that I negotiate to increase my salary to market level”.

He added: “When you’re looking for a job keep in mind that you’re competing with many other people who have great qualifi-cations. Take your time to write a good CV and use professional terms that are common here to describe your experience – don’t just translate your CV from your language word by word. And the most important thing is to have good English”.

You can find more tips on finding a job in Ireland on page 7

I arrived in Ireland at the end of March 2011 and started working for Techworks Marine at the end of May. At first my objective here was to study and improve my English, but I also knew that Ireland had (and still has) good job opportuni-ties for IT and engineering profes-sionals. I studied General English in SEDA for 6 months.

I found the job offer through FAS. I think the company picked me because I’ve been working in elec-tronics for almost 8 years and have an excellent background in low-level programming for microcontrollers (C/C++ and assembly), circuit and PCB design, soldering and embedded sys-tems in general.

The job interview was the most difficult part for me because I had to answer techni-cal, professional and personal questions. It is not only about having a chat and describ-ing your professional experience, it is about proving that you are able to speak English in a very specific technical area.

The diplomas can be translated by an authorized translator and must have an of-ficial stamp. But at the start of the process

you don’t need to go to the National Quali-fications Authority – body that approves foreign qualifications. I got all the trans-lations after being hired. At first they just trusted me and my papers. However, you can’t always count on that.

Now that I am working as a regular em-ployee for the company and not as a stu-dent, my plans are to keep improving my English, my technical skills and in a few months I may apply for a Master’s degree in Electronics here in Dublin.

I arrived in Ireland in October 2010 with three objectives. I wanted to learn English, travel around Europe and save some money before returning to Brazil. I did the gener-al English course in SEDA for six months, starting at pre-intermediate level.

I started looking for a job six months after coming to Ireland and I found the job in two weeks in May 2011. The interview took place in the company’s office and I had

to talk with two people – a co-owner of the company and the IT manager. They asked me loads of questions about my experience and my qualifications. After that they called me for another interview with a different co-owner.

I think they hired me for two reasons. First, I have 9 years of experience in my area. And second, when they asked me how much money I wanted, I suggested a salary that was low for most IT professionals here. I have used this strategy before with success. At first I agree to a lower salary. Then for the first two or three months I do my best to add value to the company and after that I negoti-ate to increase my salary to market level.

My main problem was the language. When I arrived in Ireland I didn’t speak English and couldn’t communicate with anyone. So the biggest challenge during the interview was talking about my experience and knowledge.

SEDA helped me a lot. They provided me with all the language and practical skills I needed to get a work permit and they gave me important tips on how to find out about everything I needed.

I am now planning to stay in Ireland for another while in order to improve my Eng-lish and travel around Europe. I’ve been here for a year and a half already, but I still need time to become really fluent in English!

From this month SEDA students can take a new exam to test their level of Eng-lish – Test of Interactive English (TIE). The college has been approved as TIE test centre for 2012.

Philippy Gonzales, digital de-signer at MicksGarage

Anderson Felipe, electronics engineer at Techworks Marine

4 NEWS

Evelise has the luck of the IrishGet ready to welcome your new SEDA schoolmate – EVELISE BARROS from Brazil’s Anhanguera University. Evelise was one of over 300 students who took part in a raffle organised by SEDA and she won a free course! But the girl doesn’t believe it was just luck and she tells SEDA News that she can’t wait to start packing her bags.

Evelise has always had a dream of study-ing abroad and that is the reason the third-year business admin-istration student went along to a lecture about education in Ireland. The lecture was given by SEDA head of mar-keting Tiago Mascar-enhas at Anhagueira University in the city of Sorocaba. A raffle fol-lowed and Evelise won a free one-year course at SEDA – she was cho-sen out of more than 300 students.

“I have always dreamed of this and probably that is the reason I was chosen, I believe in my destiny and I don’t think it was a chance,” the girl told SEDA News. “I won’t let this opportunity go”.

She has eleven months, until February 2013, to come to Ireland. Evelise said she did not know much about the country, and had no friends here, but knew people who had visited Ireland. “They told me many good things about Ireland, the only thing that they criticized was the food. But I don’t pay much attention to their comments as everybody knows that countries and cul-tures differ. I don’t think it will be difficult to adapt. I believe with time I will learn to

love Irish cuisine because I love experi-menting with food! I’m very excited about travelling to Ireland and can’t wait to start packing my bags!”

She continued: “My main objective is to learn to speak English fluently... My stud-ies in Ireland will be of great benefit to me when I go back to Brazil. This education will open many opportunities for me to find a good job when I return home”.

Buying books obligatory for all students from May 1

In March SEDA was awarded ACELS – the highest quality mark for English lan-guage schools in Ireland. The certificate has made it easier to introduce new courses and SEDA is getting ready to roll out some brand new programmes for its students.

Already in July students – including those from non-EU countries – will be able to take IELTS preparation courses. IELTS is an English exam which is required by many universities in the English speaking world. The exam is recognised by more than 6000 institutions in over 135 countries and over 1.4 million candidates take this test each year. It is a higher level exam and Intermedi-ate English level B2 or above is required to take it.

The new course offered by SEDA from July will differ from most IELTS preparatory courses because it will combine IELTS prep-aration with general English. Students will learn the structure and questions of IELTS, but they will also study English grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. The course is designed for upper intermediate students

and will last 25 weeks.SEDA is also getting ready to launch its

first postgraduate programme. The course will be in business administration and first students are expected to enrol in February 2013.

An IELTS preparation course will be available from July and SEDA’s first postgraduate programme in business administra-tion is being planned for February 2013.

New courses at SEDA

The new rule is designed to help students with the learning process as owning a book is much better than using photocopies. It is easy to lose photocopies, but a book stays with you for the duration of the course and you can also take it home when you finish your studies at SEDA. In case you need to revise something the book is always there.

All books can be bought from:

International Books18 South Frederick StreetDublin 2, Ireland

Tel: 00 353 1 6799375Fax: 00 353 1 6799376

SEDA staff are also planning to start a sell back scheme which will make it possible for students to sell their books to the school after use. The school will then sell the text-books on to new students.

If you have any questions about buying books do not hesitate to contact your teach-er or ask Carol, SEDA’s director of studies.

From May 1 all SEDA students are required to buy their own books for use in class.

5INTERVIEW

When is the baby due?The baby is due in the beginning of May

so I finished teaching at the end of April. In Ireland when a mother gives birth she can take 6 months off work so I hope to be back in class in October!

Is it a boy or a girl?I don’t know – it will be a surprise!

When we went for the scan they asked me if I would like to know if it’s a boy or a girl, and I said no. But my husband asked, so he knows and I don’t know! Anyway, we picked both names already – if it’s a girl we’ll call her Caitriona (pronounced Kat-rina) and if it’s a boy his name will be Carraig (pronounced Carrig).

Good luck with the pregnan-cy and being a mum! Will you tell us about the baby when it’s born?

Thank you! Sure I will do that. I can also send SEDA News pictures of the baby. I will then keep the newspaper and give it to the baby when he or she grows up to show

the child how famous he or she was!

That would be great! Can we talk about you now? Where are you from and how did you start working in SEDA?

I’m from Dublin. I studied communi-

cations and photography. When I finished college I worked for a year in a magazine as a photographer. I then managed a photog-raphy studio for three years.

When I was working at the studio I learned that I really love

to teach people. So then I did a Mas-ter’s degree and got my qualifica-tion for teaching English. After

that I met Mar-garet who

is a

teacher in SEDA and she told me about the job here. I came over and I love SEDA!

What do you like to do outside of class?Before I was pregnant I liked to go out a

lot and I liked to run all the time. But now I can only do yoga twice a week.

Do you still work in photography?Yes, I still do it and I’m sure that when

I have my baby that baby will have more photographs than any other baby in the world!

What languages do you speak?My husband is from Greece so I’m

learning a bit of Greek, but I’m not fluent in any language apart from English.

What’s your favourite food?To be honest I love all food! I love Bra-

zilian food. I also love Greek food, my fa-vourite dish is moussaka. But while I’m pregnant there are some foods I can’t eat that I miss a lot. When I have the baby I re-ally want to have a fried egg because when you’re pregnant you can only eat eggs that are fully cooked. I also don’t have any caf-feine, alcohol or sugar at the moment, so when I have the baby I will eat a lot of sugar and I will have a drink!

What kind of music are you into?I like traditional Irish music and pop

music, but don’t like rap. I think because I’m an English teacher American music really frustrates me – they always change the grammar and nothing is correct! I love Adele, Christina Aguilera... An Irish band that many students wouldn’t know, but which I like very much is Aslan. They do a lot of live gigs in pubs around Dublin. It’s always a very enjoyable night to go to because they put so much energy in their shows.

What are your favourite pubs in Dublin?When I could go out and drink before

I got pregnant I liked going to Capitol bar with my friends. It’s a nice place in Dublin

2 around the place where George’s Street and Aungier Street meet.

I liked to go there be-cause they have a special

offer on cocktails – five euro a drink!

Hopefully we will have good weather soon. What would you advise students to do in the summer in Dublin?

I would recommend walking in Wick-low mountains or visiting the beach in Kil-liney. My parents live in Bohernabreena at the top of Dublin mountains on the border with Wicklow. It’s a very nice place to walk or cycle, or if they know someone who has a car they can go on a long drive around this area.

I also like the photography gallery in Temple Bar – it’s beside Project Arts Centre – and the museum of modern art, which is very close to SEDA. You should give it a try!

Do you have any plans for when you go on maternity leave? Any books that you want to read?

I don’t think I will have much time to do anything! I’ve read a lot of books about parenting and it’s really a full time job. Be-fore I was pregnant I would buy magazines like Cosmopolitan, and now the only mag-azines I buy is Parenting Ireland, Maternity Ireland and so on. It’s a very boring life!

Oh wait, there is something exciting! My mother is a writer of psychological

crime fiction, and she has a new book being published by Hachette in September called Red Ribbons, so I plan to read that!

Jennifer is going to be a mum!Every month SEDA News interviews a member of the school’s staff so you could get to know them better. This time we spoke to teacher JENNIFER PHILLIPS who is expecting her first baby this month. Jennifer is on maternity leave until October, but is it a boy or a girl? You’ll have to wait until the next edition of SEDA News to find out!

SEDA student Glawber Rocha drew this cute picture for his teacher Jennifer at her class

Happy couple: Jennifer with her husband who is from Greece

6

I arrived in Dublin three months ago – this was my first trip abroad. I like Ireland because it’s green and beautiful, but some-times I don’t feel so good here because it’s too cold for me. I really hope summer will arrive soon! It’s funny because when I came to Europe I really wanted to see snow, but there’s no snow in Ireland, just cold, almost every day.

When I came here I didn’t speak any English at all. But thanks to Emma, Jane, Jennifer and other teachers at SEDA now I can communicate. I am doing two courses in SEDA. In the morning I go to a pre-in-termediate class and in the afternoon I go to an elementary class. So I spend all day at school and I can say that SEDA is my home!

It’s good that I speak English all day and I’m also learning a bit of Portuguese and Span-ish from my Brazilian friends.

I am happy to have so many great friends in Dublin. Every weekend I play football with them in Phoenix Park, or I go roller skating there. I also enjoy walking in the city with my friends.

I am from a small village in the region of Al Ahsa in the East of Saudi Arabia, and my family has a farm there. It’s always very hot and sunny at home, and I really miss the hot weather. I also miss my home, my family and my animals, especially horses and birds. Irish culture is very different from the cul-ture of my country. For example, in Saudi Arabia you can’t see girls in the streets and

you can’t talk to wom-en, but here you can. Sometimes it’s good! In my city there is no alcohol, and here you can drink and smoke as much as you want. But I don’t want to try it and I stay away from the pubs.

Nowadays many Saudis go abroad to countries like Canada, United States, the UK and Ireland to learn English and study. I came to Ireland because my sister has been studying here for three years. She knows Dublin well and she told me it’s a good place to learn English. I live with my sister not far

from SEDA. The Mosque is also near our home and I go to pray there every Friday.

There are not many Saudis in Dublin. I have met about eight people from my coun-try so far, but I don’t see them a lot because I’m at school all day and they live far from my home. I am happy because one of my classmates at SEDA is from Saudi Arabia and I can speak Arabic with him. There are a few more Saudis at SEDA, but they go to different classes and I rarely see them.

I am planning to stay in Ireland for an-other three months, maybe a little more, and then go back to my country because I still have one year of school left. After I finish school in Saudi Arabia I may come back to Dublin. In future I want to be a dentist and I think it would be great to study medicine in Trinity College. So I may meet my friends from SEDA again!

From Arabian sands to Dublin’s fair city

Want your story in SEDA News?

Contact us on news@seda.ie

18-year-old HABEEB AL MOMATIN from Saudi Arabia swapped the hot, sunny climate of his home country for Ireland’s rain and cold, and he can’t wait for summer to arrive. But, as he tells SEDA News, Habeeb is enjoying his time in Dublin and he hopes to come back here one day to continue his studies in Trinity College.

Every weekend Habeeb goes to Phoenix Park with his friends from SEDA to play a game of football

YOUR STORY

Habeeb studies English all morning and all afternoon and he calls SEDA his home.

Student writing competition!Get your story published in SEDA News and win a cool prize!

Write a text of up to 400 words answering the questions:What was my first impression of Ireland? OR What surprised me in Ireland?

And send it to: news@seda.Ie

Our favourite entries will be published in SEDA News and the winner will get a prize! So get writing!

7LIVING IN IRELAND

Where would you advise international students to look for part-time or tempo-rary work in Dublin?

As a student, the services and retail in-dustry (shops, pubs, hotels, restaurants etc) are good sectors to find employment. They are labour intensive sectors and at certain times during the year both of these indus-tries hire additional staff to cope with de-mand. A good example is the Christmas holidays. During this season the retail in-dustry hire short term staff to cope with the increased traffic and purchases. Although it might be a short term contract just getting your foot in the door could be a great oppor-tunity to gaining steady employment.

Should you go into shops, hotels and pubs and ask for work even if there is no “staff wanted” sign? What is the best way to act when you go in?

Absolutely, be proactive, not reactive! When a job is advertised to the public the competition for the position is very high. If you are proactive you might hear about a job becoming available before it’s advertised. A good approach is to go in to businesses and ask which person hires staff (such as a man-ager or a supervisor) and set up a meeting with them or ask if they are available at that time. Pitch yourself to this person as being a

competent individual that they should con-sider for when a position arises.

Any tips on writing a great CV? When you are planning to write a CV

put yourself in the employer’s shoes. Imag-ine browsing though hundreds CV’s to find potential candidates. What would you look for on page 1 of a CV? Most employers look for three things: relevance, experience and qualifications. Mostly relevance to the role you are applying for. So be relevant!

Always include a cover letter and never write more than 3 pages. Use language in the CV that is associated with the indus-try and role you are applying for. Invest in your knowledge about CV creation. Browse Amazon.co.uk and book stores like Easons and Waterstones for books regarding writ-ing CV’s. While I haven’t found any book that is amazing by itself, I have found little gems of wisdom from most of the CV books I have read.

Can you lie in a CV? Of course you can lie. Should you lie?

Never. Your reputation is on the line. Be proud and work with what you have.

What would be your top tips for doing job interviews?

Prepare, prepare, prepare. Come very well presented. Better to over dress than un-

der dress. Read the role description in the advertisement for the job and write down questions you think may be asked to deter-mine your suitability for this description and practice the answers.

In an interview stay focused on your strengths. Every candidate is usually dread-ing one question that may be asked in an interview. Write down the question or ques-tions you are dreading and prepare positive responses for them.

Could you recommend any organisa-tions that can give support to students looking for work?

FAS is the largest support organisation for employment. Ask in your college if there is a career guidance/ support service (from May 11 there will be special classes in SEDA on CV preparation and doing job interviews – see page 2). Utilise social networks like Fa-cebook and LinkedIn to search for support groups or set up your own support group with like minded peers. www.campus.ie is another great resource for students looking for employment. There are plenty of great job seeker tips and internships posted on this site for students.

What would you advise to students who wish to stay in Ireland and find work in their professional field?

NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!

The more people you know the more effec-tive you will be in finding positions to apply for. Don’t just try to find a job, try to create a job.

Try to connect to graduates who are now working in the industry using tools like Facebook, maybe they can help or at least point you in the right direction.

You can find more information on shane Power’s website: www.positiveresults.ie

How to find a job in IrelandSEDA News got some tips from career consultant and personal coach SHANE POWER.

Jobs Expo in DublinA large recruitment fair called Jobs Expo 2012 will take place in Dublin’s RDS (Ballsbridge, Dublin 4) on Saturday and Sunday, May 12th and 13th.

Jobseekers visiting the fair will be able to find information about vacan-cies in Ireland and abroad in such fields as engineering, health, pharma-ceutical, IT and others. The fair will also provide information on setting up a business in Ireland and will give job-seekers the opportunity to meet career guidance professionals and recruit-ment agencies. The event is organised by Learning Ireland. Access to the fair is free of charge, but registration is re-quired.

You can find out more and register online on www.jobsexpo.ie

CV writing tipsThere are thousands of books and websites about writing CVs and applying for jobs. SEDA News presents the most basic tips which should help you prepare a great CV.

A CV is a document that outlines you work experience, educational background, skills and interests. CV is short for curricu-lum vitae, a Latin phrase that nobody really uses any more. In United States the word re-sume is often used instead of CV.

A CV on its own is usually enough when applying for casual jobs, such as jobs in bars, restaurants, shops and hotels. How-ever when you are applying for higher level positions a CV should be accompanied by a cover letter.

There are many different ways of pre-senting information on your CV, but every CV should include these elements:

• Personaldetails

First of all, you need to let the employ-er know how to contact you. So write your name, phone number, e-mail and postal address at the very top of the CV. Your age, date of birth, nationality, gender or sexual

orientation are irrelevant and should not be on a CV (European legislation does not al-low employers to choose jobseekers based on these things). But it may be a good idea to indicate that you are a student and have permission to work in Ireland. A picture is also optional.

• Educationalqualifications

Be sure to list your educational achieve-ments when applying for high level jobs in your area of expertise. But if you’re just looking for casual work there is no need to show that you have a doctor’s or a master’s degree. In fact, this information may scare the potential employer away and cost you the job!

• Workexperience

Start with your most recent job and make sure that the experience is relevant to the position you are applying for. Under each job title write your responsibilities and

the tasks you carried out.

• Additionalinformation

This could include skills, interests and achievements: anything that will show your personality and make the employer take no-tice.

A CV should be short especially if you are applying for casual work. Try to keep it to one page, two pages maximum.

It is very important to check your CV for grammar and spelling mistakes as these can put employers off even if you have great qualifications and experience. After run-ning a spell-check show your CV to a native English speaker to make sure everything is correct.

In May and June seda will be running CV writing and job interview work-shops – check page 2.

8SHOWS & GIGS

GUNS N ROSESThe O2

Thu, 17 MayThe legendary American band will play with special guest, Irish rockers Thin LizzyTickets from €64.50

AVICIIThe O2, Dublin

Sun, 3 JunThe 22-year-old Swedish house music producer has become a worldwide phenomenon after releasing the track Levels. He’s coming to Dublin in June.Tickets €44.50

JAY Z AND KANYE WESTThe O2

Sat, 09 JunFor this project, rap stars JAY Z and Kanye West joined their talents to form the group ‘THE THRONE’. The duo scooped the award for ‘Best Rap Perfor-mance’ for their track ‘Otis’ at this year’s Grammy Awards.Tickets from €69.50

BLINK 182The O2

Tue, 12 JunAmerican punk rockers will perform in Dublin with special guests All American Rejects & Four Year Strong.Tickets from €44.20

WESTLIFE Croke Park

Fri, 22 Jun – Sat, 23 JuneThe band is breaking up this year and will give a farewell concert to celebrate their greatest hits. Westlife will be per-forming with special guests The Want-ed, Jedward and Lawson.Tickets from €59.50

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERSCroke ParkTue, 26 Jun

With special guests Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.Tickets from €49.50

MADONNAAviva Stadium

Tue, 24 JulMadonna will perform her greatest hits

as well as songs from her new album.Tickets from €54.65

GOING OUT

Ireland’s football team will play against Bosnia & Herze-govina in Dublin on May 26 before heading off to Euro 2012.

Come on ye Boys in Green!

Tickets to all these shows are available from Ticketmaster outlets.

To book by phone call: 0818 719 300Online booking: www.ticketmaster.ie

Irish senior football team will play a friendly match against Bosnia & Herzegovi-na on May 26 at the Aviva stadium. Tickets are priced from just 20 euro and are avail-able on Ticketmaster. Vibrant atmosphere is expected at the Dublin stadium as this will be the Boys in Green last game before they head to Poland for the European football championships.

Ireland’s first game at Euro 2012 is on June 10 – Giovanni Trappatoni’s men will play against Croatia. They will then face world and European champions Spain on

June 14 and Italy on June 18. The next issue of SEDA News will have

a comprehensive coverage of the European

championship with a full fixture list, infor-mation about teams and other interesting facts. Don’t miss out!

Brazilian DJ coming over for Dublin gigBrazil’s rock pioneer Kid Vinil is coming to Dublin to play at a disco marking the 4th anni-versary of E-Dublin.com.br, a blog about student exchange in Ireland.

The party, which is sponsored by SEDA Academy, will take place in the Twisted Pep-per (Abbey Street, Dublin 1) on June 1st. Entrance is free before 10.30 pm and costs 10 euro afterwards. The event will mark the fourth anniversary of e-dublin.com.br, a Portuguese language blog informing the Brazilian community about student ex-change in Ireland.

Brazilian DJ Kid Vinil (real name Anto-nio Carlos Senefonte) is coming over from Sao Paulo to rock the party. According to E-Dublin, the DJ is considered a pioneer of rock music in Brazil, credited with bringing many new bands to the public’s attention in the 1980s and 1990s. His set at the upcom-ing party will reflect the music he became famous for and will, no doubt, fill many Bra-zilian guests with a sense of nostalgia.

9SHOWS & GIGS

SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA, SNOOP DOGG, TINIE TEMPAH, CALVIN HAR-

RIS, THE ORIGINAL RUDEBOYSPhoenix Park

Sat, 07 JulSome of the world’s hottest dance mu-sic producers will perform together in

Dublin’s Phoenix Park this summer.Tickets from €59.50

FOO FIGHTERSBoucher Playing Fields, Belfast

Tuesday, 21 AugustAmerican rock legends Foo Fighters will headline Tennent’s Vital music festival in Belfast. Also performing: The Black

Keys and The Minutes.Tickets: £49.50

STONE ROSES, FLORENCE + THE MA-CHINE

Boucher Playing Fields, BelfastWednesday, 22 August

Some great bands are set to perform during the second day of Tennent’s Vi-tal music festival in Belfast. The lineup includes Stone Roses, Florence + The Machine and the famous guitar duo

Rodrigo Y Gabriela.Tickets: £49.50

THE BLACK KEYSThe O2

Wednesday, August 22American indie band will perform live at

Dublin’s O2 Arena.Tickets: €39.05 - €44.05

DAVID GUETTA, EXAMPLE, BENNY BENASSI, RIZZLE KICKS

Marlay Park, DublinFriday, August 24

Some of Europe’s best DJs and dance acts will be performing together in

Dublin’s Marlay Park.Tickets: €49.50

ELECTRIC PICNIC 2012Stradbally Hall, county Laois.

Friday, 31 August – Sunday, 2 Sep-tember

Electric Picnic is Ireland’s largest music festival. The line up this year includes The Cure, Sigur Ros, Elbow, Orbital, Hot

Chip, The Killers and many more.Weekend camping ticket: 230 euro;

Sunday day ticket: 99.50 euro.

GOING OUT

Win tickets to see Jorge fight!

Tickets to all these shows are available from Ticketmaster outlets.

To book by phone call: 0818 719 300Online booking: www.ticketmaster.ie

Bavaria City Racing is com-ing to town on June 3.

SEDA student and Irish mar-tial arts champion Jorge

Santos is fighting in Ryoshin MMA tournament in Lucan

on May 19

SEDA student Jorge Santos will take part in a mixed martial arts tournament in Lucan this month and he needs you support! The tickets are priced at 25 euro, but SEDA News has got free passes to give out to our loyal readers. All you have to do to win the tickets is answer this question:

Last month Jorge Santos became Ire-land’s champion in which martial art?

a) Karateb) Brazilian Jiu Jiutsuc) Sumo

send the correct answer to news@seda.ie before May 16th and you could win a ticket!

F1 on Dublin streets

Superbikes, Super cars, Touring cars, Formula 2, WRC, Drifters, and the star at-traction: demonstrations from internation-ally celebrated F1 cars and drivers. Bavaria City Racing is a free event and over 150,000 people are expected to attend. It follows oth-er successful City Racing events held in Rot-terdam, Holland and Moscow, Russia.

Dublin city track will stretch from the Convention Centre along Customs House Quay, Butt Bridge, D’Olier Street, College Green and Dame Street before reaching the

chequered flag on O’Connell Bridge. The streets along the track will be full of specta-tors, so arrive early!

There will also be three ticketed pre-mium performance zones along the track. Tickets priced from €75.90 and are available from Ticketmaster.

More info: www.bavariacityracing.ie

10

SEDA students share photos

Rafael and Rachel Fradique in London

PHOTO ALBUM

Fun in the

sun!

Camila Beluco in Belfast

Sidnei and Amelia are enjoying the fine weather

Felipe Bruzaca and Rodrigo Ayer of Bamboo Sushi House preparing temaki for SEDA students who went along to the Temaki night in Taste of Brazil restaurant

A group of fearless SEDA students camped outside of the Hellfire Club, a haunted forest lodge in Dublin mountains

Carolina Nobre-Bernal is en-joying her trip to Powerscourt Gardens

11

of trips in Ireland and Europe

Been to an interesting place or a new country?

Send us your photos on:news@seda.ie

PHOTO ALBUM

Andressa Karen and friends in Wicklow

Temaki night in Taste of Brazil

SEDA football team after a game in Phoenix Park. Well done boys!

Andrea Cordeiro with her boyfriend and some gorillas in Dublin Zoo

SEDA’s school trip to WicklowSEDA students are having a good time in Oslo, Norway Our students survived the night in Hellfire Club

12

Here’s our next quiz, and the sub-ject this month is every student’s fa-vourite, Irish slang! If you’re not sure of the answer, ask an Irish friend. As always, send your answers in to news@seda.ie and you could win a prize.

1. If I say ‘I’m codding you’ or

‘I’m messing with you’ what do I mean?

a) I’m joking with youb) I need helpc) I would like some fish for din-

ner

2. Which of these is not a word for money?

a) Quidb) Turfc) Dosh

3. If I am going to the ‘boozer’ where am I going?

a) To a museumb) To the pubc) To the cinema

4. If I say ‘I’m a bogger’, where am I from?

a) The countrysideb) The cityc) Abroad

5. Theexpression‘Keepherlit’means:

a) Hurry up/ keep goingb) Put on the firec) I want to smoke

6. If something is grand, is it...?

a) Wonderfulb) Fine c) Terrible

7. Who is an eejit?a) A complete foolb) A farmerc) An experienced pilot

8. If someone from Ireland says a movie was deadly, what do they mean?

a) It was an awful movieb) It was a brilliant moviec) It was a funny movie

Send your answers to news@seda.ie and you could win a prize!

The SEDA Slang Quiz!Now for the answers for last month’s

quiz: The Iveagh Gardens is the walled Gar-den hidden behind Harcourt Street (there’s more than just Dicey’s on Harcourt Street, guys!). The pav is the bar beside the cricket grounds in Trinity. The Botanic gardens are in Glasnevin and the Grand Canal is only

100m from SEDA and a nice way to walk into the city if the weather is good. It only costs €10 to get a one year pass for Dublin Bikes and of course it’s the Dublin and Wicklow mountains you can see from SEDA. Howth rhymes with both and our stadium is known as Croke Park.

The Craic-tionarySEDA News guide to Irish slang words and expressions

Fair play – well doneThis phrase expresses approval of somebody’s actions or character.Fair play for getting that job done!- I scored two goals in the game.- Fair play! (or Fair play to you!)

nixer – a quick job done for cash without paying taxA very common word for a job done “on the side”. There even used to be a website listing such jobs: www.nixers.ie (now it links to www.jobs.ie)I need to get my house repainted. Do you know any painters who would do a nixer?I did a nixer and got paid around 300 for it.

Gas – fun, craic; funny, amusing, cool, interestingThe party was great gas.Did you really win the lotto? That’s gas!

Bollocks (sometimes also spelled bollix or bollox) – testiclesThe ball hit me straight in the bollocks, I nearly cried with pain!

Although its primary meaning is testicles the word can be used in many other contexts. For example, to insult someone, especially if the person is stubborn or stupid:That guy’s a real bollocks! OR The feckin’ bollocks wouldn’t let me enter the club.It can also be used as a curse on its own to express frustration or anger:Oh bollocks! I left my car keys at home.It can also mean “nonsense”:Are you saying Cork is bigger than Dublin? That’s complete bollocks!

In this section we will attempt to make your life in Ireland easier by explaining some of the most common Irish slang words and expressions.

IRELAND & THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Good work Lilian Barroso Borges Correia, you won our East-er quiz! Come to Carol’s office and you can pick up your prize.