How to find a job in Galway

Are you looking for a job? Here are our GCI Top Tips!

If you are studying English in Galway for a longer period of time, you might be interested in finding a job while you are living and studying here. We constantly encourage students to get involved in various volunteering opportunities in Galway city and this is a great opportunity to practice English outside of the classroom.

Having a job is the next step as it helps students to support themselves financially while they study in Galway and allows them to explore the local job market and get experience in their chosen field. Not only you get to practice English during the job, but you can earn some extra income that might come handy when planning a night out, a trip to Cliffs of Moher or even a city break to another European destination.

In Ireland, the minimum wage is currently set at €10.20 per hour (from January 2022 this will increase to €10.50) which allows students working part-time jobs to pay their costs of living, such as rent, bills and utilities with ease, with some extra money left-over for enjoying their time here also!

There are many ways to look and search for a job, but to be successful in your job hunt search, you should keep up to date with the latest sources of information on vacancies. Here are some tips from us.

Tip #1: Present a good CV

You should start by writing your CV – we run CV Workshops every month here in the school, and you can get help on the layout and language in your CV.

In GCI we support our students with tips and information through:

• CV preparation class
• Interview skills workshops
• Free local newspaper every week that advertises job opportunities
• Any jobs available are displayed on the school noticeboard or VLE Moodle

Tip # 2: Look here!

On our e-learning platform, Moodle, we have a lot of tips and information on job searching. Did you log in recently to have a look?

Newspapers have a special column dedicated to job. Classified adverts sections of national and local newspapers (including their websites) often list jobs.

There are also many websites that list jobs available in Ireland and abroad. They also list internships and employment programme vacancies. 

• www.advertiser.ie/galway - This is a Galway news website with job listings every week.

 • www.indeed.ie – Job listings for all over Ireland

• www.jobs.ie – Job listings for all over Ireland 

• www.irishjobs.ie – Job listings for all over Ireland

• www.glassdoor.ie 

• www.monster.ie 

Tip # 3 Get a PPs Number

Here in GCI, we advise students how they can obtain their PPS number (Personal Public Service number). This is a personal reference number which is a requirement for every employee on the island of Ireland- it allows your employer to advise the Revenue Commissioners Office and the Department of Social Protection of your tax deductions and contributions. This service is free of charge and is an efficient and easy to use system. Once students have obtained this- they are ready to get to work!

Tip # 4: Important things to do…

• Print lots of CVs.
• Visit absolutely every shop, restaurant, café and you can find ☺
• Look out for job notice on windows
• When you enter, keep your CVs in your bag and ask to speak to the
• manager.
• Introduce yourself in a friendly way (Hi my name isJose. I’m looking for part-time work)
• Explain that you are looking for work and then present your CV.
• Thank the manager politely (Thanks for your time / Nice meeting you)
• IMPORTANT: Wait for a week or two and return to the same places!! Ask for the manager again and ask if there are any new jobs

Remember, PERSISTANCE is key and GCI students don’t give up!

Tip # 5: Understand the job titles first!

 Many part-time jobs have difficult names! Read this before you start your search!