Féilim Mac An Iomaire is desperate to get a job so he can stay in his home country of Ireland. But after 100 failed job applications he decided he had to do something dramatic to get anywhere.So he's advertising himself on a huge billboard on one of Dublin's busiest streets, at a cost of £1745 for a fortnight's exposure.
He doesn't want to be one of the 50,000 Irish citizens due to emigrate this year to find work, nor one of the 400,000 jobless* in the Republic.
He's already worked in the States and Australia, but doesn't want to work abroad again. Despite the grim economic situation in Ireland, his roots are still firmly in "the Old Sod".
The poster has led to a flood of sympathetic emails and messages, but as yet no job offers. He may still have to leave the country.
People try all sorts of bizarre tactics to get employment. They walk the streets with sandwich boards, offer their services for nothing, and buttonhole chief executives, not to mention stuffing their CVs with bogus skills and experience. When times are hard, ingenuity is called for.
Fruitless job-hunting has to be one of the most disheartening experiences there is. Month after month you send out the applications, only to get polite letters "thanking you for your interest". Or no response at all, just a deafening silence. I got my present job after over two years of searching, and what a relief it was. Persistence does seem to pay off eventually.
So what's in store for Féilim? Will he be gainfully employed in Dublin or will he be heading back to Oz? Watch this space.
* That's 14.7% of the workforce
How does he pronounce his name? That's a good question, I'm glad you asked me that.
A note on the post title: the pic doesn't show the bottom of the poster which gives his email address as joblesspaddy@Gmail.com
PS (Thursday night): I read that Féilim now has dozens of job interviews lined up and is likely to get a job offer very soon.
PPS (June 16): Féilim has been offered two top marketing jobs and is deciding which to take. Emigration cancelled!
