Facebook considering Ireland as base

Reports today claim social networking website Facebook is considering setting up their European base in Ireland.

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Micheál Martin met with company executives during a visit to California last October, the Irish Times has reported.

In the US, Facebook is now more popular than MySpace and it is the most popular social networking site in the UK.

Last October, Microsoft paid €165m for a 1.6% stake in Facebook, which values the site at more than €10bn.

(RTE.ie News Thursday, 17 January 2008 12:56)

www.hunttalent.com linking you with 1000’s of top jobs and companies….

Career Coaching - Desperate for a new job in 2008?

A new series of desperate housewives has just hit the screens and this is quite fitting as January witnesses many employees transform to desperate jobseekers. Traditionally January is a crazy time on the job market - a scramble for fresh career pastures but why is this? Are we all really seeking a fresh start and a new challenge? Have we embarrassed ourselves at the Christmas party? Have we just been hanging on for our Christmas or January bonuses? Or do the January blues really hit us that hard? Whatever the reason, many employees are surfing the job boards, browsing newspaper career supplements and emailing recruitment agencies. I advise caution during this period. When I was younger I was told to STOP! LOOK! And LISTEN! before I crossed the road and I suggest jobseekers heed this advice on the job market.

STOP – this is a big decision and it deserves some thought

Jobseekers should stop and take a step back from the madness and answer the following questions. Why are you seeking a move? What is causing your job unhappiness? What do you actually want? It is essential to understand yourself as a lack of clarity will lead to poor decision-making transporting you from the frying pan into the fire. Many jobseekers rush to the exit door without truly exploring the possibility of finding resolution within their current employment. Can you find happiness in your current role? Is your job the problem? Moving jobs is great but only if it is the right decision. LOOK – open your eyes to all possibilities

If you are leaving explore all possible strategies when job hunting. For most jobseekers the first port of call is a recruitment agency. Why? Well it takes the job hunting out of job hunting. If this is not working there are other options. There are the online job boards and the job supplements in the newspapers. Again these are excellent strategies if they are working for you. All the above strategies are reactive in that you need a job to be advertised before you have access to it. Jobseekers can get their hands dirty and become proactive with two further strategies - speculative applications and networking. Remember over 50% of jobs are never advertised.

LISTEN – use feedback as the map to your career goal

Feedback is a powerful weapon. Unfortunately most of us choose to ignore feedback and view it as criticism which we take personally and become defensive. Listen to feedback and embrace it. Seek feedback and use this powerful information to find your path to career satisfaction. If you are not getting called to interview - find out why. If you are failing at interview - find out why. If you keep doing the same things you will keep getting the same results.

Best of luck with your job hunt!!

This article was supplied by Paul Mullan. His company Measurability offers career coaching solutions (Career Direction, CV Design & Interview Coaching). Visit their revamped website www.measurability.ie (Career coaching and HR solutions in Ireland)

This week will be the busiest week in the new year for Irish jobseekers with nearly thirty five percent of all employees in Ireland likely to search for new job and career opportunities online The last week in the month will also be busy when candidates receive their first pay cheque for 2008

hunttalent.com survey also indicates that candidates plan to spend more than one hour a day during working hours to hunt for jobs. New Years resolutions for many include a search for new jobs having had time off over Christmas to review and relect

Companies need to be highly visible during this peak time to capture and retain the interest of high quality, semi-active jobseekers who are speculatively looking to see what’s out there. The job hunting cycle tends to be three months for candidates, so if companies can reach this surge of new job seekers now they can ensure a steady supply of candidates for the first quarter of the year

Lufthansa, Europe’s second-largest airline, plans to hire about 4,300 new employees in Germany this year as it adds more planes and destinations.

Cabin crew, customer relations and trainee positions will be added, Andreas Bartels, a spokesman for the Cologne-based carrier, said, confirming a report in the Bild Zeitung newspaper.

“Every new jet creates about 400 new jobs,” Bartels said.

“Deutsche Lufthansa plans to expand its fleet and start new routes. Continuous growth means that demand for personnel is also rising.”

Lufthansa hired 2,500 new workers in 2006 and 3,000 last year, Bartels said. By the end of this year, the airline may have hired about 10,000 new employees since 2006, he said.

The company had about 105,000 employees as of the end of September, Bartels said.

Lufthansa shares have fallen 14pc in the last 12 months, valuing the company at €8.3bn. Air France-KLM Group SA is Europe’s biggest airline. (Bloomberg)

Irish small and medium-sized companies remain confident about the future despite deteriorating economic conditions, according to Ulster Bank.

The bank says three-quarters of companies on both sides of the border believe they will perform as well as or better this year than they did in 2007.

Only one-third believe market conditions are worse than they were 12 months ago.

Ulster Bank says 70% of firms plan to expand their operations this year, but plans to invest in staff, new premises and new markets have been scaled back.

The Post.ie 02/01/2008

Why Ireland

Ireland offers investors a stable, profitable, English speaking base to service world markets. This is why almost 1,000 overseas companies have made Ireland their location of choice.

Ireland’s competitiveness is based not on Irish tax benefits and costs alone, but on knowledge, innovation, flexibility, and connectedness - how everything works together.

Ireland has demonstrated the ability to adopt and adapt to change in a unique way that connects innovation, knowledge, people and enterprise to meet the fast-evolving demands of world markets.

Ireland Offers:

• The lowest corporation tax rate in Europe at 12.5%
• A young skilled well educated workforce, with relevant technological and business skills
• A competitive economy
• Intellectual Property
• R&D Environment
• An advanced and competitive industrial infrastructure

The American Chamber of Commerce has announced the establishment of the US Executive Circle in Ireland - a network for US executives working and living in Ireland. The Circle is a multi-dimensional community designed to help American executives: · engage with business circles · get established within the community personally and professionally · strengthen personal ties with the U.S. Embassy The Circle is open to U.S. citizens working at a senior level in Ireland among firms associated with the American Chamber of Commerce. If you are a U.S. citizen and/or if you have colleagues who are U.S. executives at your firm and are interested in finding out more about the Circle, please contact; Mr Brian Cotter
American Chamber of Commerce Ireland
Tel: 01 661 6201
email: b.cotter@amcham.ie