Anyone want an Irishman?
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 3:49 am
An Irishman who has been unable to find a job in his country since returning from Australia last year has spent his life savings on a billboard campaign in a last ditch effort to get employed.
Feilim Mac An Iomaire, 26, said he moved to Australia after finding work at a travel agency but had to return to Ireland in August after the strengthening Australian dollar weakened the tourism market, The Journal news website reported.
Mr Mac An Iomaire, who calls himself the "Jobless Paddy", said he was "really frustrated" after searching for a job for eight months.
The marketing graduate decided to spend €2000 ($2700) - the rest of his savings from Australia - to rent a billboard in south Dublin as "one last throw of the dice to remain in Ireland".
"I read that an experienced recruitment agent will actually review a CV in eight seconds, so you've got eight seconds to get their attention. It's frightening," he told the Irish Times.
The billboard has the words "Save Me from Emigration" and an image of a man with a suitcase looking out beyond a body of water to famous structures such as the Sydney Opera House, the Statute of Liberty in New York and the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada.
"I had a good bit of money saved when I came home from Australia but I was managing to live on jobseeker's allowance," he told The Guardian.
"I gave it a week of hard thinking to come up with the concept and nothing was going to stop me then.
"The great thing is that everyone's been so positive about it. No one has really had a bad word to say. Everybody who is close to me knows I've been pretty miffed about being unemployed and feeling like I've been on the sidelines."
Mr Mac An Iomaire also set up Twitter and Facebook accounts to promote his campaign.
About 50,000 Irish citizens, mostly young graduates, were expected to leave Ireland this year to look for work aboard, The Guardian said.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/j ... z1NzbVQ3aO
