Guides
Guides for building work experience in Ireland
Practical, sourced guides for people looking for a first or new role. They are general information, not legal, welfare or careers advice for your situation.
Why working on a project beats doing nothing
Seven honest reasons a real project helps while you're out of work, and what to watch out for.
Read — Why working on a project beats doing nothingPlanning a Career Change into Tech in Ireland
Plan a career change into tech in Ireland by checking role requirements, comparing official training routes, building accurate evidence and using public employment supports.
Read — Planning a Career Change into Tech in IrelandHow to explain an employment gap on your CV (without lying)
A practical, honest way to record an employment gap on a CV and discuss it in an interview, based on current JobsIreland guidance.
Read — How to explain an employment gap on your CV (without lying)Staying sharp between contracts: a guide for freelancers and contractors
A practical maintenance plan between contracts: close the last engagement properly, review the pipeline, choose relevant skills work and describe gaps accurately.
Read — Staying sharp between contracts: a guide for freelancers and contractorsTech layoffs in Ireland: where to go from here
A practical Irish checklist after a tech redundancy: record the exit details, check current official supports, update job-search materials and plan sustainable skills work.
Read — Tech layoffs in Ireland: where to go from hereA Flexible Job-Search Plan for Tech Workers
A flexible plan for tech jobseekers in Ireland: check official supports, organise applications, maintain skills and record evidence without job-outcome guarantees.
Read — A Flexible Job-Search Plan for Tech WorkersOlder guides being re-checked
These were written for an earlier version of The Academy. They include claims about recruiters and references that we are checking against evidence. Please do not rely on them until they are updated.
- Anatomy of a portfolio piece that gets junior devs hired (under review)
- Bootcamp finished, still no job — now what? (under review)
- How recruiters actually read your CV in 2026 (the 6-second scan) (under review)
- Laid off in the AI shakeout? Keep shipping so you don't go stale (under review)
- No experience, no job, no reference: how to break the junior catch-22 (under review)
- Open source vs building a real product: which is better for your portfolio? (under review)
- "Overqualified and ignored": senior engineers and the recency trap (under review)
- Reference vs certificate: what actually moves a hiring decision (under review)
- The stale-CV problem: why recruiters stop looking at candidates who aren't shipping (under review)
- The GitHub graveyard: why tutorial repos don't get you hired (under review)
- Why a public, verifiable reference beats a LinkedIn recommendation (under review)
- Working for free vs internships vs apprenticeships: which builds a career? (under review)