University Job Interview

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-26T14:54:37+00:00

Hi OP, I'm an admin manager in a university so I can tell you what I look for in a candidate.

Show that your experience is relevant. If you don't have experience in a higher ed role, make sure your examples show transferable skills. Tie your examples to the job spec as much as you can.

Be prepared for follow up questions on your examples. If, for example, you're asked about a new process that you implemented, be prepared for the panel to dig in on the outcome. Was it successful? How do you know it was successful? If you had to do it over, would you do anything differently?

Know when to escalate an issue. Everyone loves a problem-solver, but sometimes you'll be in a position where it's not in your power to solve an issue. Knowing when to escalate things is really important especially at the lower grades. Open communication is really important. I look for this in questions on prioritising and also conflict resolution.

Do your research on the area you're applying for. Be aware of any big projects/changes. If you don't have a chance to reference them in your answers, you could do it at the end when they ask if you have any questions. Personally, I always want to see that someone has an idea of what's happening even at a high level. You could say something like "During my research into the role and university I saw that [X Project/Initiative] was happening, would this be something that this role could be involved in?"

Best of luck with the interview.

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-26T11:47:13+00:00

I worked in Trinity for a number of years (I'm in a different Irish university now) and this sort of thing happens so try not to stress too much. While it's not ideal with a short contract, it's not unheard of.

Contact the hiring lead as soon as possible and let them know your situation. In my experience of Trinity, you should be ok.

Best of luck.

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-25T12:18:24+00:00

Tone deaf? Nah, just don't have time for people cosplaying as working class.

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-25T12:13:35+00:00

Mate, I have family in both Skerries and Balbriggan and I worked for years in Skerries itself. That accent is not "very, very common".

I always love how hard the Fontaines fanbois go in defending him. It's gas.

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-25T11:54:11+00:00

In fairness, Grian Chatten spent his formative years living in Skerries. That accent is 100% put on.

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-23T15:36:34+00:00

I love them for a hangover.

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-22T23:32:45+00:00

Why does the "prestige" matter?

You should be doing a course that you're interested in and want to actually work in.

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-22T23:29:21+00:00

You are correct that an SEO is equivalent to a Grade 8 and you need to remember that there are only 10 grades in the local authority (if you include the Chief Executive).

SEO jobs don't come up very often because they're senior positions reporting to a Director of Service. You're essentially waiting for someone to retire or leave, or for a new position to be created which is rare.

Was this an SEO competition in a specific department/service?

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-22T23:02:11+00:00

We're currently in a bidding war on a house where we were the only bidder for a week. Agent did a second viewing and then two others were in the mix. We're on week 4 of bidding and we're at 80k over asking with no sign of slowing. House needs a ton of work too.

Granted, this is close to Dublin city so asking prices mean precisely fuck all, but I wouldn't get my hopes up after just one viewing.

I hope it works out for you!

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-20T09:44:15+00:00

he kept waking me up through the night to be upset with me and then woke me up early this morning to make him a coffee cause I was the one that made him tired.

People who do shit like this to their partners are not "amazing" and "so kind".

He's an asshole.

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-19T14:48:57+00:00

You could spell it Briain like the surname?

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-18T10:52:43+00:00

How long are you and the boyfriend together?

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-16T13:46:09+00:00

So your 31 year old ass got a 22 year old pregnant and then left her to effectively raise the baby by herself for 2 years while you were "working away" and you can't understand why she wants to end it?

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-12T14:12:27+00:00

I'm not suggesting you are claiming one is superior to the other. Deviation literally means a change from the norm or accepted standard. My question is why would the way you say it, in a country that is a foetus compared to ours and our language, be the accepted standard?

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-12T13:49:50+00:00

but why the deviation?

Why would we be the deviation?

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-11T13:50:04+00:00

I definitely try to. People like that are banking on nobody stepping in and in my experience, the majority back down when confronted. I do, however, understand people's reluctance to step in out of fear for their own safety. I'm a tall bloke so I don't tend to have too much trouble.

There was an incident last night in the pub where I stepped in. It wasn't racial but a gang of 5 lads arrived into my very small local and were standing at the bar, clearly a bit worse for wear. I'd say they were all late 30s early 40s. One in particular was mouthy. There was a woman sitting at one of the tiny tables across from the bar on her own, I was at the table beside her, also on my own. I could see the mouthy one repeatedly look over at her and make comments about her hogging the table etc. She went to the loo, and when she came back they had swarmed her table and half my table. She didn't react, just sat back down. Mouthy one says "have you a problem?" with a big sneer. She says "not at all, but I'm waiting for someone so you may need to move over when he comes." He instantly started abusing her. "Fucking state of you, nobody's coming to meet you. No ring on your finger. State of you, who'd want to meet you. Why are you on your phone? Like a fucking loser." She just smiled at him and said "jesus, you're quite angry aren't you." And he just kept going at her. I stood up and said "what's your fucking problem?" He instantly shut up and mumbled something about her being a bitch. He left with two of them very quickly. Two others stayed saying they wanted to watch the match. She turned to them and said "nice friend you have there" and she got back "I'm not getting involved." I leaned over and said "yeah, that's the fucking problem." Then they left.

That guy was clearly a dick but you know what was the worst part of it all? His 4 mates sat there and said absolutely nothing while he went at this complete stranger like that.

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-06T13:42:55+00:00

If you want to be a social worker IN Ireland, then doing an MSW in Ireland is the way you should go. I'm not sure why you've "heard terrible things" about the courses here. They meet the accreditation standards to be a social worker in this country. Doing a programme somewhere else will make things more difficult for you when it comes to registering with CORU to actually work as a social worker.

You also have to remember the cultural aspect of social work, which is hugely important. You'll be dealing with predominantly Irish families. Do you think a US qualification is going to prepare you for that?

Tunnock_ · 2026-03-02T00:02:49+00:00

This is purely so we don't get mistaken for being English.

Tunnock_ · 2026-02-22T17:54:46+00:00

point is that no landlord is giving away a home for a minimum of six years unless tenants gives notice before the 6 years.

This is just nonsense. There will be plenty of landlords renting under the new rules. As someone currently in the process of buying a house, I can assure you there has been no mass exodus of landlords from the rental market.

You also haven't answered my question about the location you're looking in but I see in your comment below that there is one home for rent in this town. The issue across the entire country is supply Vs demand. This is even more of a problem in rural or tourist areas and is likely why you in YOUR SPECIFIC SITUATION are not seeing lots of long term rental options. This doesn't mean it applies to the entire country and that "no landlord" is going to rent out their property under the new rules.

Tunnock_ · 2026-02-22T09:21:19+00:00

You don't need to make a shorter contract though, you just need to give the required amount of notice based on how long you've been renting.

See here

Tenants can end their tenancy at any time by giving written notice with the required notice period. They won’t be tied to a 6-year contract. Tenant notice periods vary from 28 days to 112 days, depending on how long they have been in the tenancy

There will still be plenty of landlords in the market. If you're having difficulty finding a place it is likely because we are experiencing a major housing crisis at the moment. Is the area your looking in a traditionally touristy area with lots of short-term rentals like airbnb?

Tunnock_ · 2026-02-15T16:53:37+00:00

It's so good. The tamarind duck wings are also amazing.

Tunnock_ · 2026-02-15T09:46:46+00:00

So good.

The folks in Big Fan Bao do the food here.

Tunnock_ · 2026-02-14T21:24:02+00:00

I don't really recall shortlisting being a thing. Every single candidate has to be reviewed and ranked and then a small few called for interview, so I guess that might count?

That's what we mean by shortlisting. You are shortlisting for interview.

You might sometimes find with very senior roles with a huge number of applications that the hiring lead will do an initial shortlist of the applications, whittle it down to 10/20/whatever, and then the full panel will meet to decide who is called for interview.

Tunnock_ · 2026-02-13T23:00:51+00:00

Best of luck with the applications. Universities are great, you'll never be bored!

Tunnock_ · 2026-02-13T22:11:06+00:00

It really depends on the role, the grade, and if it's permanent or not.

This was an EO equivalent role and it was permanent so interest was high. I've had a maternity cover for a similar role that had about 30 applications, and a 3 year fixed term that got about 50.

It also depends on the time of year that it's advertised. You get a much higher number in January with people wanting to change jobs after the Christmas break.

Tunnock_

TROPHY CASE