And last up in our 100 hires series is Matthew O’Brien, our 100th hire.
After being made redundant at his job, Matthew had to find his dream graduate role fast. He now works as a QA and Operations Specialist.
“Honestly? I couldn’t have picked a worse time to start looking for a grad job.
“I graduated in 2019 and carried on working with my final year project client along with working as a bartender in a restaurant.
“2020 started off with loads of work thanks to Covid, but I already knew I wasn’t overly happy doing what I was doing, which was amplified massively by the fact I was furloughed from the restaurant.
“I decided to cut back on the client work and put a bunch of effort into finding a job.
“A short time after, I got laid off from my restaurant job so it really put the pressure on to find one quick – that’s when I started properly noticing the number of applicants Indeed and other job sites were getting on its ads.
“Luckily, along with the more mainstream job search experience during Covid times, I had DigitalGrads making moves behind the scenes and keeping me posted on some great opportunities.
“I found out about DigitalGrads through my university. If I’m honest I thought it was going to be like any other job search site, with all the right claims but nothing to back it up.
“But the steady stream of interesting and unique opportunities for me to apply for, along with the great targeted training offered on the site quickly set it apart from the others.
“One of the great things about DigitalGrads is you feel like you’ve got a team of people supplementing your personal job search.
“When I started losing motivation personally, I’d usually get a message from the DigitalGrads team with a new and interesting position to prop it back up again.
“There were even a few occasions where I received a quick email from DigitalGrads asking if I’m still looking for a job and to check out the site for new postings, which really helped push the motivation back in the right direction.
“Now I’m halfway through my second week at Mobilise as their new QA and Operations Specialist and I’m having a blast so far.
“The team is great and it feels like the work I’m doing will have a genuine impact on company projects.
“My job-hunting patience paid off in my opinion, as I’m now in a great position to continue to learn and develop as part of an exciting company.”
Ahmed Houssein, Head of Product and Operations at Mobilise on hiring Matthew and working with us
“I’m very glad we decided to hire a recent graduate through DigitalGrads for the QA and Operations specialist role here at Mobilise.
“Mobilise have worked with DigitalGrads a few times recently for other roles and we have been very pleased with the talents we have acquired through their platform.
“The team at DigitalGrads have made the recruitment process very swift and added a great value to ensure we’re presented with the right selection of candidates for our roles.
“The DigitalGrads platform is excellent to review candidates’ profiles, and really helps to get to know the candidates, their skills and potential.
“Matt just completed his first week here at Mobilise and he’s already adding great value to the team. He’s bright, proactive and has all the skills needed for the role and to grow within Mobilise!
“I’m delighted to have Matt on board and I’m sure he will be doing a great job!”