The Dissertation Phase Guide for Indian Students in Ireland — Month by Month

Month-by-Month Plan

What to do each month

This runs alongside your dissertation — not instead of it. Two to three focused hours a week is enough. The compounding effect over four months is enormous.

June Foundation month

Build your Irish CV & LinkedIn foundation

You have the most time and the least pressure in June. Use it to do the foundation work that everything else builds on. An Irish CV is completely different from an Indian one — getting this wrong immediately signals you haven't adapted. Do this first.

Rewrite your CV in Irish format One page. No photo. No "objective" statement. Bullet points only. Every bullet must start with an action verb and include a measurable result. "Increased sales by 23%" beats "Responsible for sales activities" every time.

Overhaul your LinkedIn profile Change your location to Dublin (or Cork/Galway). Write a headline with your target job title, not your current student status. Add a proper headshot. Write your About section in first person, 3–4 sentences max.

Connect with 20 Irish professionals in your sector Search LinkedIn for your target job title + Dublin/Ireland. Send connection requests with a short personalised note — 2 sentences, no ask. You're building a network, not cold-pitching.

Research your target sector's top 10 employers in Ireland Google "[your sector] companies Ireland" and "[your sector] CSEP sponsor Ireland". Build a shortlist of 10–15 companies you will target. Check their Careers pages and LinkedIn pages.

Critical — don't skip

July Targeting month

Map employers & start your first applications

July is when you get specific. You know your sector. Now identify the exact companies, the exact roles, and the exact recruiters. Large multinationals take 8–12 weeks to hire — applications you send in July can result in offers by October, right as Stamp 1G begins.

Identify which employers on your list sponsor CSEPs Check the official DETE Critical Skills Occupations List. Cross-reference your target companies — smaller Irish companies may not be registered to sponsor. Focus your energy on confirmed sponsors.

Apply to 3–5 large multinationals Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Salesforce, Pfizer, MSD, J.P. Morgan, Stripe. These have long hiring cycles but strong CSEP sponsorship records. Apply now for October/November start dates.

Find and follow 3–5 specialist Irish recruiters on LinkedIn Search "[your sector] recruiter Dublin". Connect, follow their posts. Many roles are filled through recruiters before they ever reach job boards — being on a recruiter's radar is valuable.

Write a master cover letter template Irish cover letters are short — half a page maximum. Three paragraphs: why this role, what you bring, one specific thing about the company. Customise the middle paragraph for each application.

Critical — long hiring cycles start here

Aug Pressure rises

Dissertation crunch — keep momentum, don't stop

August is hard. Dissertation deadline is close, stress is high, and most students drop all career activity. Don't. Two hours a week is enough to keep the momentum you've built. The students who push through August arrive at September in a completely different position.

Send 5–8 more targeted applications Focus on mid-size Irish companies in your sector — they move faster than multinationals and are often more willing to sponsor. Target companies with 50–500 employees in your industry.

Research the CSEP process thoroughly Read the official DETE CSEP guidelines. Understand the salary threshold (€38,000+ for most roles), the employer requirements, and the timeline. You need to be able to discuss this confidently in interviews when asked "do you need sponsorship?"

Attend one networking event or industry meetup Meetup.com lists dozens of Dublin tech, data, finance, and pharma events monthly. Most are free. Go to one. Talk to three people. Get one LinkedIn connection. That's a success.

Register with your university's careers office Most Irish universities have dedicated careers offices for international students. Register now — they run employer events, CV workshops, and sometimes have direct connections to graduate recruitment programmes.

Important — don't lose momentum

Sep Stamp 1G begins

Course ends — you should already be in interviews

If you followed this plan, September looks completely different. You have a polished Irish CV, an active LinkedIn profile, 10–15 applications already submitted, and probably at least one or two interview conversations underway. You're not starting from zero — you're in month four of a job search.

Register Stamp 1G immediately — don't wait Book your IRP registration appointment online as soon as your course officially ends. Appointments fill up fast in September. Required documents: passport, letter from university confirming course completion, proof of address, fee (€300).

Ramp up to full-time job search You can now dedicate every working hour to the search. Update your LinkedIn to show your Master's as completed. Change your headline to your target role. Set LinkedIn Open to Work (visible to recruiters only).

Follow up every application from July and August A polite LinkedIn message to the hiring manager or a follow-up email 3 weeks after application is completely normal in Ireland. "I applied on [date] and wanted to confirm receipt and express my continued interest" — that's all it needs to be.

Target 15–20 new applications this month October and November are peak hiring season in Ireland. Many companies plan headcount for Q4. September applications lead to October/November interviews — the best timing possible.

You're already 3 months ahead of most students

The Non-Negotiables

Three things that change everything

If you only do three things during your dissertation phase, make it these. Everything else is optional.

01

📄

Rewrite your CV in Irish format

This single change improves your response rate more than any other action. Irish recruiters make a judgment in 6 seconds. An Indian-format CV immediately signals you haven't adapted — before they've read a word of your content.

→ One page. Action verbs. Numbers. No photo. No objective. No "responsible for." Every bullet = what you did + what resulted.

02

🏢

Build your CSEP employer target list

Not every Irish employer can sponsor a Critical Skills Employment Permit. Spending 3 months applying to companies that can't hire you is the biggest wasted effort in the Irish job search. Know the sponsors before you apply.

→ Google, Meta, Pfizer, MSD, Stripe, HubSpot, J.P. Morgan, Accenture, Deloitte — all confirmed sponsors. Check DETE's register for your sector.

03

💼

Position your LinkedIn for Irish recruiters

Irish recruiters use LinkedIn more than any job board. If your profile shows an Indian location, a student headline, and a half-complete profile — you're invisible. Recruiters find candidates proactively; make sure you can be found.

→ Location: Dublin. Headline: target job title + "Open to work." About: 3 sentences, first person. Skills: match to Irish job descriptions in your field.

CV Format

Indian CV vs Irish CV

These are not the same document. The differences are specific, and they matter to every Irish recruiter you'll encounter.

❌ Indian CV format — what not to do

2–3 pages long with full personal details at top

Objective statement: "Seeking a challenging role to utilise my skills"

Photo included at top right

Date of birth, marital status, nationality listed

Responsibilities written as paragraphs: "I was responsible for..."

No measurable outcomes — just descriptions of duties

References section: "Available upon request"

Declaration at end: "I hereby declare the above information..."

12pt Times New Roman or generic template

Hobbies section: "Reading, travelling, cricket"

✓ Irish CV format — what to do

One page. Name, email, phone, LinkedIn, Dublin location only

No objective statement — let the cover letter do that job

No photo — it's considered inappropriate in Ireland

No personal details — DOB, marital status, nationality omitted

Bullet points starting with action verbs: "Built / Led / Increased / Reduced"

Every bullet has a result: "Reduced processing time by 40%"

No references section — bring them separately when asked

No declaration — it's unnecessary and old-fashioned

Clean modern font, consistent formatting, white space

Skills section with specific tools: Python, Tableau, SQL — not "MS Office"

LinkedIn optimisation for Irish recruiters

Irish recruiters search LinkedIn differently from Indian recruiters. Here's exactly what to fix — priority order.

📍

Location set to Dublin, Ireland Recruiters filter by location. Indian location = filtered out of most Irish searches. Change it now, even if you're still in India or mid-dissertation. Do first

🏷️

Headline is your target job title "MSc Data Analytics student at UCD" → "Data Analyst | Open to Work | Dublin". Recruiters search by job title. Be the thing they're looking for. Do first

📸

Professional headshot Not a selfie. Not a graduation photo. Plain background, business casual, good lighting, genuine smile. Takes 5 minutes on any phone. Do first

✍️

About section in first person 3–4 sentences. What you do, what you're looking for, one specific strength. End with "currently seeking [role] in Ireland." First person only — no "John is a passionate..." Do first

👁️

Open to Work (recruiters only) Turn on the Open to Work badge but set it to "Recruiters only" — not public. This puts you in recruiter search results without broadcasting to your current employer. This week

🎓

Irish university prominently featured Your Irish Master's is your biggest asset. Make it the first education entry. Include the university logo. Add relevant coursework and your dissertation title if it's impressive. This week

💡

Skills section matches Irish job descriptions Copy the skills listed in 5 Irish job descriptions for your target role. Add any you have to your LinkedIn skills. Recruiters filter by these keywords. This week

🤝

3+ recommendations from Irish contacts A recommendation from an Irish professor, supervisor, or employer carries more weight than one from India. Ask your dissertation supervisor. Ask your part-time job manager. This month

Honest Warnings

8 mistakes that cost months

These aren't minor errors. Each one adds weeks or months to your job search. Most are avoidable.

01

Waiting until Stamp 1G starts to begin job searching

This is the single most common mistake. The students who start in September are already 3 months behind those who started in June.

Start CV and LinkedIn in June. First applications in July.

02

Applying to companies that can't sponsor CSEPs

Many small Irish companies and family businesses cannot or will not sponsor work permits. Applying to them wastes both your time and theirs.

Check DETE's Critical Skills register. Target known sponsors first.

03

Submitting an Indian-format CV to Irish employers

Two-page CVs with photos, objectives, and declarations tell a recruiter in 6 seconds that you don't know Irish norms. Many won't read past the format issue.

Rewrite in Irish format. One page. Action verbs. No personal details.

04

Answering "do you need sponsorship?" wrong

"I need a visa" shuts doors. You need a confident, matter-of-fact answer that frames CSEP as a simple process, not a burden on the employer.

"I'll need a Critical Skills Employment Permit — it's a straightforward process and I can walk you through it."

05

Only applying via job boards, no direct outreach

In Ireland, 40-50% of roles are filled through direct referrals and recruiter networks before they're posted publicly. Job boards show you the leftovers.

50% of applications via LinkedIn direct outreach. 50% via job boards. Build recruiter relationships.

06

Undervaluing your Indian work experience

Students with 2–3 years of pre-Masters work experience regularly downplay it in Irish applications. Irish employers value real-world experience — present it with impact.

Quantify everything. "Managed a team of 6" and "reduced costs by 18%" are impressive everywhere.

07

Not registering Stamp 1G immediately on course completion

IRP registration appointments in September are oversubscribed. Students who wait 2–3 weeks lose their early slot. Without the Stamp 1G card, you can't formally accept a job offer.

Book IRP appointment in August for a September slot. Don't wait until the course ends.

08

Treating every rejection as a dead end

Irish hiring is seasonal. A "no" in November from a company that paused hiring can become a "yes" in February when budgets reset. Companies that rejected you in year one often hire you in year two.

Keep a spreadsheet. Follow up every 6–8 weeks. One email. Stay on their radar.

FAQ

Questions answered

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Yes. As a student on Stamp 2, you can work up to 20 hours per week during term time and 40 hours during holidays. The dissertation phase typically falls in summer months which are holiday periods — so 40 hours per week is permitted. However, using this time for career preparation rather than just part-time income is the smarter long-term move.

Stamp 1G begins from the date your course officially ends — typically September for a one-year Master's. You must register with the local GNIB/IRP office within 90 days of your course end date to receive your Stamp 1G card. Do not wait until the last minute.

Students who prepare during the dissertation phase typically find their first job within 3–6 months of Stamp 1G starting. Students who begin job searching only after Stamp 1G begins typically take 9–12 months. The 3–4 month head start from dissertation preparation is real and significant.

Yes — especially for roles with longer hiring cycles (large multinationals, pharma, finance). Google, Meta, and Pfizer can take 2–4 months from application to offer. Starting applications in July means you could have an offer by October. Starting in October means February at best.

Irish CV alignment. An Indian CV format will immediately signal to Irish recruiters that you haven't adapted to local norms. One page, bullet points, measurable impact, no photo, no "objective" statement. This single change improves response rates more than any other action.

The Dissertation PhaseIs Not a Rest Period

The numbers that matter