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| How did you go about getting your current job? |
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I read about the grad programme in the newspaper. I had heard before how difficult it was to get a job in Coillte so didn’t have too much hope. I filled out my application form and did an on-line psychometric test. One week later I was invited to my first interview. It took place in Avondale, Co. Wicklow, and it was more like a relaxed discussion between a group of interviewers and a group of applicants on different topics related to forestry.
On the same day we had an aptitude test. A few days after I had a phone call from HR that I was invited to do the second interview. To be honest, this one was a little tougher. Although the interviewing panel was very nice trying to make me feel as comfortable as possible I was very stressed. After I finished and left the Coillte headquarter building in Newtownmountkenneddy I was sure I wouldn’t make it. But on the same day, a big surprise, a very nice girl from HR called me and invited me to my last interview in 7 days.
The last one seemed to be easier, maybe because I was more relaxed and really focused on getting all the answers as good and honest as possible. Around two weeks later I received the final call saying I had been successful. I was delighted and I felt great. I started 6 weeks later.
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| Describe a typical day? |
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Being a forester means that every day is different and every day brings different challenges. In general, I work from 9.15 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Because I am responsible for plating and maintenance of planted sites, the character of my work is seasonal and it changes depending on time of the year.
There are some things that you have to do every week as a routine, e.g. planning work for the forest workers, preparing maps, meeting with the area foremen, tracking their work in the system, dealing with invoices. Some aspects of my work don’t happen every day but they are quite common, e.g. inspections of Coillte reforrestation sites and private plantations, taking measurements (e.g. with GPS), filling out forms and grant applications for private forest owners, corresponding with the Forest Service and other Coillte stakeholders.
There are a lot of things that you can plan in advance, e.g. meetings with other foresters/farmers/ Forest Service Inspectors, training days, deliveries of plants, etc. But there are also some things that you can’t plan at all and you have to deal with them as they come. The most serious and unexpected one would be a fire, but there are also complaints, consultations, phone calls, customers’ inquiries, people seeking advice and lots of different situations that you can’t predict.
Although I am mainly concentrated on establishing forest sites I am also involved in some other projects in my forest district which makes my work diverse and very interesting.
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| What are the main tasks and responsibilities? |
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The main task is to support District and Corporate needs; maintain good relationships with Coillte stakeholders, customers and local communities and to plan and manage forest and forest operations in cooperation with all Coillte Forest sections and in compliance with all the guidelines, company policies and certification standards.
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| What are the main challenges? |
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The biggest challenge is to manage many things at the same time, prioritising and making choices on a day to day basis. You have to manage your time, your budget, your forest, your workers and most of all your relationships with the stakeholders. And sometimes it is very difficult to make all these things work the way you want.
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| What's cool? |
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What I like the best about my job is that I do something that I really like. something that I have been always interested in. It's really 'cool' that I constantly learn and develop my skills.
In comparison with the time when I started working in Coillte, I can see a huge change in my confidence, presentation skills, customer care, planning skills, etc. I am also very happy to gain more of practical knowledge which is so necessery in planning and carrying out forest operations.
What I like about my job is diversity. My job it not only about forestry. It's about environmental protection, mapping, IT skills, public relations, marketing, sales, environmental law and regulations, health and safety, recreation, education and much more.
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| What particular skills do you bring to your workplace? |
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My forestry knowledge, good IT skills, experience in marketing, recreation and forest education, an interest in non-wood forest products, creativity and patience.
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| What's not so cool? |
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In general, I don't have any problems with understanding English. However, I deal with so many people with so many different accents that form time to time I have to talk to a person who is very difficult to understand. In these situations I always try to get the context, even though I only understand every second world. I hate when it happens as I am always afraid that I might miss something important during the dialogue.
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