If you’re in your final year of college, then you should be particularly busy at this time of year, as many of the deadlines for graduate programmes are in October and November. A lot of information about employment opportunities on the Irish graduate job market is collated by gradireland – an organisation which is part of an international media group that works in partnership with the Association of Higher Education Careers Services. If you’re serious about finding graduate work, you should be a frequent visitor to its website, www.gradireland.com – even better yet, keep an eye on its Twitter feed, as gradireland catapults information about different graduate programmes into the Twittersphere every day. Catch them on @gradireland.

Musgrave group

Musgraves is recruiting 17 to 20 graduates to start in September 2015. Graduates will work in at least two out of the Cork, Dublin, Belfast and Harefield (Britain) sites over the course of the two-year programme (although the programme may be longer for finance graduates, depending on the logistics of professional accountancy exams).

Musgraves is looking for ambitious, hard-working and achievement-orientated graduates. Its graduate programme is focused on experiential development and has been designed to fit around a real role in a functional area of the business. The company currently has vacancies in the following areas: buying (trading), finance, IT/omni-channel, marketing, supply chain and store operations.

Candidates will also participate in a graduate development programme, which has been designed specifically for Musgraves in conjunction with the Irish Management Institute. Graduates must hold a 2.1 honours degree and candidates from all academic backgrounds are accepted, although some roles may require a specific degree or experience (for more details on this, check out www.musgravegraduates.com). Applications may be submitted via the same website and the deadline is 31 October 2014. The selection process includes online assessments, video interviews and assessment centres.

Vodafone

There are 15 places available on the Vodafone graduate programme, which is anchored in Vodafone’s Irish headquarters in Leopardstown, Dublin. The company is currently recruiting graduates to join in September 2015 for an 18-month placement. Vodafone is looking for graduates who are equally passionate about working with customers and with technology. It is also interested in candidates who are driven, ambitious, competitive, innovative and not afraid to challenge Vodafone’s existing way of thinking.

During the placement, candidates will get experience working throughout the company on a variety of interesting assignments, including a placement within a Vodafone retail store, to give them a flavour of what Vodafone claims it’s all about – its customers. Graduates will also have the opportunity to work on three project rotations across the business.

Vodafone will accept applications from all disciplines, ranging from technology and engineering through to business and marketing. Candidates also need to have (or are expecting) a 2.1 in their undergraduate or a merit in their postgraduate degree. Register through the Vodafone website www.vodafone.ie/graduateoppo rtunities/apply-now. The deadline for applications is 14 November.

Savills Ireland

Savills Ireland, a real estate advisory firm, has 10 places available for property graduates across its offices in Dublin, Cork and Belfast. The graduate programme is two and a half years in duration and has two streams, the commercial stream and the residential stream.

Graduates on the residential programme will have rotations within the residential teams, including new homes, country homes and asset management and recovery, while those on the commercial programme are put on rotations within the commercial agency and valuations. Candidates will receive training in soft skills, which include negotiation, networking and managing client relationships. Full APC support is provided to those who wish to undertake their APC with the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland. They will also be assigned an APC counsellor and an APC supervisor.

Savills is looking for candidates with a relevant commercial or residential property qualification (level 7, level 8 or level 9) and a full driving licence. It wants candidates who are excellent relationship builders with a client-focused approach and who are flexible, adaptable, numerate and problem-solving. Savills says it needs people who hold ethical behaviour and professional conduct as sacrosanct.

Whether you’re interested in property or not, it’s worth your while checking out the video at www.savills.ie/careers/graduate-opportunities.aspx. You’ll probably want to work in Savills by the end of it.

Email a cover letter and CV to gradrecruitment@savills.ie. Although Savills accepts CVs throughout the year, the closing date for the 2015 graduate programme is 31 October 2014.

William Fry

Law firm William Fry has 25 to 30 graduate vacancies on its trainee programmes in both law and tax.

It is looking for trainees who are academically able, who can see the big picture, will pay attention to detail and who have excellent communication, interpersonal and analytical skills.

Along with what it describes as a competitive salary, William Fry pays Law Society fees, including reimbursement of FE-1 fees and full payment of indentures, PPCI and PPC II fees.

While the firm will consider candidates from all academic disciplines who have an excellent academic record, places will be offered subject to passing FE-1 exams before joining.

Applications should be made using the firm’s online application form and should be submitted no later than TODAY, Thursday 23 October 2014 at 5.30pm. Interviews will be held from mid- to late November and offers will be made in late November. Guidelines to help with filling out applications are available on its website, www.williamfry.ie

Microsoft

Microsoft says prospective employees can look forward to leaving their suit at home, while the company also boasts that its offices are bright, spacious and lit with natural lighting, and that alternative therapies are available on-site for free.

There are over 30 graduate vacancies in Microsoft for candidates from various academic backgrounds.

Microsoft is accepting applications for its 2015 graduate programme until 31 October. Roles start in the summer of 2015. The programme is three years in duration and, in general, the company is looking for graduates who have a 2.1 or higher degree.

If the no-suits policy and free alternative therapies don’t lure you in, perhaps the fact there will be three international trips in your first two years with Microsoft will. Successful graduates will also participate in the Global Microsoft Academy of College Hires (MACH) programme, which is a two-year programme focused on giving candidates a strong start at Microsoft.

But what kind of graduate positions are available in Microsoft?

There are business graduate roles to be filled in its EMEA Operations Centre. This centre provides key support for the company’s sales and customer support activities, and employees in this centre simplify the process of getting Microsoft devices and services into the hands of its customers.

The same centre is also looking for a technical support engineer in the advertising division. The successful candidate will provide advanced technical support for Microsoft’s and Yahoo!’s online advertising global sales teams.

The focus will be on technically supporting paid search results that appear on Bing and other web properties.

Graduates who have a degree in computer science, engineering or mathematics are sought for this position. Database/SQL knowledge is required, along with the ability to manipulate data rapidly.

There are also account manager, advertising sales and services roles to be filled under the graduate programme.

Candidates filling these roles will be responsible for building and maintaining relationships with clients for ongoing sales and service opportunities, and will be accountable for facilitating success with its search advertising campaigns.

Candidates with a second language are sought for these positions. A second language is also required of candidates seeking to fill the position of monetisation analyst in Microsoft’s advertising and online monetisation community.

Microsoft’s SMS&P team (small and medium businesses and partners) is also hiring a graduate for its partner account manager. This role is a strategic, specialised and business management role, intended to enable and support partner success.

Finally, Micosoft is also recruiting graduates for software engineering roles.

Microsoft says that to be a software engineer “you need to be structured enough to make sure nothing is missed, creative enough to think like millions of customers, technical enough to write code and design algorithmically beautiful solutions, and articulate enough to let people know what you think”.

They don’t ask for much.

Dairygold

If you’re a graduate of finance, engineering, agri-science, food science or business, then Dairygold wants you. There are 20 vacancies on the company’s graduate development programme and the closing date for applications is Friday, 31 October.

The company has opportunities across manufacturing and operations, product and process development, technical sales and business development, R&D and innovation, technical and nutritional advice, supply chain management, quality control and quality assurance, retail and area sales, finance and IT.

Dairygold’s programme provides two to three rotations into different areas of the business, which will expose graduates to a broad range of Dairygold’s activities – in a structured manner.

Dairygold is all about developing and retaining key talent, and in this vein, Dairygold’s graduate programme incorporates a diploma in management.

Those who participate in the diploma will come away with skills in people management, business strategy, project management, team building and financial management, as well as many other areas.

Dairygold also has a graduate mentoring programme, where graduates are provided with career advice, support and information from a senior member of staff.

Ericsson

Ericsson currently employs more than 1,400 people in Dublin and Athlone. The company’s graduate programme offers opportunities in the areas of software development, R&D, network engineering, technical training and consultancy.

An Ericsson spokesperson told Irish Country Living there is not necessarily a finite number of graduate positions with the company and there is no deadline for applications.

Ericsson says it has flexi-time working hours to allow employees to manage work/life balance and stresses that the company pays overtime. Those who like to travel will be interested to learn that Ericsson is in more than 180 countries and that many roles involve travel.

While graduates will hit the ground running, they are also offered support through mentors.

Ecrisson is looking for people with a minimum 2.1 honours degree in a related field, such as software engineering, software development, IT and telecommunications, have experience in software development using Java, have knowledge of UNIX/Linux and knowledge of telecoms for 2G and 3G mobile networks.