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Coffee Chat with Anoushka Qazi, Management Consulting Senior Analyst at Accenture

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Rhea Singhal 

As part of the Graduate Coffee Chats series in collaboration with Foresight Business Group, TBR Correspondent and Foresight Chief Strategic and Financial Officer Rhea Singhal spoke with Anoushka Qazi, a Management Consulting Senior Analyst at Accenture, to gain insight into life as a graduate in the consulting industry.

Management Consulting Senior Analyst – What Does It Involve?

Accenture, a global professional services leader, helps businesses, governments and organisations streamline operations, integrate digital solutions, and drive large-scale transformations. Anoushka specialises in change management within the consumer products industry, working closely with clients to ensure business transformations happen smoothly and seamlessly.

One of her projects involves a UK-based client undergoing major shifts in supply chain planning, HR and data management. Effective change, she explains, hinges on securing employee buy-in. “You can’t implement change without bringing people on the journey with you,” she says. Her role bridges the gap between strategy and execution—assessing how employees currently work, gauging their openness to change and guiding them through the transition.

She compares her work to persona mapping, stepping into the shoes of employees to understand their needs and concerns. One of her biggest challenges is shifting mindsets, as resistance to change is natural. “I totally understand the resistance to change. It’s about getting people to think about the long-term,” she shares. This highlights a core aspect of change management: overcoming short-term discomfort to achieve lasting improvements.

Finding the Right Fit in Consulting

For graduates entering Accenture, the first year offers exposure to different areas—Financial Services, Software & Platforms, Talent & Organisation, Strategy, Tech Consulting and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Enterprise Value (EV). This flexibility allows new hires to explore different areas of interests before specialising.

“I knew I was very people-oriented. I like working with people and the human resources element,” Anoushka explains. Initially, she explored financial services but realized it wasn’t the right fit. Still, she values that experience, as it gave her a broader perspective and an edge in understanding different industries.

 “Even though I didn’t love it, what I learned there still gives me an edge—it’s not time wasted. The one thing common across every industry is dealing with change, and you build skills that transfer everywhere.”

This adaptability is crucial in consulting. Some graduates enter with a fixed idea of their career path, but Anoushka emphasizes the value of starting broad and flexible. 

“The nice and scary thing about consulting is that you start as a generalist. You pave your own way. I studied BESS in college, which was quite broad, so I said, ‘Let me go in as a generalist,’ and two years later, I found my passion for change management.”

Why Consulting?

For Anoushka, the appeal of consulting lies in teamwork and variety. She enjoyed group projects in college, which naturally translated to her work at Accenture. “Consulting is all about teamwork—there are layers of support from analysts to consultants to managers.” The dynamic nature of consulting also keeps things engaging, with new challenges and projects keeping the work fresh.

Her involvement in student groups like ISCG and DUCG helped her pinpoint her passion early on. “Only after working on projects with these societies did I realize I enjoyed it.” This further underscores the importance of extracurricular experiences in shaping career interests.

What I Wish I Knew in College

While many students prioritise academics, Anouskha emphasises the importance of being involved on campus to develop your soft skills.

“The leadership, teamwork, public speaking and time management skills I developed as President of DUCG really stand out in my job today. Don’t underestimate those skills!”

She also highlights the relevance of everyday academic tasks. “Say you’re writing an essay—think about the skills you’re using: critical thinking, simplifying information, getting feedback, rewriting. That’s exactly what you do in consulting.” While technical expertise can be learned on the job, adaptability and communication skills are what truly set candidates apart.

Her advice? Take on opportunities that push you beyond your comfort zone. 

“Any opportunity to step outside your comfort zone—like public speaking—go for it! It will stand to you.”

For students worried about a lack of experience, Anoushka reassures them that it’s not about having the perfect resume. 

“Don’t feel pressured. We know you’re coming straight out of college. Extracurriculars are differentiators! They make your application stand out. Even part-time jobs show skills like time management. Focus on what you learned from your experiences—it’s all about self-awareness.”

The Intern-to-Grad Process

Anoushka transitioned from an intern to a full-time graduate role at Accenture. Following her remote internship during COVID, she underwent a review process that included self-reflection and a discussion with a senior manager before receiving a graduate role offer.

For those applying directly, the process involves:

  1. Online application
  2. Online assessment centre (problem-solving exercises)
  3. Second assessment centre (collaborative tasks)
  4. Final interview with a senior manager – “This is where you show your personal flair and ask questions. It’s more about problem-solving approaches than technical knowledge.”

Work Culture: College 2.0

Accenture fosters a highly social work environment, easing the transition from college to corporate life. “They bring in new grads every few months, so there are always events happening. There are clubs for everyone—book clubs, film clubs and more.” This community-driven culture helps new joiners feel at home.

She also appreciates Accenture’s inclusivity. “I organised Accenture’s first-ever Eid event! I’m passionate about women’s leadership and organizing panels. If you care about something, you can make it happen here.”

Beyond project work, Accenture encourages employees to explore additional interests through “plus ones,” which allow them to work with different teams. “You can tailor your experience based on what interests you.”

Travel is also a major perk. Accenture recently reintroduced a four-day trip to Madrid for global collaboration. Additionally, Anoushka frequently visits the UK for client site visits, reinforcing the firm’s global network.

Advice for Students 

Finally, Anouska concludes the coffee chat by offering the advice below:

  1. Mentorship: Anoushka emphasises the value of mentorship, both in college and at work. She encourages students to seek guidance, even informally. “In Accenture, if I liked a manager I worked with, I’d ask to catch up—even if we weren’t on the same team anymore. You’d be surprised—people genuinely want to help!”
  2. Asking questions: Consulting thrives on curiosity, but Anoushka advises structuring questions thoughtfully. “No question is a stupid question, but don’t rush into it! Take time to reflect and structure your thoughts. If you’re stuck, frame it like: ‘I’ve done this, but I have a question about X.’ That way, it’s clear and productive.”
  3. Put yourself out there:  “The best thing you can do is put yourself out there. Whether it’s public speaking, leadership roles, or networking—every experience will help you in ways you don’t even realize yet.”

For students considering consulting, Anoushka’s journey highlights the importance of adaptability, continuous learning and stepping outside one’s comfort zone.

Coffee Chat with Eamonn Potter, Management Associate at Bank of Ireland

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Kate Lynch

As part of the Graduate Coffee Chats series in collaboration with Foresight Business Group, Foresight Vice President Kate Lynch spoke to Eamonn Potter, Management Associate at Bank of Ireland and former TBR Hub Editor to get insight into life as a graduate at Bank of Ireland.

The Bank of Ireland Graduate Programme 

Eamon joined Bank of Ireland’s (BOI) graduate programme in 2023 in the Corporate Markets Department which involves corporate lending, global markets and collateral. Along with Eamonn, approximately 90 other graduates joined the BOI graduate programme across a variety of departments. As part of the 24-month graduate programme, graduates complete three 8 month rotations, with Eamonn completing his final rotation at present.

Eamonn first started his rotation in property lending, more specifically in residential investments. His role was to lend money to property investors and funds who would pay the asset back overtime in exchange for ownership. Six months into his rotation, Bank of Ireland launched an ‘Affordable Housing Investment Team’, an initiative focused on investing more money in social housing. While this did not generate much revenue for Bank of Ireland, they were still committed to their social responsibility goal to provide more housing opportunities.

Eamonn’s second rotation was in the Foreign Exchange (FX) Pay Team, a digital platform for businesses to make international payments. While Eamonn described this desk rotation as being a fast-paced and exciting environment, where every day was different due to daily changes in market rates, it was “hard at the same time. You were in the office everyday from 8 to 5 while your colleagues may be home on Fridays.” 

Eamonn began his third and most recent rotation on the Bank and Country Risk Unit (BCRU) desk. This department is focused on setting limits on loans by evaluating risks arising from other banks locally and internationally, establishing lending limits. He said he’s enjoyed the exposure to the different desks and is looking forward to what the BCRU has to offer.

Upon completing the 2-year graduate programme, Eamonn has the option to join one of the previous teams he worked with or move into a new role through applying internally. Bank of Ireland also provides the resources and support for graduates to  become a QFA (Qualified Financial Advisor) and/or CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Level 1. 

The Interview Process

After graduating with a Business and Economics Joint Honours degree from Trinity in May 2022, Eamonn began applying to graduate roles around September/October. and after hearing back from Bank of Ireland, he began the first round which involved a number of assessments that took place before Christmas. He was left elated when he was contacted by the recruiting team a number of weeks later, informing him he made it to the next round.

The next round involved an assessment centre, where he had to take part in a group case study where they had to solve a problem. Eamonn said the key to the assessment centre is trying to “find a balance between speaking up but also not speaking for the sake of it”. After the group case study, he had to undergo an individual interview that involved behavioural questions as well as interview questions examining his knowledge of finance. Lastly, Eamonn completed an individual case study. 

Workplace Culture

In terms of work culture, Eamonn described BOI as a lovely and encouraging place to work. He emphasised that it’s a lovely place to start your career as it eases you into the financial industry and exposes you to a plethora of areas in the banking industry.

“From my experience it’s a really nice place to work. There are no silly questions and they are happy when someone is asking questions,” Eamonn said. “They want to get everyone up to speed and it is an encouraging place to work.” 

Advice to Students 

Although many people believe internships are a must-do, Eamonn emphasised that not doing an internship throughout your college career is not a big deal! As someone who never did one, he didn’t find it affected his ability to find a graduate role after college. He expressed that the experiences you get from travelling are just as important. He also mentioned how the skills he gained from being involved in college societies such as the Trinity Monetary Fund and the Trinity Business Review were just as appropriate to talk about in interviews as experiences from an internship would be. So don’t fret if you’re not loving the idea of an internship this summer! 

“The SMF was great for meeting like minded students and really opened your eyes to stuff before leaving college and gives you something to talk about in interviews.” 

In terms of interview advice for students interested in applying for a role in Bank of Ireland, Eamonn said to “know exactly what a Bank does”. It may seem like a simple business model but it’s more complicated than you think. He also said to research the Irish banking sector and be up to date on the external risks that Banks may be experiencing in the next 1-5 years, for example Trump and Russia Ukraine War etc. “Be up to date with geopolitical risk and what’s going on in the world” as it’s very important for the interview process but also just as important when you’re actually in the job.

Eamonn gave one final piece of advice to students beginning their job search in the coming months. “Don’t be afraid to reach out to people on Linkedin and ask some questions, it makes a big difference and apply for everything! Even if you think your chances are low or you don’t have the exact qualifications, apply anyways! You never know what might happen.”

Coffee Chat with Maresa Ronan, Market Executive at Bord Bia

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Anna Lelashvili

As part of the Graduate Coffee Chats series in collaboration with Foresight Business Group, TBR’s Chief Financial Officer and Foresight President Anna Lelashvili spoke to Maresa Ronan, Market Executive at Bord Bia to gain insight into life as a graduate at Bord Bia. 

The Market Executive Role – What is it?

Bord Bia is an Irish state agency that promotes domestic food, drink and horticulture within Ireland and across the world. As a Market Executive at Bord Bia’s London office, Maresa’s role involves promoting Irish produce in the UK market, making it ‘front of mind’ for customers. They achieve this through marketing, hosting events and creating campaigns. As well as helping to promote Irish brands that have already entered the UK market, Maresa helps Irish companies in entering and navigating the UK market, focusing primarily on alcohol, dairy, seafood and meat sectors.

Speaking of her time in Trinity, Maresa was extremely involved with Trinity SMF over her four years in college and found the experience she gained through society involvement to be invaluable in her graduate role. ‘The people you meet along the way, and learning how to juggle society work with college modules set you up for when you go into working life.’

The Bord Bia International Graduate Programme 

Bord Bia’s 2-year international graduate programme is a unique offering, allowing graduates to complete a fully-funded masters in Global Business Practice at UCD Michael Smurfit Business School while working as a market executive. As the name suggests, the programme places graduates in Bord Bia offices around the world, such as London, Dublin, Milan, Paris, Dubai and New York. Unlike a lot of other graduate programmes, the Bord Bia programme takes a smaller cohort of graduate students every two years, with there only being 38 graduates in Maresa’s cohort. 

Maresa gave us insight into balancing work with studies: 

‘While certain times of the year might be busy, everyone from Bord Bia and UCD really understands that while we are working full-time, we are also students and the way our semesters and modules are split reflect that. We get a lot of notice when we have an assignment coming up. Bord Bia and UCD are very accommodating and understanding of the pressures of trying to balance both.’ 

During Maresa’s programme, Bord Bia introduced rotation projects to allow graduates to gain experience working with different divisions and teams within the company. While Maresa works in the London office, she got the chance to work with both the Milan and Dublin teams, showing the global nature of the programme. 

Career Progression 

Following the graduate programme, some graduates stay with Bord Bia while others look externally. However, people typically stay within the Irish food and drink industry. The Bord Bia graduate programme is a great point of entry into the food and drink industry, as market executives tend to interact with a number of clients, making invaluable connections. 

‘Over the two years, the connections that you make and the people that you meet really do make a big difference in how you progress throughout the industry going forward.’

The Interview Process

Maresa came across the programme at the UCD student fair which she attended at the start of her final year of BESS, wondering how she had never heard of the programme before. After researching the company and programme more at home, she realised it was a great opportunity and decided to apply. 

The interview process is very similar to most graduate programmes and consists of an online application form, 2 to 3 rounds of online psychometric tests and a final interview. As part of the final interview, students are sent a case study to prepare and present on the day, as well as answering competency based questions. What is particularly commendable about the Bord Bia programme is that they invite successful applicants into the office to meet everyone, allowing them to get to know each other before the programme even begins!

Work Culture 

Maresa described the work culture at Bord Bia as positive and collaborative. The London office is smaller, with 12 employees in total, and Maresa had spoken to some of them before beginning her role, having reached out to them while applying to the programme for advice. According to Maresa, they were very welcoming of communications and eager to help, encouraging her even more to excel in the interview process. 

Relocation

While this was not Maresa’s first time moving – having moved from Tipperary to Dublin for university – Bord Bia is aware this may be the first time people are moving away from home. According to Maresa, Bord Bia and UCD are very understanding and supportive, making it a very pleasant experience. Graduates are based in Dublin for the first month of the programme for onboarding, allowing some time to find accommodation. Additionally, the graduates from the previous intake were a great resource for Maresa when trying to navigate the different areas in London and deciding where to move.    

‘What’s really nice is that everyone’s super welcoming and the majority of our office is made up of Irish people so you almost don’t feel like you’re away at all which is so nice.’ 

Advice to Students 

Maresa encourages students to reach out to graduates that are already a part of the programme as she found this to be very helpful. As Maresa didn’t personally know anyone in the programme, she used LinkedIn to reach out to graduates, allowing her to gain an understanding of the job beyond the job description. This is exactly what we try to do as part of the Graduate Coffee Chat series and highly encourage students to have their own career-related coffee chats.  

‘It might seem like a daunting task to overtake but I think people actually welcome messages and it just shows you are super interested.’

Why Girl Math Makes Sense – The Liquidity of Cash in Today’s World

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Sean Gleeson

We live in an era of convenience. Humans tend to be lazy, and any invention that makes our lives easier will be used. In the payment world, contactless payments like Apple Pay have made transactions seamless and as convenient as possible. In short, the convenience of contactless payments is killing cash; cash is no longer king.

When was the last time you paid for something in cash? For many of us, myself included, it was admittedly a long time ago. ‘Girl Math’, a concept that has gone viral in recent years through social media, captures the irrational yet highly relatable thought processes that girls refer to in order to justify making certain purchases. One of the many facets of girl math is the justification of paying for items in cash where, because of the form of payment, it is seen as a bonus or almost as a free purchase. It’s as if we didn’t have to pay for the item at all. This is especially true when we use up our 10 cent and 20 cent coins; these coins have likely been gathering dust at home for years and may have never found an alternative use to the coffee you’ve just bought. Indeed, this heuristic, which has long been discovered in the behavioural economics world as a form of mental accounting, applies to us all. 

The effect holds for some more than others of course; for those that favour cash, such as older generations, the effect is not as illuminated compared to Gen Z and Millenials. Many shops in Dublin have gone cashless due to environmental considerations, inspiring a tendency to tap and go rather than fork out unfashionable coins that clog up our pockets. For instance, a friend recently received a 50 euro note from a relative on his birthday. Upon finding a 2 euro coin in his pocket, he offered this 52 euro of cash to anyone who would Revolut him 50 euro. His dad immediately agreed and questioned the rationality of the deal. The response? Too much of an inconvenience to lodge the cash in the bank.

This draws me to the conclusion that there is some sort of convenience premium on paying with cash. The utility we obtain from purchasing an item in cash is in some way higher than the utility we obtain from purchasing that same item with card. Similar to using a gift voucher when we were younger. Essentially, we consider our level of financial wealth as the amount that is in our bank account. Any amounts that we have in cash are almost ignored or deemed secondary. When we pay for something in cash, our bank balance will remain the same; it thus feels almost like a free acquisition.

In Theory: Mental Accounting

This particular subset of girl math has been explained to some extent in the behavioural psychology field. The notion of mental accounting refers to differing cognitive values placed on the same amount of money based on subjective criteria. Effectively we place different values on equal amounts of money; we equate 52 euro in cash with 50 euro on card, based on the convenience premium. This has similarly been described by Director of Behavioural Finance and Investing at Betterment, Dan Egan, who stated that “two dollars are not treated as equals”. Cash is not a perfect substitute for card, even when they are the same amount. This financial behaviour violates the fungibility notion of economics, the ability of an asset to be evenly exchanged with another asset of the same type. It may not make any rational sense but human behaviour can be unjustifiable. 

This mental accounting boils down to the allocation of money pools into different cognitive ‘accounts’. For example, you may have a savings account for your next holiday, even while you are still paying interest on a car loan taken out last year. This theory was explained by Richard Thaler in his 1999 paper “Mental Accounting Matters”. He explains that, when we make a purchase, we obtain two kinds of utility: acquisition utility and transaction utility. Acquisition utility, like the idea of consumer surplus, is seen when we obtain a good for a payment of less than the value of which we perceive it to be. Then there is transaction utility, under which the convenience premium falls. Transaction utility measures the perceived value of the ‘deal’, which is perceived to be better value if we use up our coins and loose change. As Thaler states, “this effect cannot be accommodated in a standard economic model because the consumption experience is the same in either case”. The actual consumption has not changed, but the perceived utility, however irrational, has changed.

This contradicts older hypothesised heuristics, where it was believed that paying with card was not as salient because tangible money was not exchanged and so the cost burden was not entirely felt. Thaler refers to Soman’s 1997 paper with the crucial statement: “Payment by credit card thus reduces the salience and vividness of the outflows, making them harder to recall than payments by cash or check which leave a stronger memory trace”. My principal argument is that this statement no longer holds and has been flipped; cash payments are actually less salient today, because we tend not to account for our cash balances and perceive our bank account balance as our level of financial wealth. Cash payments can be easily forgotten whereas checking online transactions in-app provides immediate access to all card payments made. We have become so used to paying with card that the initial mental bias has been worn down and, in effect, flipped. The psychology behind the girl math makes sense.

The Liquidity of Cash

With this in mind, how easy is it to use our 10 cent, 20 cent, even 50 cent coins? Even for larger values, there is a significant element of inconvenience in terms of carrying around coins, and even notes too, which can be easily mislaid. The development of modern wallets such as the Dutch brand Secrid illustrates this change in habits: plenty of card space is provided in the wallet, but no clear space for cash holding is present. Additionally, many stores in Dublin are cashless, to prioritise environmental concerns and perhaps also to subtly make their own accounting lives easier. How liquid is cash in today’s world?

This question requires redefining how we view the concept of liquidity. In broad terms, liquidity is defined as “the ease with which a resource can be converted to cash”. For the sake of this argument, I am going to change this definition to the ease with which a resource can be converted to a resource capable of readily making payments. We cannot convert cash to cash, so to assess the liquidity of cash we must make this definition alteration.

Traditionally, cash is the most liquid asset; in fact, liquidity revolves around cash. But in realistic terms, how many payments, regardless of size, are made in cash today? The vast majority of payments are made via bank transfer, card payment and so on. With this new definition, cash is no longer the most liquid asset. Cash in hand cannot be used to instantly make a payment in many cases. It is simply easier to track and manage if we just use the card, better still if it’s on our phone as we don’t even need to carry our card around in that case. In the era of convenience, often all we need to carry around is our phone. In this regard, online account holdings are becoming the most liquid asset, yet holds the assumption that we can have complete trust and reliance in banks. Admittedly, this is a big ‘if’.

Future Considerations

Perhaps most importantly, we must evaluate where we are now and what future developments are likely to occur. With recent news that 2024 broke the 1.5 degree warming threshold, environmental action will become more and more intertwined with economic action, which may see a rise in cashless business and activities to reduce the turnover of cash. We previously saw the removal of 1 and 2 cent coins from circulation; it is quite probable this will expand to 10 and 20 cent coins in the future, depending on whether high inflation rates continue. With high inflation, these coins become effectively worthless. Additionally, 1 and 2 euro coins could be turned into 1 or 2 euro notes, much like the US dollar system. This could give these notes a higher perceived value than their equivalent coin counterpart in the mind of the consumer, and are significantly easier to carry around than coins.

Another interesting point to note is that, currently, some businesses will charge a lower price for paying in cash, given that they must pay a charge for use of a card machine. The Auld Triangle on Dorset Street charges €4.80 cash for a pint of Guinness, whereas if you pay with card it is €5.30. This price discrepancy is uncommon but certainly not unheard of. My prediction is that, like Soman’s 1997 statement, this price discrepancy will also flip to offset the convenience premium. A consumer may be willing to pay 7 euro for a pint of Guinness by cash (especially if they can pay with a 5 euro note and a 2 euro note), but equivalently will only pay €6.50 by card. The cash cost is not accounted for in the same way as the card’s cost would be, highlighting the presence of mental accounting. A price discrimination strategy like this could be seen in stores in the not-so-distant future.

We can also expect to see more competition for the likes of Revolut, which has taken the digital payment world by storm in recent years (see my colleague Patrick Calma’s article for an apt review). Increasing regulation to protect consumer interests should not inhibit innovation; the development of digital and contactless payments has huge potential and can contribute to a more sustainable and cost-considerate world, if developed in the right way. Moving away from cash should be embraced; in the utilitarian sense, if something is designed to make your life easier, why wouldn’t you use it? The great Bill Gates once said “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” In a way, it is our laziness and desire for convenience that creates so much of the innovation that spurs on the world. Expect to see more of this innovation in the digital payments world over the following decade, which will continue to kill off cash.Something to consider the next time you get your morning coffee at The Forum; they may not thank you for handing them the 20 cent coins you found in your old piggy bank from when you were a child, but consider how you feel about the value for money transaction compared to the usual tap of the Revolut card. The girl math adds up.

Coffee Chat with James McDonagh, Market Executive at Enterprise Ireland

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Anna Lelashvili

As part of our new Graduate Coffee Chats series in collaboration with Foresight Business Group, TBR’s Chief Financial Officer and Foresight President Anna Lelashvili spoke to James McDonagh, Market Executive at Enterprise Ireland to get insight into life as a graduate at Enterprise Ireland. 

The Market Executive Role – What is it?

Enterprise Ireland is the export development agency for the Irish government, working with Irish companies for over 20 years to help them on their export journeys. As a Market Executive at Enterprise Ireland, James’ role involves helping Irish companies develop their exports in global markets, offering support across 4 categories: information, introductions, events and PR. Based in Enterprise Ireland’s Copenhagen office, he acts as ‘boots on the ground’ with Irish companies across the Nordics, helping them with business development, marketing, localisation and cultural differences in the region. James described the role as one that is ‘hard to define’ due to its general nature, saying ‘the broad role in an organisation that touches all aspects of Irish business is what attracted me.’ 

James gave us an insight into his first big project as a graduate, working on Slush. Slush is the largest startup investor conference in Europe, held in Helsinki, Finland, bringing together 15,000 attendees from all over the world each year. James’ work on the project involved  bringing a delegation of 11 Irish companies to Slush, hosting an event with the embassy in Finland and completing business development activities at the conference itself.

‘It was a really good experience to be involved in managing a project of this scale from the start, while taking responsibility for maximising our clients and Ireland’s presence at probably the most exciting Tech event in Europe. It was a very rewarding project.’

The Graduate Programme

The graduate programme at Enterprise Ireland is 2 years long and is a great opportunity for a graduate to start their career in business. The agency offers 2 programmes, a national programme and an international programme, which sees placement at one of nearly 40 offices worldwide, including France, Germany, the UAE and Canada. The national graduate programme sees graduates working in the Dublin headquarters, focusing on investment and job creation in Ireland. Unlike other graduate programmes that take well over 200 graduates a year, the Enterprise Ireland international programme only takes a handful of students, with there being only 12 graduates during James’ intake. With hundreds of applicants, this makes it a very competitive role. 

The Interview Process

While the interview process at Enterprise Ireland is longer than most with 6 stages, James put us at ease saying he ‘felt completely comfortable with it and never found it too much or intense’. The stages are: 

  1. Written application & CV submission
  2. Video interview (if you speak a language other than English, which is required for some offices, you’ll also complete a video interview in that language)
  3. Verbal & numerical reasoning tests
  4. Assessment centre in January, including a business case you work through as a team and presentations
  5. Psychometric test 
  6. Final interview – 30 minutes presentation, 30 minutes interview questions

The process takes a couple of months to complete with James applying to the role in October 2022 and getting the job offer in February 2023. 

Work Culture 

Due to the international nature of the programme, the work culture at each office will differ. At an organisational level, James has felt a very positive work culture at Enterprise Ireland where everyone’s opinion is valued, whether you are just joining the organisation or have been there for 10 years. At the Copenhagen office, James enjoys the Nordic way of life, having a really good work-life balance, with a non-hierarchical, consensus-based, flat-work culture where he works on a hybrid working model, with a minimum of 2 days a week in the office. 

Relocation

James found out he was placed in the Copenhagen office in April 2022, with ‘not a word of Danish, knowing nothing about Copenhagen other than the fact it was a beautiful, expensive city’. While this may seem overwhelming, James was offered a lot of support from his team, who had also made the same move from Dublin, and were also provided with an amazing handover package from the previous graduate at the Copenhagen office accompanied with recommendations. To make the move as stress-free as possible, Enterprise Ireland placed him in a hotel room for the first few weeks, allowing him time to find accommodation. Although finding accommodation was difficult, James said it’s ‘not quite so bad as renting in Dublin.’ James ended the interview on a very positive note, saying that while he had his eyes set on moving to France, he is ‘really happy with his move (to Copenhagen)’ and is really glad he ‘threw himself into it.’

Advice to Students 

Here is some advice from James to ensure success in your application! 

  1. Communication skills: For the role, you must be interested in working with other people and need to have good communication skills. You work with a variety of people from clients to potential buyers to the Enterprise Ireland teams worldwide. Working with people from different cultures and backgrounds also requires adaptability. 
  2. International experience: Whether you’ve studied abroad, completed an internship abroad, or lived somewhere new for a few months, the experience of living away from home will be of great benefit when applying to the international programme. Experience in an international company and having language skills is also great! 
  3. Passion for Irish business: The role involves promoting Irish business’ interests abroad; having an awareness of the Irish business ecosystem and having a passion for it is important. 

If you don’t have one of these, don’t worry, having the willingness to learn and adapt is just as important! 

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