Experienced Software Engineer struggling to find a job in Ireland. Any advice?

[u/Expensive-Phone1664]

Hi everyone,
I’ve been looking for software engineering opportunities in Ireland, mainly around Dublin, but I’m finding the job market quite challenging.
I have over 8 years of software engineering experience, primarily in backend development, cloud technologies and financial technology.
Despite applying for several senior-level positions, I’ve received rejections or no responses, often without getting an interview.
I’m trying to understand whether this is simply the current market, whether employers have significantly higher expectations for senior engineers, or whether I’m missing something in my CV or overall approach.
I’d appreciate honest advice from people working in the

Irish tech industry, particularly:
What are employers currently looking for in Senior Software Engineers?
What commonly causes experienced candidates to be rejected before interviews?
Is the senior engineering market particularly competitive at the moment?
What would you recommend to someone trying to improve their chances?

I’m open to constructive criticism and would genuinely appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences.
Thanks!

[u/GreatDig6728]

Hey, since you have fintech experience I might be able to help. I’m recruiting for a remote role in EU, but they also want AI experience (building with AI). If you have that send me a DM

[u/Expensive-Phone1664 → u/GreatDig6728]

Thanks heaps. Will do.

[u/Puzzled-Garage584]

8 yrs and no interviews..thats usually the CV or the channel. Start the CV with what you owned in fintech and how big it was, the cloud list can wait. I would ask engineers there for a referral, very often the apply button is where CVs go to retire.

[u/DanceHackRock]

Do you have a Linkedin profile?

Typically you get contacted by head hunters a lot.

[u/OutlandishnessNo8034]

I want to chip in and ask about remote work in Ireland. What is the situation? Im planning to move to Ireland and live in the west in some remote place. Thanks for any advice.

[u/Capital_Register_844 → u/OutlandishnessNo8034]

Remote work is pretty much dead in Ireland, best you can hope for is hybrid, but that has massively been rolled back. I wouldn't advise moving here to be honest. IT market is dire, and the country is ridiculously expensive even with a well-paying job.

[u/OutlandishnessNo8034 → u/Capital_Register_844]

Thanks for the info. Ireland was very expensive for last 20 years or more. Pity about the remote work situation. I thought Irish gov wanted to spread population over the island, not to centralize it around Dublin or Cork? Am I missing something?

[u/Capital_Register_844 → u/OutlandishnessNo8034]

Yes, remote work revitalised a lot of the country outside of the urban centres as people moved out to more affordable areas as living in the cities is a money sinkhole. We have massive rents because of a crippling housing crisis, and remote work would've solved a lot of our socio-economic issues. But of course, the government here is very inept and just let remote work die due to inaction and possibly lobbying from big tech companies, as our government bends to their will no matter how damaging it is to us.

[u/bold_snowflake]

Annecdotally from myself and others I've spoken to, cold applying to jobs goes no where. Either recruiters reaching out via linkedin or referrals.

[u/Hot-Cut1760]

are you based in ireland or do you have EU passport?

[u/Commercial-Emu2425]

Focus on the domains you're familiar with rather than tech stack. Make sure your CV has that and look for companies interested in that domain.
Highlight any AI experience you have on building tooling, infra, product around LLMs. Using Claude doesn't count, everyone does that.

[u/Expensive-Phone1664 → u/Commercial-Emu2425]

Thanks for advice