My Life After College: Ryan Feehily
In your words write a short summary about you and what you are up to now since your graduation?
My name is Ryan Feehily and I’m a Double Degree graduate with a BA in Global Business from DCU and a BSc in International Management from ESB Business School at Reutlingen University in Germany. Since graduating in 2019, I’ve been working as a Digital Marketing Coordinator at Collins McNicholas – an Irish-owned Recruitment & HR Services Group with six offices nationwide
How did you acquire your current role?
Having studied in Germany for third and fourth year, I fancied moving back to Ireland and happened to find the role with Collins McNicholas in my hometown of Sligo. The application process was straightforward and required an initial screening and psychometric test followed by an interview with the Marketing Manager and two company directors. As much as I loved returning to Sligo, I’ve since relocated to Dublin where I work remotely!
What are your responsibilities as a Digital Marketing Coordinator at Collins McNicholas?
Although it’s a massive cliche, no day in marketing is the same! I work closely with the rest of the marketing team on our website, updating content and ensuring everything runs smoothly from a technical point-of-view. I also manage our social media channels and organise and promote our events and seminars which now take place virtually given the COVID-circumstances. I’m also heavily involved in many of our internal teams and initiatives for our own employees and have on more than one occasion had to put my German skills to use to help out with attracting talent from overseas to Ireland!
What does a typical day working at home look like for you?
I think we all agree that it’s easy to get into bad habits working from home but I’ve found getting up early each morning and going for even a 15-minute walk before work is essential to create a mental separation between work and home life. I would typically start my day by checking in on emails and social media channels to see if anything urgent is needed before cracking into other tasks and projects. I always try and use my lunch break to do some form of exercise to avoid hitting a post-lunch slump. I’ve also found that turning on my “Do not disturb” on Microsoft Teams is a great way to stay focussed on one task, otherwise it’s easy to lose track of what you were working on!
What is something you know now that you wish you knew when you had graduated?
Don’t rush! Whether you plan on finding a job, starting a Master’s or travelling, don’t feel like you need to start something straight away. You’ve probably had an intense few years in college so there’s no harm in taking a month or two (or even longer) to reset and plan your next move. Two years after graduating, everyone will be in different places or at different stages of their career and that’s fine – there’s no perfect formula.
What is your plan for the future?
I’m sure I will return to education at some point to complete a Master’s or Postgraduate degree. I do, however, much rather the idea of studying something with applied elements such as work placement or being able to work part-time while studying. Being able to apply learned knowledge in the workplace will teach you far more than spending hours and hours of reading in the library. I’d also love to start my own side project or venture at some point, regardless of how successful it is, as the experience from that would be worth much more than anything you’d find in a textbook!
