My Dashboard / Career Heroes / Orlaith Fogarty

Career Heroes - Orlaith Fogarty

Job title

Key Account Specialist

Employer

Staffline

Tell us more about you

I'm a graduate from Ulster University. I studied International Hospitality Management from 2017 to 2022 and attained a 1st Class Honours.

In my free time I love to go to the gym, do yoga, and go cold water swimming. I live in Belfast with my best friend from university and often visit home to spend time with my family and my dog, Scruff.

I have a food blog on Instagram, where I have built up my profile for just over two years now and have over 1,100 followers. My passions include cooking, eating out to try new restaurants, and hiking when the weather allows it.

What kind of work do you do?

I have worked on the Belfast Trust desk, placing administration candidates in vacancies. I now work on the Civil Service desk placing Solicitors and legal staff.

On a daily basis, I answer calls from the public with job enquiries and also answer calls from existing candidates that work for Staffline. I also take a number of weekly client requests for staff. I advertise jobs on multiple job sites such as Indeed. We have a number of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to meet each week, which means meeting targets such as making 75 phone calls per week and getting five people registered with Staffline.

Top 5 Skills & Attributes Needed for your job

Flexible & Adaptable

Positive Attitude

Caring & Helpful

Critical thinker & problem solver

Motivated By Serving Others

How did you become a Key Account Specialist?

I went to Dominican College, Fortwilliam and studied the core subjects as well as Spanish, Business Studies, Geography, Technology, and Science for GCSE. I achieved nine GCSES at grades A*-C. For A-Levels, I studied Sociology, Business Studies, and Health and Social Care. After school I went to Ulster University for four years.

Before this job, I had a few different roles, including working in Belfast City Council in Summer 2021 doing an administrative role. I've also worked part-time in hospitality at The Grand Central and The Academy Restaurant.

What you do enjoy most about your job?

I love taking people through the recruitment process and seeing them come out with a job they really want and are going to enjoy.

If you could do-over, What would you do differently?

I'm happy with my journey and how I got to where I am, but I think courses where you can earn while you study are great and the company usually pays for your qualification.

What advice would you give someone starting out on their career jouney today?

I would say speak to the people around you, explore all of your options (whether it be uni, employment, studying further at college, or an apprenticeship), and be really sure you know what you want to do.

Go with your gut.