Ian McLoughlin and Bryan Lyons
made a successful return to Ireland

By Kim Jorgensen

No job. Nowhere to live. For many, this is their worst nightmare. For some ambitious young Irish graduates, it is merely the beginning of a new adventure.

“We simply got on the plane,” said Bryan Lyons, a graduate in human resource management from the National College of Ireland in Dublin.

Lyons, along with friend Ian McLoughlin, came to Boston on the J-1 Irish Work and Travel visa, which permits Irish college students and recent graduates to work in the United States for up to twelve months in an area related to their field of study.

Shortly after arriving, Lyons and McLoughlin came into the IIIC to meet with J-1 IWT Program Manager Jude Clarke and to make use of the Cyber Café to job search.

Lyons had been diligently job-hunting for nearly three months when an opportunity arose in the human resources department at Arbella Insurance. He went in for an interview and landed the position. Lyons had the opportunity to gain exposure to varying pieces of the HR department. “Arbella is absolutely fantastic. They were really good to me,” he said.

“Bryan hit the ground running,” said Arbella CEO John Donohue, noting that Lyons’ supervisors had nothing but positive feedback.

Lyons credits his experience working at Arbella insurance for his quick success securing work in internal recruitment at Arvato Bertelsmann upon his return to Ireland. “If I hadn’t done what I’d done in America, I wouldn’t have gotten a job at home,” he claims. “[My experience] was exactly what they were looking for.”

If you are an employer and you are interested in being involved in the IIIC J1-IWT Internship Placement Service, please contact Megan Carroll at 617 542 7654.