MSc Finance Graduate Mohak trained as an ACCA in India with Grant Thornton before completing his MSc Finance in NCI. Have graduated from NCI he joined EY in audit.
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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background:
By way of introduction, I am Mohak Soeny. I am from New Delhi, India and have been living in Dublin, Ireland since 2022. I completed my Master from the National College of Ireland and was honoured with a mention in the Deans’ list. I am a member of the Associate of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) since 2022. I have 7 years of work experience across Auditing and Consulting. In my last role, I worked with EY Ireland and was a manager. Currently, I operate a global trading business based out of Ireland with operations across the middle east, India, Europe, and Latin America.
What made you choose Ireland as a place to study and work?
I was lucky to travel to Ireland in 2018 along with some other countries in Europe. My first experience of Ireland and the friendly nature of Irish people was the biggest attraction. From an academic perspective, the opportunity to learn in a common language (English) was a great advantage. Ireland has shown great economic growth over the last decade. This has translated into excellent job opportunities across the country. Having studied at NCI, my favourite parts were having the ability to collaborate with my peers. It was a smooth transition from academic to professional life. NCI allowed me to enhance my ability to work as a team.
What do you enjoy most about your current role?
The most enjoyable aspect of my profession is dealing with people. As someone who is sociable, I like to interact with colleagues and clients. My current role allows me to develop professional relationships with a variety of clients and colleagues who come from different walks of life. As some one who enjoys learning about new cultures, interacting with different people allows me to nurture my personal learnings.
What is a typical day like in your current role ?
In my current role, my day starts with a coffee. I am usually an early riser and as a result, I am in the office early. I like to divide my day into smaller periods, and my morning session is usually a focus session for the work I am directly responsible for. My day continues with catch up sessions with my teams and helping with any bottlenecks. I usually take lunch early and then begin reviewing the work my colleagues have put together. Starting my day early allows me to exit the office early as well.
What did the recruitment process involve and how did you prepare for it ?
I applied for my role through a LinkedIn posting. The recruitment process was simple; I had a telephone conversation with the recruiter which was followed by a technical round of questions. After receiving my critical skills employment permit (CSEP), I began my role as a Senior in EY’s audit department. After completing 2 years on the CSEP, I now hold a Stamp 4 visa status.
What has been the most challenging part of your graduate journey ?
The most challenging part of my graduate journey was getting the first offer. After applying to 100s of opportunities, and facing a huge fail rate, I landed 6-7 interviews. I was offered by 5-6 companies and eventually decided to sign with EY.
Top 3 tips for students and graduates entering the Irish job market:
- Resilience – do not give up even after rejections. My personal experience was a rejection rate of greater than 90%. Whatever the reason, always back yourself and give it your best. The rest is beyond your control.
- Discipline – be highly disciplined specially in applying to jobs. I used to keep 1 hour each morning to apply for as many jobs which fit my criteria. I saw it as practice when an opportunity came up, I was well placed to grasp it.
- Adaptability – Learn to say yes. We often say no to new experiences, some of the best friends I made at work were just because I said yes.