'Jobless Paddy' Is Hired After Billboard Stunt

A young Irish man has landed a job after an ambitious and expensive gamble paid off.

Feilim Mac An Iomaire became a national sensation, after spending all his savings advertising himself through a billboard campaign, when he became frustrated by fruitless job hunting.

Now, he's been hired by bookmakers Paddy Power as a communications executive, and starts work this week.

The Galway man Feilim Mac An Imaire returned to Ireland last August after a year spent in Australia.

A Commerce and Marketing graduate from the National University of Ireland, Galway, Feilim had worked Downunder as a travel agent and events coordinator.

He had a few thousand euros saved as he began his job search at home for a job in marketing.

But the 26-year-old found, that like thousands of other young Irish graduates, his job search was yielding no results.

Unemployment stands at 14% in Ireland according to the latest figures published this week, and up to a thousand young people a week are emigrating in search for work.

From over a hundred applications, he was called for just two interviews - and he didn't get either job.

Living at home with his parents, and drawing the dole, Mac An Iomaire became increasingly frustrated.

Then he decided that he would prove his marketing skills to potential employers, by advertising himself.

In April, he persuaded graphic designers and photographers to give him a discount rate for put together an ad, and he purchased a billboard slot on Dublin's busy Merrion Road for two weeks at a cost of $2,800.

He gave himself the nickname "Jobless Paddy" and set up Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote his efforts on social media.

The resulting ad touched a nerve in Ireland and became a sensation.

It features Mac An Iomaire holding a suitcase and a hurley, standing on a beach, looking at the horizon where the Statue of Liberty stands alongside the Sydney Opera House, Toronto's CN tower and the British Houses of Parliament.

"SAVE ME FROM EMIGRATION" the poster says, and underneath is a request to seek more information and his CV by emailing joblesspaddy@gmail.com.

The billboard set the internet alive, and Jobless Paddy was inundated with media requests from at home and abroad.

"I knew it went crazy when I got a text from my friend in Sydney saying I was on the front page of the Morning Herald over there," said Feilim.

"I got emails from places like Nicaragua, Ghana, loads from Brazil... so yeah it's just been a bit crazy."

Within days, job offers started to pour in.

After interviews with more than 20 potential employers, Mac An Iomaire considered five serious job offers that were on the table, before opting to hook up with Paddy Power.

The bookmakers are known for their own eye-catching PR stunts, so it looks like a good match.

"It pretty much worked out a lot better than I thought it would, so I couldn't be happier," said Feilim, "I didn't see this coming at all. It's brilliant."