In the latest instalment of our Alumni Spotlight series, we speak to graduate Alan Hynes, who studied the Bachelor of Business Studies with French.
From trusting your gut when choosing a course, to the advantages of learning a language, Alan discusses how his time in UL benefited the international career he has today.
Tell us about yourself?
I grew up in the west of Ireland in County Galway. I am the youngest of four in my family.
I went to an all-boys school which was a lot of fun, and we made some great bonds. Sport was huge outside of school hours.
I was oriented towards the business and language subjects verses the sciences in school. The natural progression was therefore to continue in these domains at third level education.
At the age of 16 I joined a youth club in my hometown. We did an exchange with Swedish, Greek and Finish teenagers hosting each other in our respective towns. It was this experience of meeting other cultures and travelling which fuelled my curiosity as a teenager about life outside of Ireland and so I always knew I would work in internationally diverse environments.
I am currently based in Dubai, UAE and outside of work I spend my time travelling to new countries, keeping fit in a running club, and coaching and playing Gaelic Football.
Why did you choose to study Business at UL?
The course I chose to study was a Bachelor of Business Studies with a foreign language – in this case French and I majored in Human Resource Management, 2006-2010.
HR had a unique organisational psychology perspective that I enjoyed. It’s obviously very people focused and this suited me. I was always curious about meeting others and understanding the human aspect of people and what made them tick.
Studying French meant I was going to be able to satisfy my travel ambitions. I saw learning another language as an adventure which would take me overseas and of course it was always going to open more doors careers wise and it puts you on the map for international employers.
In terms of choosing University Limerick, the main reason was due to the course offering work placement internships knows as ‘co-ops’ in the third year of the four-year course.
The university had links with employers both domestically and internationally. This gave the university a clear competitive advantage over other educational institutions where work placements were not being offered.
This eight-month work experience I undertook in Luxembourg would prove invaluable in the jobs market post-graduation. But we’ll come to that placement later!
What did you enjoy most about the course?
The practical assessments we did as part of the HR elective were quite apt even in today’s market.
I remember we were examined on how to interview our classmates one on one. We had 15 minutes in a room, cameras recording, and the lecturers stood behind a blacked-out window keeping a close eye on proceeding. Nerve wracking but fun. The funny thing is 14 years later, I am doing exactly that now - interviewing top talent!
Most of all though the best part of the course undoubtedly was the Erasmus program where six of our French class lived and studied in Montpellier, France for a semester.
I can’t say studying economics through French was the highlight, but it was fantastic meeting students from around the world who were also learning the language.
The travel opportunities around the southeast coast of France were immense and I enjoyed it so much I stayed for an additional few months in the summer post exams and worked in the Irish bar there (surprise, surprise). For a second, I wondered if I would ever return to Ireland to finish the degree!
As a KBS student, you had the opportunity to learn from some of the top academic talent, in state-of-the-art facilities. What was your experience like as a student here?
Our business class was lucky in the sense that in 2008 the Kemmy Business School was developed and moved to a new purpose-built location on campus grounds.
I believe it’s Ireland’s largest business school. I lived on campus in Kilmurry Village in my first year so I was a stone's throw away from watching Munster Rugby train in the UL Sports Arena. The Arena also boasted one of the only 50 metre Olympic swimming pools in the country at the time.
Having five major student accommodation campus dotted around the university lent itself to a vibrant social scene.
What advice would you offer to others considering your course?
I think it’s important to go with your gut and invest time in subjects and verticals that best suit your personality.
The great thing about doing Business in UL is that in your first year you get a taste for the whole gamut of business subjects (Marketing, HR, Insurance, Accounting, Finance).
In year three you then specialise in the areas that best pique your interest and that you enjoy.
The work placement is also going to answer a lot of questions for you in terms of what you like/don’t like. I would also encourage students to utilise the University Careers department to learn more about what a career in your chosen field would look like and see if this matches your future ambitions.
In terms of studying a foreign language, I couldn’t encourage it enough. Languages aren’t easy to learn I know, but in today’s multicultural landscape, the advantages are paramount.
What are some of your favourite memories from your time at UL?
Well I’m currently in a Whatsapp group with my core friends that I made during my time in Limerick 15 years ago and we meet as often as we can, given we are based all over the world. So without sounding too soppy, I’ll start with the friendships.
Sharing a flat and living under the one roof while on campus is where most fun memories are made. The student night outs in the infamous ‘Lodge’ were always eventful. I believe it’s closed now.
I remember seeing the band Republic of Loose for a measly two euro at the time during RAG week. As a fan, I was chuffed with this.
Not sure how we will explain RAG week to our international readers, but let’s just say we raised lots of money for charity.
At UL, we’re known as the ‘Home of Firsts’ – are there any important ‘firsts’ that you experienced as a UL student, that you would like to share?
Oh gosh, better be careful what I say here haha... Okay, it was the first time I ever lived away from home. There you go!
Can you tell us about your work placements during the course?
A great experience but one of the hardest things I have ever done. As part of learning the French language, I was paired with a French investment bank overseas in Luxembourg.
I was tasked with doing fund accountancy all through French with colleagues who had varying French accents who were from Belgium, Luxembourg, and North France.
I had taken on a bit more than I could chew, and I was completely out of my depth with the work and the language. Having said that, the experience really toughens you up and helps build resilience and I knew if I could get through that placement, I could do anything.
In my tougher days now in my career or even in my personal life for that matter, I still think back to that experience, and it just makes me feel grateful for where I am now.
I wouldn’t change a thing. It was a great learning experience, it brought on my language a ton, the country was beautiful, and I met some great colleagues.
Were you a member of any clubs or societies? If so, tell us about your experience?
I think in Fresher’s week I must have signed up to about ten or eleven clubs without ever following through with the majority of them I must admit.
As an impressionable 18-year-old, the allure of a free chocolate bar or pen upon signing up was too much to turn down. Times were tough.
I think the only club I properly joined was a buddy club to foreign students to the university where I befriended a ‘Frenchie’ for a semester.
Tell us about your own career journey?
Before starting out my HR journey, I actually did teaching for a couple of years in Abu Dhabi once I graduated.
I then moved up the road to Dubai to embark on a recruitment agency role with Irish multinational, Morgan McKinley, covering the banking and financial services space.
After seven years on the agency side, I switched to an in-house recruitment and talent acquisition role with American firm Gartner.
Gartner is the leading research and advisory firm in the tech space and a member of the S&P 500. In my role as a team lead with the company, I am primarily responsible for assessing and hiring talent across our offices in the Middle East, India and South Africa.
What has been a career highlight so far?
Not long after I joined Gartner, I was really lucky that I got to move into a new role which widened my recruitment remit beyond the Middle East and into India and South Africa.
The exposure to these new markets and working with our business leaders in these regions greatly widened my learning horizons. Ultimately it has helped me understand our business on a global scale and in turn that makes you a better assessor of talent.
How did your course and your overall UL experience benefit your career?
I think I have already touched upon some of the practical HR assessments we did that no doubt set me up for what was to come. Outside of that, I would have to say the presentations we had to do throughout our course was hugely advantageous for my career now.
Being able to communicate effectively to a group, get your message across and ultimately influence in a confident and coherent manner is a lifelong, universal skill no matter what domain or career you are in.
Lastly, UL brought my level of French along leaps and bounds. Whilst I don’t speak it as often as I would like being based in the UAE, it has helped me built important relationships here with my Francophonie colleagues and candidates in the region.
What are your plans for the future?
On a professional side, it is to continue on the leadership and coaching trajectory. I am enlisting in a leadership course in 2025 and this excites me.
On a personal level, I have my sights set on climbing Kilimanjaro. I also want to continue my travel adventures. We are fortunate being based in Dubai that we are only 3/4 hours from so many wonderful destinations.