u/Ok_Echo_6226

Hi everyone, I'm hoping to get some honest advice from people who know the Irish job market well.

I'm Vietnamese, in my 30s, and I'm moving to Ireland soon on a Stamp 4 visa as my husband is an Irish citizen. We'll be living Co. Meath.

A bit about my background:

• 8 years in B2B sales in Vietnam, working for well-known international companies in industrial tools and metal cutting tools

• Used Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and SAP daily in my roles

• English major from National Economics University in Vietnam, fluent English

• Basic Mandarin Chinese

• Strong communication skills, resilient — sales is genuinely what I enjoy

• Constantly hit the targets

My situation when I arrive:

• My husband works as a social care worker at a residential home and I'll likely start there as a support worker to get Irish work experience, driver licences and references

• I have about 10 months before I arrive, which I'm using to study — HubSpot, Power BI, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and Irish driving theory

My concern is this: I know the Irish job market has softened a bit recently, especially in tech. I'm worried that without Irish work experience, employers might overlook me even with 8 years of solid B2B sales experience at well-known international brands. Is the "no Irish experience" thing still a real barrier in 2026, especially in sales roles?

My longer term goal is to move into an Account Manager or Sales role in a multinational. I'm happy to start from the bottom and work my way up.

A few specific questions:

1. Is B2B sales experience from well-known global brands respected by Irish employers, even if gained outside Ireland?

2. Are Account Manager or Sales roles genuinely in demand right now or is it also getting competitive?

3. Would you recommend going back to study (postgrad in Business or Sales Management) or is experience more valued in sales careers in Ireland?

4. Any honest advice about what Vietnamese or Asian professionals specifically face in the Irish job market that I should be prepared for?

I'd really appreciate any honest feedback — positive or critical. I want to go in with realistic expectations, not just optimism. Thanks so much.

Edit: Thank everyone for all the advice. I really appreciate it 🙏 I would want to add more detail: my current base salary is around 20k, bonus 5-10k. Its kinda okay salary in Vietnam compared to other profession, that's why I work in sales. From what I see it might be a little different in Ireland that sales would make the same as other jobs, so I would also be open to study different things based on my experience and strengths except for profession like mechanical engineering, IT, doctors, accounting...

Hi everyone, I'm hoping to get some honest advice from people who know the Irish job market well.

I'm Vietnamese, in my 30s, and I'm moving to Ireland soon on a Stamp 4 visa as my husband is an Irish citizen. We'll be living Co. Meath.

A bit about my background:

• 8 years in B2B sales in Vietnam, working for well-known international companies in industrial tools and metal cutting tools

• Used Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and SAP daily in my roles

• English major from National Economics University in Vietnam, fluent English

• Basic Mandarin Chinese

• Strong communication skills, resilient — sales is genuinely what I enjoy

• Constantly hit the targets

My situation when I arrive:

• My husband works as a social care worker at a residential home and I'll likely start there as a support worker to get Irish work experience, driver licences and references

• I have about 10 -12 months before I arrive, which I'm using to study — HubSpot, Power BI, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and Irish driving theory

My concern is this: I know the Irish job market has softened a bit recently, especially in tech. I'm worried that without Irish work experience, employers might overlook me even with 8 years of solid B2B sales experience at well-known international brands. Is the "no Irish experience" thing still a real barrier in 2026, especially in sales roles?

My longer term goal is to move into an Account Manager or BDM role in a multinational company. I'm not trying to rush it. I'm happy to start from the bottom and work my way up.

A few specific questions:

1. Is B2B sales experience from well-known global brands respected by Irish employers, even if gained outside Ireland?

2. Are Account Manager and sales roles genuinely in demand right now or is it also getting competitive?

3. Would you recommend going back to study (postgrad in Business or Sales Management) or is experience more valued in sales careers in Ireland? Or any career, I'm willing to learn. I'm a quick learner, strong in customer relationship management, presentation...

4. Any honest advice about what Vietnamese or Asian professionals specifically face in the Irish job market that I should be prepared for?

I'd really appreciate any honest feedback — positive or critical. I want to go in with realistic expectations, not just optimism.

Thanks so much.