The Awards

Entries for 2026 are now open!

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Click here to submit your entry.

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Who is eligible to enter?

Any graduate employer in Ireland, north and south, can enter regardless of size, annual intake or sector.

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‍How are the awards judged?

Entries must be submitted by Friday, 20 February 2026. Once the deadline passes, an independent adjudication process will be conducted, where carefully selected judges will score each entry and category. Their decision is final, and neither gradireland nor the adjudicators will enter into any correspondence regarding the decisions.

Alongside the expert panel awards, there are sector awards voted for by students through a national poll conducted by our research partner Cibyl, and the Graduate Employer of the Year Award, which you can enter if you are shortlisted in any of the award categories.

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‍What are the judging criteria?

Each award has specific judging criteria, detailed under each category below. Please adhere to these criteria, as they will directly influence the points awarded by the judges. Kindly ensure you do not exceed the specified word count for each criterion.

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How do I submit an entry/entries?‍

1. When you are ready, you can book and submit your entry here. You will be asked to log in to a secure platform to complete your entry online.

2. You may wish to include relevant supporting material (eg promotional material, photographs or links to video) with your submission. You may only submit five supporting materials. These can be uploaded when you complete the entry.

3. Shortlisted entries will be notified after the judging has taken place.

4. All entries must be submitted by Friday, 20 February 2026.

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Expert Panel Awards - How are shortlists and winners decided on?

Each judge assigns points to submissions based on how well they meet the specified award criteria. Details on how points are allocated and any associated weighting are explained for each award category in the entry booklet and on the submission portal. Judges place particular importance on quantified results, hard evidence, and data. After scoring, the judges’ scores are compiled, and the highest-scoring submissions in each category are discussed. Supporting materials can be submitted, but will only be used to differentiate between shortlisted entries. Therefore, focus primarily on your core submission.

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The Sector Awards - Voted for by Students

The winner of each award is selected through an online student poll managed by our research partner Cibyl. In 2025, we recorded over 15,000 student votes from across 45 universities. All shortlisted organisations are also eligible to compete for the Graduate Employer of the Year Award. These awards recognise the most popular graduate recruiters, which are detailed below under the Student Voted Awards.

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How much does it cost to enter

There is no charge for submitting entries to the gradireland Graduate Recruitment Awards 2026.