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Finnish
Job Application, CV, & Interview Tips
Finding
Work in Finland
Additional
Information
Add your résumé
to the CV
Bank
Ministry of Labour Job
Vacancies (in Finnish & Swedish only)
Finnish
Job Application, CV, & Interview Tips
Before looking for work:
- Assess the Finnish equivalent of your qualifications
(here)
- Have your qualifications and documents translated
into Finnish
Job application (covering letter)
and CV / résumé - use Finnish standards!
- The covering letter should be concise - preferably
1 page
- Customise the letter to address the interests of
the employer
- The CV / résumé should be 1 - 2 pages
including:
- personal and contact information
- relevant employment history and educational
background in reverse chronological order
- computer and/or programming and language skills
(if applicable)
- special skills & positions of responsibility
- hobbies (not always necessary)
- reference contacts
- DO NOT exaggerate - to a Finn it's the same as lying
- DO add letters after your name if you have them;
Finns like qualifications
- A summary of your life is NOT required
- A photo is not expected
Sample documents:
The Career Services unit of the Helsinki University
of Technology offers downloadable PDF samples of:
Covering
Letter - Structure and Content
CV
- graduate
CV
- undergraduate
| Can't read PDF's? |
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Job
interview - be Finnish!
Apart from global techniques* for success,
consider the Finnish culture and try the following:
- Be direct and state facts
- Show confidence, but don't show off
- Be concise - Finns think "babbling" is
ridiculous
- Do not exaggerate - to a Finn it's the same as lying
- Use Finnish language if you can - even a little
is good
- *Spherion.com provides a good guide
to successful interviews
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Advertised Positions
The reality appears to
be that most good jobs are taken before they ever get
to the point of being advertised; word of mouth goes
a long way here and having the right connections is
invaluable. For the few remaining jobs competition is
high and of a high standard. However, rewards come to
those with sisu (tenacity)!
Here are some good places to start your
job-hunt:
- Newspapers - in Helsinki try the Helsingin Sanomat,
Metro, or 100-lehti
- The Finnish Ministry of Labour Employment Service
has over 8000 vacancies listed - click
for more information
- Europe-wide jobs are advertised at the EURES (European
Employment Services) portal, which features a comprehensive
search engine - click
for more information
- Television - if you can speak Finnish try teletext
(page 521 on YLE) which lists job vacancies in Finnish.
Certain programmes (e.g. Avoimet työpaikat)
also advertise jobs.
- notice-boards at educational institutions - you
can get lucky here!
Finnish Employment & Recruitment
Services
The Employment
& Recruitment Services section lists a number
of private employment agencies and services
where you can search job boards, submit CV's, request
specific positions etc.
EURES CV-Search is a
meeting point for employers and job-seekers; job-seekers
can post their CV's, and employers can look for suitable
applicants and get in touch with them easily -click
for more information.
The Finnish Ministry of Labour Employment
Service can help you find work, plan a career and much
more - click
for more information.
Direct Submissions
Many people find success
with direct submissions: Go through the Yellow Pages
looking for companies in the field you're interested
in. All of them! A successful company will not necessarily
have a large advertisement.
Either call the companies
and make employment enquiries or send them a speculative
application - the Career Services unit of the Helsinki
University of Technology offers a downloadable PDF sample:
Speculative
application
See also: Expat
Finland's CV Bank
| Can't read PDF's? |
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Networking
Networking is very important
- it's rather like "a foot in the door". You
can become known in your field of interest/expertise,
hear about jobs before they are advertised, maybe even
get recommended for a position. Don't disregard anyone
you know as a potential link to employment; let them
all know you're interested, and ask them to keep the
feelers out.
Joining appropriate discussion
boards on the Web can also be helpful (for example the
Expat
Finland forum or the very active Finland
Forum). You'll hear invaluable advice, learn from
others' experiences etc. Even if you don't find work,
you'll probably hear about a party or two to take your
mind off it!
Advertise Yourself
Try placing a free advertisement at Expat
Finland's CV Bank or the increasingly popular http://www.expatriates.com.
Start Your Own Business
The procedure for doing
this in Finland is becoming increasingly transparent,
and it's not expensive to set up a sole proprietorship
(toiminimi). So, if you have skills you think you could
market, this is definitely an option! We have a whole
section on it: Entrepreneurship
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