Finding your Feet in Finland

For many international talents who live in another country, the journey can be as lonely as it is exciting. If everyday tasks such as grocery shopping and taking public transportation take on a new level of complexity, one can only imagine how exhausting it is to look for jobs, navigate bureaucracy and try and meet other people. Montana Baruah, a participant of the third round of Career Club who moved to Finland earlier this year, recalled that, “I think it was hard to find people of my own age or who had similar life experiences”.

Gaining peer-support and making connections was one of the main priorities for applicants of the Career Club, which ran from May 6 to June 17, 2022. Starting its fourth round in September, the Career Club is a career development programme for highly-educated talents in Espoo. Participants go beyond the standard tasks of writing cover letters by also focusing on their environment, goal setting and self-awareness. The goal of Career Club is to provide participants with the trifecta of skills, information and networks. And it seems to be working: 9/10 participants agreed that after the Career Club, they gained more agency, self-determination and the ability to develop their career sustainably in Finland.

Applications from previous rounds of Career Club had a variety of motivations for joining, the most common being networking, understanding the Finnish job market and working culture; support with writing cover letters and interviews, and guidance in their career path. One of the most mentioned reasons was to connect with a community of people in a similar situation. By the end of the round, a trusting, inclusive environment was built that, in Montana’s words, helped build “…a kind of family where I belong”.

Being able to share your experience with others in a similar situation is not only cathartic, but also vital to create a network and support system in Finland. As round three participant Noemí Gutiérrez Valdés stated: “Sometimes it’s so essential to have those spaces where you can complain about what is happening to you…share your experiences and maybe realise you’re not the only one having those problems”. I think it helps with your self-confidence…when you have a group of people supporting you, you get inspired by others” added Melek, a participant of round two who is now employed at Hyperion Robotics.

For international talents who are wondering about a career change in Finland, Career Club helps you take a step back and examine your goals and values from another perspective. According to Melek, “When you initially start looking (for jobs) in a new country and you feel like you need to go for a career change, especially if you have a non-technical job…through Career Club, I realised I didn’t need to change, through mapping my skills”. Melek used the skills she learned from Career Club when applying and interviewing for her current position.

As Career Club is an intensive, ten-week program, it is important that it can continuously adapt according to the needs and wishes of the participants. The flexibility of the programme impressed Melek, who noted that if participants wanted to focus on another topic or needed more clarification on something, the facilitators of the Career Club “…took the feedback from us and immediately started to apply it. I really liked that flexibility”.

When participants were asked about the most important thing they learned, answers varied between concrete skills and personal values. For Bismarck, a round three participant, it was the task-focused approach and taking accountability for actions that left the biggest impression on him; “if you say you’re going to do it you have to take it into account and do it”. Mehmet, a participant in both the second and third rounds, added “The most important thing that I learned was my own value, and how to express myself and what I am doing”. Anh, who participated in round two, said that the most important thing she learned was to be confident, as well her strengths and value in the Finnish job market.

Career Club is not a recruitment program and does not guarantee a job for participants. However, it has a big impact on employability and interview rates: The rate participants received one or more interviews rose by 60% after their Career Club participation. The amount of participants who evaluated their knowledge of job-hunting in Finland as “extremely good” rose by 50%. Noemí told, “I would definitely recommend the opportunity and would tell them it’s a commitment that they would do (for) themselves, to think about what they want to do. In a sense it’s not for everyone. it’s for people who are committed to their actual career development”. And this commitment pays off: out of 14 Career Club Alumni contacted, 8 are now employed, including Noemí in her new role at a Finnish pharmaceutical company.

So, how would participants describe Career Club to someone who’s considering joining? Anh summarised it perfectly: “It’s a programme that could change your career and attitude”. And Anh isn’t alone in her statement: 100% of past participants contacted said that Career Club has influenced their career development.

As of August 2022, 130 people have participated and 40 guests have been welcomed. The fourth round of the Career Club opens on 2.9 with 33 participants and will continue for 10 weeks. For those interested in Round 5 in March 2023, applications will open early next year.

Sign up to be informed of when applications open: Career Club community: Survey Powered by Webropol (webropolsurveys.com)(external link, opens in a new window)