The job hunting odyssey in Finland

Shashank loves to write and photograph the beautiful world around us.

Voit lukea jutun myös suomeksi käännettynä: Työnmetsästäjän seikkailuretki Suomessa

About a year ago, when I was on my flight crossing the Gulf of Finland, I imagined a lot of things that Finland would be like, and a lot of things that it wouldn’t:  I knew that I was entering a frozen land, filled with fun slides on the snow, and the spellbinding sight of icicle filled trees. On the other hand, I did not imagine that finding a job here in Finland would be as hard as getting Gimli and Legolas to initially co-operate with each other! But as we know, they ended up being the best of friends and travelled together all over Middle-Earth long after the One Ring was destroyed.

When I think about my job hunt, I often think about how each member of the Fellowship of the Ring had their own unique skills and background stories. Neither one could carry the Ring to Mount Doom on their own, but they could achieve it only through their collaborative efforts. In a sense, this highlights the importance of networking and putting forward your own skills and information, while also benefiting from others’ skills and information.

 
In the beginning of my “job hunt odyssey”, I believed that my CV would result in me getting a job. It turns out that the most important thing in Finland (as in the fellowship of the ring) is not how many skills you have on a piece of paper, but rather, if you can, as a person, be trusted to do the job given to you! Furthermore, just as Frodo didn’t truly appreciate Aragorn until he chose to give up the Ring, our future employers do not know who we truly are – It is not that we do not have the skills, but rather that they do not know that we have the skills!

I hold a Phd in Engineering Mechanics (with a specialisation in fluid dynamics), and I reside in Jyväskylä with my wife and 6-month-old daughter. I am looking for jobs in companies (R&D sector) that are as passionate as I am in mechanical engineering, and in “engineering” solutions to complex real-world problems. I am aided in my job hunt by an excellent group of people at the Expertise Centre for Immigrants, who, like Gandalf, offer sound guidance and support through one-on-one introspections of my profile. I was also fortunate enough to be part of Jyväskylä’s first ever Career club, where we were taught to reflect on who we were as individuals, and to practise our networking skills, job application and interview skills!

My job hunting odyssey continues, for now. But, every small step that I take yields a greater insight into the work culture in Finland, and brings me closer to finding a job here!

- Shashank H.J., Ph.D, Passionate about Fluid Dynamics and crazy about Lord of the Rings

Employer, if you are interested in Shashank's skills, please, see his cv.

Shashank and many other highly educated job seekers search for jobs with the help of the Expertise Centre, for instance, in our Career Club Jyväskylä group. They are professionals in, among others, IT, science, business, marketing, education and social sciences, with knowledge of many languages.

• Are you searching for a new employee who could be one of them? Please, contact Tirre Hentinen, tel.  050 576 4769 or tirre.hentinen[at]jyvaskyla.fi