Local employer, will you help get the fish into water?
Adwoa Frimpomaa-Afrane introduced her skills and experience in a workshop targeted to international talents and employers in Central Finland.
JCI Jyväskylä’s (Jyväskylän Nuorkauppakamari) International Talent project organized on 30.3.2023 a workshop titled ‘International talents for economic growth’. Expertise Centre’s Career Club Jyväskylä facilitators and participants joined this event to present their expertise. One of the participants, Adwoa Frimpomaa-Afrane, wrote about her thoughts on the topic.
Naturally, the habitat of a fish is in the ocean or the basic word ‘water’ and not land right? What will you do when you see lots of live fishes on land trying to find their way to their habitat? Will you help get the fish into or will you just watch unconcerned?
Now, that is not just any fish, but human. The life and living situation of immigrants and all international job seekers are like the illustration above. Finding yourself in a foreign country can be anything else coupled with the task of settling in; making local friends, finding decent jobs and ideal employers.
My advice to international jobseekers
As an international job seeker and beneficiary of Career Club Jyväskylä, I have learnt the importance of not just complaining but having a mindset shift and taking necessary actions including but not limited to intentionally scanning my environment. The idea of "there are no jobs or employers will not hire me because I am an international" is not always true so put yourself out there and make yourself known. It can be overwhelming to know where to start from, but my tip is: start from anywhere.
There is no harm in walking in to ask questions about organizations and whether or not they are hiring. Learning about the work culture of Finnish organizations is one key factor to being succesfully employed so decide to network. Go to events, visit organizations, make inquiries, join associations, make friends. Also, identify your strengths and maximize on it. Your experiences and skills are valuable: that’s part of the assets you have for the Finnish organization. New ideas, new talents are admired and needed!
A word for local employers
Let’s consider the bigger picture: as an employer maximizing or making profit is crucial to your organizations survival. However, one main aim of every business or organization is to promote economic growth. This has a lot to do with what business organizations in Finland produce, and international talents cannot be left out since no country is an Island.
As an employer, do you have a vision to expand your business or organization to other markets (go international)? Then think of recruiting international job seekers. With their home knowledge and expertise, you can have your business units established in other countries than Finland. What about gaining more markets in Finland or Jyvaskyla to be precise? Are you aware that this year there was over 54% increment in the number of internationals who moved to Finland for various reasons, including studies? (Source: migri.fi).
My question to the local employers is: will you help get the fish into water or will you just watch unconcerned? The city is welcoming new talents every year, and these are people ready to work with you, and settle, if only they are given the opportunity. Change of mindset and the fear of unknown can be done away with by orienting internationals about your expectations and goals. Sometimes, all that is needed is providing the right training and the right platform and atmosphere for the international job seeker to operate.
If all local employers could put themselves in the shoes of international job seekers, do you think there would be a change? Yes! I believe so. In making the world a better place, we ought to think and feel like the other person. Be assured that employing the international talent is not a waste of time. They may not do things like the Finns because, after all, they are not Finns. Embracing their unique qualities, experiences and skills while training them on the needs of the Finnish market makes them an asset to any business organization seeking to expand, hence a gain and not a loss.
- Adwoa Frimpomaa-Afrane , freelance writer for immigrants
See the JCI workshop video from YouTube: International Talent 3rd Workshop – JCI Jyväskylä. The part with Career Club Jyväskylä’s talents starts at 1.55.50.