If you have ever been job hunting, I´m sure you have been told to network. If you have tried to find a job in Finland, you have probably heard that most jobs here are “hidden” and found via networks (1). You might even have first-hand experience that knowing someone has opened the doors for you. There is no doubt that networks are hugely important when looking for work. But where to find these important networks if you are new in the country and feel like you don´t know anyone? 

When I talk about the importance of networks with my career coaching clients, I quite often face a belief that networking means contacting random people and asking them to help you, or even to give you a job. If this has been your method too, you have probably faced mainly silence in respond. Networks build on trust (2) and in general people are more willing to help someone they already know. If you are too direct with your requests for help, it can turn against you (3). Building personal networks that are based on trust takes time (4) and unfortunately, there are no shortcuts. However, there are ways to start, even from the scratch, and here are three steps for you to get started. 

Step 1: Get involved  

Even if your main goal for networking is finding a job, don´t be too focused on purely professional networks (or the lack of them). All personal networks matter, so get involved with people also in other areas of life. If you are new in the country, it can sometimes be easier to start with other social networks, than the professional ones. It´s good to remember that everyone you meet, new friends, neighbors, the girl from the Finnish class, the guy from the cooking class or football team, has their own personal and professional networks. You never know who they might be able to connect you with. 

A study done by Rolle Alho showed that international students have formed important networks to the majority population for example by volunteering, attending networking events and meeting people in their hobbies (5). So, start with finding something meaningful to do, volunteer, study, find a hobby and participate social events. 

• Read more about different study possibilities in Metropolia and elsewhere  
• Course selection in adult education centers in capital area – Ilmonet 
• Sportsnetwork connects people organizing sports & activities with those searching for groups to join. 
• Find a mentor from Luckan´s Fika programme 

Step 2: Find ways to help others

As mentioned before, networks are built on trust and the key ingredients of social networking are trust and reciprocity (7). Instead of focusing on how others can help you, think about ways you could help others. What skills, knowledge, and expertise do you have that could be beneficial to someone else? Could you use your professional expertise to help someone? Helping others can also be a great way of getting references that you can use in your job search later. You may even find potential future customers! Volunteering for NGOs and other associations can also be a great way of networking (6). 

• General information about volunteering in Finland by InfoFinland 
• Finnish development NGO´s on Fingo 
• Facebook group: Volunteer Finland 

Step 3: Be interested in others

I think we all agree that it feels quite nice when someone is showing genuine interest towards us. When they ask questions and pay attention to what we say. When they want to hear about our career stories or the tips or advice we can give. You just simply get a nice feeling about a person who is nice to you. When building networks, be that nice person! Pay attention to others and show interest. Instead of asking for direct help, ask how they did it. Listen and learn from the experiences of others. Whenever you have a chance, say something polite and encouraging. Forbes Councils Member Paul Schaut summarises it well in his blog post:  The art of networking is about following the golden rule — treating others how you want to be treated. “ 

Sources:

1. Sitra (2017). Työelämätutkimus 2017: Somen kautta voi löytää töitä tai tulla löydetyksi https://www.sitra.fi/uutiset/tyoelamatutkimus-2017-yli-puolet-suomalaisista-vahtanut-ammattia-tai-alaa/ 
2. Poutanen, M. (2011). Verkostot väylänä työelämään. Master’s Thesis. Helsinki University. https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/26098/Verkostot%20vaylana%20tyoelamaan.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y 
3. Schaut, P. (2021) The art of networking: It Comes Down To The Golden Rule. Forbes Technology Council. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/12/08/the-art-of-networking-it-comes-down-to-the-golden-rule/?sh=2c824d7b7d54 
4. Finnwards (2020) Job hunting In Finland: the importance of networks in job hunting in Finland. Blog post. https://www.finnwards.com/working-in-finland/job-hunting-in-finland-the-importance-of-networks/ 
5. Alho, R. (2020). ‘You Need to Know Someone Who Knows Someone’: International Students’ Job Search Experiences: Array. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.v10i2.120817 
6. Alho, R. (2020). ‘You Need to Know Someone Who Knows Someone’: International Students’ Job Search Experiences: Array. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.v10i2.120817 
7. Finnwards (2020) Job hunting In Finland: the importance of networks in job hunting in Finland. Blog post. https://www.finnwards.com/working-in-finland/job-hunting-in-finland-the-importance-of-networks/ 

Blogger: 

Riia Hoppania works as a Career Coach in Metropolia SIMHE services supporting highly educated immigrants with their employment and study paths in Finland. She is working in a collaboration project with the employment services of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa-Kerava to increase employment among international professionals in the Helsinki region.  

 

 

One of Finland’s largest ever mergers and acquisitions, the purchase of Wolt by DoorDash (1), in November 2021 created a huge buzz again around the startup scene in Finland. With such record-breaking deals, it is easy to think that only few extraordinarily brilliant business minds could manage entrepreneurship and founding a startup.  

In the best-case scenario, with hard work, a clever idea and some luck, your business can indeed turn into a unicorn like Wolt. However, as an entrepreneur, you set the goals for your business. The unique appeal of entrepreneurship is that it can take different forms based on your interests and expertise.  

No matter what your vision for your business is, the Helsinki capital region is an ideal setting for developing your business idea. You certainly have plenty of support available around you.  

Should I? Could I? — Plunge into the idea of entrepreneurship 

The first step is to ask yourself: could entrepreneurship be something for me? We all start from somewhere, and baby steps are allowed along the way. Your skills and competence will grow by seeking information, experience and feedback.  

Once you have your business idea, you can determine the scale of your endeavour. You can start with anything from light entrepreneurship to visionary business-building with global reach. Entrepreneurship incorporates a huge variety of options.  

When contemplating the thought, you can explore the forms of enterprises in Finland e.g.  

• on the InfoFinland website or   
• in the Guide for Becoming an Entrepreneur on the NewCo Helsinki website.  

Polish the key: your attitude 

Secondly, as an entrepreneur, you need to be prepared to work on your attitude.  

In speaking with business and talent advisors and startup entrepreneurs, three main themes tend to come up: flexibility, openness, and adaptability.   

Teemu Seppälä, a Business Advisor for NewCo Helsinki, offers that to be successful as an entrepreneur, you need to find the balance of being open to feedback and confidence in your vision.  

Of course, any successful entrepreneur needs to have confidence in their abilities and, in some sense, be slightly stubborn. But as Teemu summarises his experience of working with thousands of startups, “you need to be open to feedback and criticism.” This fail-fast mentality fosters quicker development and can help you crystallise your ideas, product, or initiative (2).  

Echoing Teemu’s advice, Jochen Faugel, an experienced business coach and current Project Planner for the City of Helsinki initiative The Spouse Program, emphasises a similar must: “Learn from others, ask for advice, and appreciate all kinds of feedback; good and bad. Because success is not about having a great concept but your ability to implement it.” 

Satomi Peltola, one of the founders of the Finnish zero-waste culinary startup Misola, stresses that openness not only represents being open to feedback from others but also a willingness to ask questions. As she says, “The City of Helsinki offers many services and support for entrepreneurs. When getting help, I decided early on not to be afraid of being embarrassed or looking ignorant.” 

No matter how well you draft your business plan, surprises tend to come along. “It is critical to be flexible and adaptable when becoming an entrepreneur. Not everything goes as planned, so you need to be willing to adjust to what comes your way.”, pinpoints Bahman Doaeian, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of the MedTech startup Phonolyser. 

Build up your know-how through business advising services

Thirdly, like Satomi points out, the region provides you with a wide range of services — thanks to strong national and regional commitment. Discover and utilise these services! 

The burgeoning startup scene in the Helsinki region is internationally renowned. The vibrancy of the scene is crucial to the cities in the region as well. Thus, they heavily invest in leveraging their entrepreneurs’ success. In practice, this translates into high-quality public services available for you, free of charge.  

For example, the City of Helsinki has committed to being a “hotbed of business opportunity in Europe.” As the recently released Helsinki City Strategy for 2021-2025 explains, “Helsinki must be an enticing place for testing out new solutions in an urban environment. We effectively arrange innovation competitions, funds, and other tools.”  

A vital component of the City of Helsinki’s entrepreneurial initiatives is NewCo Helsinki.  

NewCo Helsinki is there to help you get started and to support you throughout your entrepreneurial journey. Their business advisors guide from translating your initial ideas into a business plan, starting a business, acquiring funding and even potentially taking your business abroad. You can book one-to-one sessions, join their numerous multilingual events and explore the extensive material bank available to you online. 

In the neighbouring cities similar services are provided by e.g. EnterpriseEspoo and YritysVantaa. 

The strong commitment reaches through to the national level as well. E.g. Business Finland creates a backbone for success with its services such as funding, support functions and information resources. It has developed for example a Startup Kit and launched with Finnish Immigration Service the Startup Permit for entrepreneurs who move to Finland. National funding is channelled also through TE services as startup grants for new entrepreneurs.  

You indeed have plenty to explore. 

Unlock the strength of the startup community through networks 

You definitely do not have to walk alone as an entrepreneur in the Helsinki region. The local startup community is known for its strong networks and geared to supporting each other to excel. The community is also highly international. 

Networks help you to develop your business know-how and to evaluate your business concept. Check out for example the following ways to build your networks and skills:  

• Maria 01 campus: The leading startup campus in the Nordics provides its members with the tools, working spaces and knowledge for developing their businesses. The hub focuses on tech startups and investors. Recently Maria 01 was awarded with the Internationalisation Award for the year 2021 by the president of Finland. 
• Coaching and training services and networking events such as those organised by Startup Refugees and The Shortcut
  
• Free entrepreneurship courses such as the Entrepreneurship Course by Startup Refugees and the Aalto University online course Starting Up developed in collaboration with Reaktor, Kiuas, Maki.vc and Aalto Ventures Program
  
• Open working spaces, such as Startup Sauna 
• Startup accelerator and incubator programs and centers, such as Kiuas, Urban Tech Helsinki by the City of Helsinki, Aalto University, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and University of Helsinki, and Health Incubator Helsinki 
• Mentoring programs, such as the Mentorisi.fi program (for members of the interest and service organisation for small and medium-sized enterprises Suomen Yrittäjät)
  

And yes, Helsinki is home of Slush, one of the world’s leading startup and tech events. Slush is all about world-class networking with your colleagues, investors and just about anybody interested in new trends. 

Are you a student? Build up your entrepreneurship skills already during your studies! 

Finally, if you are a student in a Finnish higher education institution, explore the opportunities available to you in your institution. As it happens, also higher education institutions want to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in their students.  

Your time as a student is a valuable opportunity to not just develop your know-how, but to also build up your networks and try out new things with a low threshold.  

For instance, the Wolt CEO Miki Kuusi started his startup career already as a student, harnessing the drive of a creative student community to launch the now already renowned startup networking hubs Startup sauna and Slush (3). Having fun with your friends can turn into something meaningful! 

Often you have access for example to 

• entrepreneurship courses and workshops 
• courses developing your innovation thinking 
• student entrepreneurship societies 
• events and hackathons 
• startup incubator programmes. 

Again, the cities collaborate with higher education institutions to encourage entrepreneurship through e.g. joint events, workshops and new initiatives. For instance, in January 2022 the City of Helsinki announced a new network of business incubators collaborating with the region’s higher education institutions, Aalto University, University of Helsinki and Metropolia.  

As Jussi Laine, Project Manager of the Campus Incubators programme, says, “My goal is to create a framework on behalf of the city that enables sharing best practices between institutions and bringing the city’s special expertise close to the institutions’ incubator activities”. The Campus Incubators programme strives to create 100 new companies annually by connecting top researchers, the Helsinki region’s startup ecosystem, and students in higher education. 

Next: write your story in the business ecosystem of the Helsinki region! 

To sum it up, you are in the place to be for gathering up the courage and knowledge to start your business.  

In fact, the Helsinki region ranks among the top 20 emerging startup ecosystems in the world (4). Precisely the scope of funding for startups, talented workforce and the strong startup network are seen as an asset for the region (5).  

There is room for everyone in the Finnish entrepreneurship thinking. While successful startup entrepreneurs can become rock stars of the business world attracting top talents’ eye to Finland, the vast majority of Finnish companies, 93 %, are small enterprises employing less than 10 people (6).  

On the other hand, Finnish entrepreneurship is internationalising also in terms of ownership. The number of immigrant-owned enterprises has grown dramatically in the past two decades. Immigrants’ self-employment rate is nowadays similar to natives.  (7.) 

Dive in or simply just start by dipping your toes into the ocean of entrepreneurship. By trusting in your own skills and expertise, remaining open to failure, and utilising the resources and networks of the capital region, you can find the style of entrepreneurship that best fits you. 

Writers:

Vejay Nair is a Project Planner for the City of Helsinki and a Communication Specialist from International House Helsinki. He relocated to Helsinki 5 years ago from San Francisco, USA, and completed his MA in Intercultural Encounters from the University of Helsinki in 2019. 

Marika Antikainen is a Project Planner in Metropolia. She works in a collaboration project with the employment services of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa-Kerava to increase employment among international professionals in the Helsinki region. 

Sources: 

1. Levingston, I. & David, R. 2021. Wolt’s $8 Billion DoorDash Sale Joins Largest Finland Deals. Bloomberg. Published on 10 November 2021. 
2. Giles, S. 2018. How To Fail Faster — And Why You Should. Forbes. Published on 30 April 2018.
3. Armstrong, S. 2015. The 2015 WIRED 100: Miki Kuusi (No.32). The Wired. Published on 29 Juy 2015. 
4. Startup Genome 2021. Rankings 2021: Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021. Published on 22 September 2021. 
5. Startup Genome: Finland – Greater Helsinki. Viewed on 22 December 2021. 
6. Suomen Yrittäjät. Entrepreneurship in Finland. Viewed on 22 December 2021. 
7. Fornaro, P. 2018. Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Finland. ETLA Raportit – Reports 83. ETLA Economic Research. Published on 13 September 2018.  

We all have skills and strengths, but it’s not always easy to see close and recognise what we are good at. Especially if getting constantly rejected in job search, or having a longer gap in the resume, the focus can easily shift from the skills you have to those you lack. When you are under evaluation or in a competitive situation, it is quite natural to feel uncertain about your strengths (1). 

However, recognising your skills, and also your development needs, is absolutely crucial when you are searching for a job and building your career: 

• To be successful in job search you need to be able to communicate your skills to the employers.  
• To guide your career in a desired direction, you need to recognise the skills gaps and development needs you might have, and find a way to learn the skills needed. 
• Recognising your skills will give you new ideas and help you find new ways on how and where to use your skills. 
  

Skills come in many shapes and forms

There are many ways of categorising and labelling skills. You might have heard about hard skills and soft skills (2), employability skills (3), future skills needs (4) and so on. All kinds of skills are important, but these kinds of categories can help you to identify the skills you have.  

One commonly used categorisation is to make a distinction between job-specific (5) and transferable skills (6). 

• Job-specific skills are the skills required to be able to work in certain profession or certain field. For example, if you work as an architect you need CAD skills. As a teacher, pedagogical skills are crucial for you to be able to do your work. 

• Transferable skills are skills that are relevant to any job, no matter the professional field or the title. You can take transferable skills with you from one job to another. For instance, communication skills and analytical skills are relevant to an engineer as well as to a teacher and a marketing professional. Transferable skills are especially important to recognise if you are just starting your career or changing careers. These are typically situations in which you might not necessarily yet have a lot of concrete work experience in the field you are applying to.

You develop new skills throughout life

Skills are not something you learn only in school or while working. You gain new skills also when volunteering, while participating in social activities, in your hobbies and personal projects and just by living your everyday life. For example, while staying at home and taking care of your children, you might learn skills like patience, handling unexpected situations, negotiation skills and flexibility. When adapting to a new country and culture, one typically develops curiosity, productivity and resilience (7,8). Job search, then again, might improve your self-knowledge, networking skills and perseverance, for example. 

As you start identifying your skills, it’s good to remember that you don’t need to be an expert on something to be able to say that you have that skill. According to Blooms Taxonomy  learning starts with remembering and understanding. After that you will move on to applying, analysing, evaluating and creating. So, you can be on a beginners’ level with some skills (you understand the skill, and you can maybe even apply it a little) and on an expert level with others (you are fluent in applying the skill and you can even analyse and evaluate it). (9) Skills will develop as you get to use them (10).

How to get started with identifying your key strengths, skills and competencies?

Luckily, a lot of tools and methods are available ‒ for free ‒ to help you identify and put your key skills and competences into words.  

1. Take a quiz. To recognise your personal strengths, try The VIA Survey of Character Strengths. The test is based on theories of positive psychology and it can give ideas on where your personal strengths lie. However, tests shoud always be taken with caution and critical review: they do not necessarily provide the ultimate truth, but should rather be used for ideas and inspiration on your journey. 
2. Ask a friend.  It’s usually a whole lot easier to see skills in others rather than in yourself. Be bold and ask someone who knows you well to give you feedback on your skills. You can find some ideas on how to do this on the SITRA website. 
3. Review your biggest achievements. When we achieve something, we have used our skills and strengths to get there. Think about your biggest achievements. These can be related to work, family, hobbies, studies, anything you consider to be an achievement for you. What did you do and what skills did you use to make the achievement possible? 
4. Use tools like SkiLLfie by University of Eastern Finland or Mid-life skills review by Ossi työelämäverkko-opisto. These tools will help you to make your skills visible to yourself. The SkiLLfie tool will even help you to evaluate the level of your skills. 
5. Study job ads and company web pages. These can offer you detailed information about the skills demands in companies, and give you information about the skills you need to develop next. However, it’s important to remember that you can apply for the job even if you don’t have all the skills the companies are asking for.  
6. Compare your skills to the skills requirements of your field. Trade unions and other influencer organisations can provide a lot of information about the skill requirements in your field, see for example Osaamispulssi by Technology Industries of Finland. You can also check the Deck of Skills Cards (PDF) for sector specific needs in Finland. These cards list the growing and key skills needs in each sector in 2035.  
7. Use curricula in your field of study to compare your skills to those of graduates in your field. European and Finnish higher education institutions tend to describe in the curricula the skills and competences each degree provides. 
8. Recognise the impact of your international experience. If you have international experience, Hidden Competences research by Demos Helsinki and CIMO, that is now part of Finnish National Agency for Education, is definitely an interesting read on the topic. Living, studying and working in another culture and country might have given you skills such as cultural knowledge, language skills, tolerance, curiosity, resilience and productivity. 
9. Seek guidance. You can, for example, book a one-on-one guidance discussion with Metropolia’s SIMHE career coaches and get help with identifying your skills and competence as well as your strengths and development needs. Other organisations such as other higher education institutions offering SIMHE services, trade unions in your field and employment services can also offer career guidance services.
   

Recognising skills is one of the top skills of the future

As the skills demands of work are constantly changing we also need to adapt and focus on developing new kind of skills. The report Osaaminen 2035 (PDF) by Finnish National Agency for Education shows that the skills earlier considered as “soft”, skills like creativity and problem-solving, are actually the hard skills of the future. It is not easy to predict which skills are “the must-have skills” in the future, but for example ability to learn and to develop personal competencies is definitely one of the most important ones. (11) Furthermore, the ability to recognise our skills is part of the general knowledge of the future (12).  

According to Towards lifelong learning report (PDF) by SITRA, making skills and competencies visible and utilising one’s strengths is important not only to individuals, but also to communities. It’s about participation, involvement, agency and wellbeing. How we see our skills and what we think we are capable of doing will define our careers and future goals. (13)  

As the skills needs for work are constantly evolving, also your own skills set develops and changes over time. You use your skills, learn new ones and forget others. In the end, recognising your skills is also just another skill that can be learned, so let’s just get started! 

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom – Aristotle 

 

Are you interested in transferable skills and future skills needs? Read also our previous blog post by Marika Antikainen on the importance of sustainability in the future. 

 

Sources:

1. Saatko osaamisesi esiin? 7 havaintoa taitojen tunnistamisesta. SITRA. Viewed on 8 November 2021. 
2. Hard skills vs. soft skills: What’s the difference. The Balance Careers. Viewed on 8 November 2021.  
3. What Are Employability Skills ‒ Definition & examples of Employability Skills. The Balance Careers. Viewed on 8 November 2021. 
4. Osaaminen 2035. National Forum for Skills Anticipation. The Finnish National Agency for Education. Raportit ja selvitykset 2019:3. Summary available in English. 2019. 
5. What Are Job-Specific Skills? The Balance Careers. Viewed on 5 November 2021. 
6. What Are Transferable Skills? The Balance Careers. Viewed on 5 November 2021.   
7. Hidden Competences. CIMO/Finnish National Agency of Education. Viewed on 8 November 2021. 
8. Hidden Competences publication (PDF). CIMO/Finnish National Agency of Education and the think tank Demos Helsinki. Published on 1/2014. 
9. What is Blooms Taxonomy. Blooms Taxonomy. Viewed on 8 November 2021. 
10. Saatko osaamisesi esiin? 7 havaintoa taitojen tunnistamisesta. SITRA. Viewed on 8 November 2021. 
11. Osaaminen 2035. National Forum for Skills Anticipation. Finnish National Agency for Education. Raportit ja selvitykset 2019:3. Summary available in English. 2019. 
12. Reveal your skills. SITRA. Viewed on 8 November 2021. 
13. Towards lifelong learning report (PDF). SITRA. Published on 3/2019. 

 

Blogger:

Riia Hoppania works as a Career Coach in Metropolia SIMHE services. Before Metropolia Riia worked as a Career Coach in employment services in Vantaa. Riia has done specialisation studies in career planning and has certificates in solution-focused coaching and life coaching. Riia has a degree in business administration and she did her first career in retail and business where she worked as a manager for years.