Changing Circumstances: Accessing Resources for Years to Come for Immigrants, Entrepreneurs & Immigrant Entrepreneurs
No matter how long you spend in Finland, there will always be new experiences. It is a very similar situation for new entrepreneurs. New situations need new information and solutions. Having lived in Finland for almost 20 years, I know that there are still things that come up where I have absolutely no idea what to do. What I have learned in all these years, is where to start looking for the answer. In the information age, this is one of the most important skills you can have. We don’t need to know all the information at once; in fact, we wouldn’t be able to process all the information even if we heard it. A lot of things are unnecessary until they are necessary. If you arrive in country as a single, independent student, you don’t need to understand the daycare system, and in entrepreneurship, understanding how to take a company internationally is not the first thing you will learn in your entrepreneurial journey. This is the same situation for immigrants and entrepreneurs all over the world. Whole-life Events Just like integration, entrepreneurship is a whole-life event. As an immigrant, no matter what you are doing to subsidise your life, this means two things: You will be creating a whole life for you and your family – not just the hours you study at an institution or work at a job. You will spend your whole life integrating.And in parallel, as an entrepreneur, your time is now not bought by an employer but can now take far more of your daily time to create. You are only stopped by the limits that you impose on yourself. As every new challenge comes your way, you will need to figure out how to address it. Some of the challenges you might find yourself facing as an immigrant are: finding housing accessing healthcare services searching for jobs becoming an entrepreneur finding ways to spend your leisure time learning Finnish or Swedish dealing with emergencies finding and completing further education understanding the primary education system As an entrepreneur, you are seeking help with: concepting an idea testing your ideas learning new software learning how to understand your potential market and customers building a customer base designing and re-designing offers building a website understanding how to utilise different social media channels for selling and brand building accounting deciding which tasks to delegate and which services to buy from others AS previously stated, no one resource will help you in all these situations, understanding where to find these resources that can help you with all of these questions is a very big step in the right direction. Support During Studies When you come to Finland as a student, there is a good chance that you have come alone, and you are ready for all kinds of adventures. You will also be lucky enough to have a general support system that the institution provides. This is great and it can really help you to settle in and find your feet. Then you graduate, a celebratory event which also means big changes in your life. When you are a student there are many services that you do not need to seek outside the institution. It is possible that as an alumnus, you can access certain institutional services, so make sure that you check with your former institution to see what is still accessible for both your immigrant journey and your entrepreneurial one. Staying in Finland After Studying Once you have finished your education, you may be looking for a more permanent job (possibly different than the one you have done while at school if you have been working) or to expand on any entrepreneurial thoughts you may have had during your studies. These, again, are slightly different sets of skills and resources that you will need. A good place to find both information about your new situation in life and even entrepreneurship is the Newcomer’s Guide (pdf) produced by the Cities of Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa. The label ‘Newcomer’ is too narrow, in my opinion, for the information that it contains. You definitely need some of this information when you first arrive, but it is helpful to refer to the guide at different stages of your life in Finland. The Newcomer’s Guide also has advice on where to look for different kinds of employment, including entrepreneurship and a review of the startup ecosystem. Being gainfully employed is a huge part of many people’s integration. Sometimes that requires you to start your own company. There is a whole ecosystem in the capital area for this and the guide helps to explain it. In the near future, there will also be an online service that Metropolia UAS and the City of Helsinki are currently developing that will help aspiring or budding entrepreneurs to find the right path through their entrepreneurial journey. In order to further your understanding of what is currently available to you as an entrepreneur, you can read my previous Various Variables blog post Entrepreneurship – Using Your Skills in Different Ways and this previous blog post by Vejay Nair & Marika Antikainen. My own experience For myself, I reflected on what contexts I have inhabited during these past 20 years in Finland. I have been: a single exchange student (with no dependents) a married person (to a Finn) a degree student a married parent a divorced single parent an unemployed spouse an unemployed single parent a full-time entrepreneur a part-time entrepreneur a temporary employee a full-time employee. It has been quite a journey, but it is one that has new challenges at every bullet point. This diversity and length of experience is also the reason that I feel that I have some insight that can help to guide people in finding the right resources at the right time. All of the situations above have taught me the value of being open and asking for help. Continue To Be Open The common skill that I have cultivated the most being an immigrant and an entrepreneur is to ask for help in order to understand new things. Life is full of things that do not make sense, are just outside of our current skill set, or we need a little time to learn. YouTube videos are a deep resource to anyone who wants to do something new. But outside of online resources, you can ask real people for help to find what you need. Not everyone will be able to help you, but every time you ask, you get a tiny bit closer to the answer. Even if it is just eliminating what is not the answer.
Understanding Finnish Work Culture – Insights for International Jobseekers
Image: Marjaana Malkamäki, KEKSI. All rights reserved. Navigating the job market in a new country can be a challenging effort. One of the factors that can significantly influence your success as an international job seeker in Finland is understanding of the local work culture. According to the yearly recruitment study done by Duunitori, one of the most important factors influencing recruitment decisions, as in previous years, was how well the candidate fits into the workplace culture (1). Some companies can worry that newcomers do not understand Finnish workplace norms, which can prevent them from recruiting employees with an immigrant background (2). To stand out in the recruitment process, it is important to understand what employers value and expect so that you can bring the right things to the table when you apply for a job. Additionally, understanding the work culture helps you act appropriately and meet expectations throughout the job search process and in the workplace itself. The Main Characteristics of Finnish Work Culture The Finnish work culture can be described as punctual, equal and direct in its communication style. A strong work ethic and practicality are qualities that are highly valued by Finns. Self-direction and honesty are highly demanded, and words carry a lot of weight in Finland. (3,4,5). Punctuality: Finnish society places a high value on punctuality. This applies to everything in society, from public transport to business life. Meetings start exactly at the scheduled time, not a minute past. It is considered rude and unprofessional to be late. Arriving a bit early is always a good practice. This way you will demonstrate respect for others' time and commitment to the job. Equality: According to Finnish law, all kinds of discrimination at workplaces are prohibited. It is illegal to treat people differently because of their religion, gender, sexuality or nationality. Many companies also understand that promoting diversity, equity ja inclusion, i.e. DEI, is not just good for the employees, but also gives a competitive advantage and is good for business. (4) Flat organisational structure: Equality and modesty are deeply embedded in Finnish culture. In most workplaces, the organization is very flat, and people work on a first-name basis, even with their bosses. Titles such as "Sir" or "Madam" are rarely used, whether in person or via email – maintaining a respectful tone is sufficient. Employees at all levels are encouraged to communicate directly with each other, and teamwork and collective problem-solving are common ways of working in Finnish companies. Self-direction and autonomy: Due to the flat organisational structure, employees are encouraged to take the initiative and be responsible for their own tasks and projects. Managers usually trust employees to complete their work independently without constant supervision. Employees are expected to take ownership of their work, motivate themselves, and continuously seek opportunities for improvement. This level of autonomy can be surprising to newcomers. Furthermore, in Finland, making mistakes is not the end of the world or something you need to hide. Learning from your mistakes is highly valued. However, employees should communicate with their managers when they need support or face challenges they cannot solve on their own. Honesty and directness in communication: Finns are known for their honesty and transparency. This direct communication style may sometimes be perceived as rudeness by those from other cultures. Meetings are usually focused on getting straight to the point rather than engaging in small talk and efficiency is valued over politeness and niceties. This can sometimes lead to misunderstandings, especially if the focus is purely on the problems without balancing the message with positive feedback. Finns see it as pragmatic to address issues directly and consider it normal for positive aspects to remain unspoken. Work-life balance: Despite strong work ethics, Finns do not generally appreciate sacrificing personal well-being for work. Many Finnish companies offer flexible working hours, allowing employees to start and finish their workdays at times that suit their personal schedules. (7). Flexible working has been embedded in Finland’s working culture for more than two decades (8). The typical Finnish workday is shorter than in many other countries, with an average of around 7.5 hours. Overtime is not typically expected, and employees are encouraged to leave work on time. Smoother Integration through Understanding of Cultural Nuance By understanding and adopting the specific features of Finnish working life – from punctuality and flat hierarchies to trust, autonomy, and work-life balance – you will improve your chances of finding a job and succeeding in your new role. Adapting to a new culture can be also a rewarding experience that broadens your professional and personal perspectives. However, it’s important to remember that every company also has its own culture and values. Before applying for a job, carefully read the company's website and job advertisement to understand what is valued in this specific company. Here are a few fail-safe tips that will work in any Finnish company: Be punctual: Always arrive on time or slightly early for meetings and appointments. Communicate openly: If you face any challenges, discuss them openly with your manager. Take initiative: Show proactivity by suggesting improvements and taking charge of your tasks. Treat everyone equally: Show respect to all people, regardless of their title, gender, age, race, political views, or any other aspect of their identity. Appreciate your mistakes: If you make a mistake, admit it, own it and treat it as a learning experience. Understanding the Finnish work culture is a step towards a meaningful career in Finland. Here efficiency meets equality and work is balanced with personal life. Sources: Duunitori 2024. Kansallinen rekrytointitutkimus 2024. URL: https://duunitori.fi/rekrytointi/rekrytointitutkimus (Accessed 24 July 2024) Yle News 2019. All Points North #39: Breaking into the Finnish job market with Taina Susiluoto and Eve Kyntäjä. Julkaistu 8.2.2019. URL:https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/all_points_north_39_breaking_into_the_finnish_job_market_with_taina_susiluoto_and_eve_kyntaja/10637383(Accessed 25 July 2024) InfoFinland 2024. Finnish working life. URL:https://www.infofinland.fi/work-and-enterprise/finnish-working-life (Accessed 24 July 2024) TEK Tekniikan akateemiset. Finnish working culture. URL: https://www.tek.fi/en/services-and-benefits/work-life-in-finland/finnish-work-culture (Accessed 24 July 2024) Raunio, M. & Säävälä, M. 2017. Workaholic or easygoing? Interpretations of National Culture in Industries with Immigrant Workforce in Finland. Finnish Yearbook of Population Research, 51,41–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23979/fypr.56873 Niemi, L. 2024. Yhdysvaltalaisoikeiston mollaama henkilöstöpolitiikka on Elisassa ja Nordeassa arkea. Artikkeli. Helsingin Sanomat. Julkaistu 20.7.2024. URL: https://www.hs.fi/talous/art-2000010570150.html (Accessed 24 July 2024) Work in Finland. Work-life balance in Finland. URL: https://www.workinfinland.com/en/why-finland/living-in-finland/work-life-balance/ (Accessed 24 July 2024) Savage, M. 2019. Why Finland leads the world in flexible work. URL: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190807-why-finland-leads-the-world-in-flexible-work(Accessed 25 July 2024) Author Riia Hoppania works as a Specialist in the Continuous Learning team at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. She is currently developing career services for Metropolia’s international degree students. Riia has several years of experience working as a Career Coach in Metropolia’s SIMHE services and in different collaboration projects with employment services. She is experienced in coaching job seekers with different backgrounds, especially immigrants with higher education.
ChatGPT – Your Virtual Career Coach in the Job Search Journey
Looking for a job can feel like an overwhelming task. Some may describe it as a full-time job. You spend hours searching for job opportunities, participating in recruitment fairs, optimizing your LinkedIn profile, tailoring and fine-tuning your CV and cover letter, and then filling in all the same information into a company’s specific job application software. Sometimes you get to the interview round. Have a good feeling about how it went. Get super excited and hopeful, and then receive THE email: “Unfortunately this time you were not selected”. The job-searching process can be quite a frustrating, time-consuming, and lonely journey. But what if there was a way to make it more efficient? What if you could have yourself a tireless sparring partner, a virtual career coach to walk the job-searching journey with you and help you every step of the way? ChatGTP, an AI-powered language model has turned out to be a surprisingly handy helper for job seekers. In a relatively short time, job seekers around the world have found the advantages of using ChatGPT and other AI tools and the number is steadily growing. In Finland, according to National Recruitment Survey 2023, Job Search in Finland (1), 8 % of respondents (N =3600) used AI in their job search and 36% said they might explore it in the future. The respondents used AI mostly for writing the application documents, but AI can be helpful in many steps of the job searching journey. It can, for example, help you find job opportunities, recognize your skills and competencies, write tailored job applications, help you to practice for job interviews and give advice on how to advance your career. With the help of the following hands-on tips, you can partner with ChatGPT to make your job search journey more efficient. Basics of ChatGPT ChatGPT stands for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer. (2) The basic idea of how ChatGPT works is that you chat with it. You ask questions and the AI gets to work. AI searches information from the material it has been trained with or material you provide for it and combines it into comprehensive unique answers in seconds. You may chat with the ChatGPT both in Finnish and in English. However, the English version works better as most of its training material has been in English. (3) It's important to keep in mind that the answers you receive from ChatGPT are AI’s predictions of the right answer, not knowledge of the right answer. Sometimes AI can also hallucinate, meaning it produces answers that are not based on facts or the right context. When using ChatGTP, the content should be treated with a healthy dose of source criticism and evaluation of whether the answers are accurate or not. (3). Be aware of privacy issues Before you get started with ChatGPT it’s good to acknowledge some privacy issues. Keep in mind that the material you provide for the ChatGPT might be used later as AI’s training material. As a general rule, don’t submit anything you would not publish on the internet. I recommend that you remove any of your personal data before providing material for the AI, for example when working on your CV and cover letter with the help of ChatGPT. Ready to get started? Follow these easy steps: 1. Create a ChatGPT account If you don’t have one yet, start by creating a ChatGPT account. The account can be created for free: https://chat.openai.com/auth/login. Once you have created a user account, you can start a conversation with the AI and ask various questions. 2. Recognise your core skills and competencies Sometimes it’s hard to define your core skills and competencies. AI can help you with this. Copy your CV or LinkedIn profile content to ChatGPT and based on the information provided, ask it to analyze the person's five most important competencies. Before doing this, remove all confidential or too personal information from the material due to privacy issues. Remember that the answers you receive are always based on the text you provide. Does the list of the five most important competencies align with your perception of yourself? If you feel that the results don’t accurately represent you, it’s time to make some adjustments to your CV and/or LinkedIn profile. Pro tip: The easiest way to copy your LinkedIn profile content to ChatGPT is to use the “More” button at the beginning of your LinkedIn profile and select “Save to PDF”. 3. Find job opportunities After you have crystallized your key skills and competencies it’s time to explore different opportunities where you could use your skillset. You may ask ChatGPT to recommend the kind of jobs where you could utilize your competencies based on the information provided. You may even ask for a list of a few companies operating in Finland that might have a use for an expert like you. Pro tip: Have you considered entrepreneurship as one of your career options? Ask ChatGPT what kind of consultancy business you could establish based on your skill set. 4. Write tailored job applications Something that ChatGPT is good at is role-playing. Ask ChatGPT to be a career coach with excellent copywriting skills. Let it know that you would like to apply for a specific job and, as background material, submit the job description and maybe some additional information about the company. Next, let ChatGPT read your current CV and draft version of a cover letter. Ask it to check for possible grammatical errors and give recommendations for improvements. Also, based on the job ad, ask ChatGPT to analyse what keywords you should use in your application and what relevant competencies you should highlight for this position. With the help of AI, you may have more clarity and impact on your application documents. Pro tip: In Finland, recruiters appreciate quite concise job applications. If your CV is several pages long, ask ChatGPT to help you edit the text shorter. 5. Practice for a job interview Job interviews can be nerve-wracking. Training for it is a smart move especially if you are nervous about it or if it has been a while since your last one. Ask ChatGPT to take the role of a hiring manager of the target company and organise an interview simulation for you. Provide background information e.g., your application documents, the job description and some additional material about the company. Based on the information provided, ask ChatGPT to interview you for the open position. If you write your answers, you can ask ChatGPT for feedback and tips on how to improve your answers further. Pro tip: You may also try switching the roles. Take the role of the hiring manager and interview ChatGPT for the job. Ask it to take the role of a job applicant and answer the interview questions based on your application documents. Maybe you’ll get new ideas on how to highlight your skills and competencies at the interview. 6. Get advice on how to advance your career For career changers and those who feel stuck in their career, AI provides personalized recommendations for upskilling and reskilling based on industry trends and your individual career goals. Ask ChatGPT to take the role of a career coach. Provide some background information about your current position, educational background, work experience and career aspirations, and let your virtual career coach recommend the next steps to achieve your goals. Own your own words and let your personality shine through the text While AI is a great help for crafting application documents, don’t outsource yourself from the process. Experienced recruiters can spot pretty easily when a candidate uses AI to write their application documents. This is ok, as long as your authentic voice and your own words can be identified from the application. After all, humans still want to hire humans. If the recruiter gets the feeling that the application is completely written by AI, it might raise concerns about your abilities to produce well-structured text of your own which often is expected from candidates applying for expert positions. ChatGPT is just a tool Leveraging ChatGPT as your virtual career coach can save you time and effort. The best way to learn how to use it is just starting to test how it could support your job searching journey. Just remember to evaluate the insights and make your own informed decisions critically. After all, ChatGPT is just a tool, not a substitute for your own judgment and ethical responsibility. Sources: 1. Duunitori (2024). Kansallinen rekrytointitutkimus 2023, Työnhaku suomessa. URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x0xD9_qVzllV1kbu8gxwHOcNuBrqSBHG/view. Read: 23.04.2024. Unadkat. A. 2023. What the heck is a Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, and why should I care? URL: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-heck-chat-generative-pre-trained-transformer-why-amit-unadkat/. Read: 23.04.2024. OpenAI (2024). What is ChatGPT? URL: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6783457-what-is-chatgpt. Read: 24.04.2024. Author: Anu Luoma works as a Specialist at Metropolia’s International Relations office. She works in a national Talent Boost project which aims to support international talents’ integration and opportunities to build their future in Finland. She has wide experience as a Career Coach and is teaching courses: Boost Your Job Search and Discover Your Career Path in Finland.
Blog introduces information, tips and insights that help international talents with a higher education background to integrate and find their study and career paths in Finland. The blog is part of Metropolia’s #talentboost actions.
Outi Lemettinen (head editor)
Riikka Wallin
Anu Luoma
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