In this lesson, you will learn about the Finnish working culture, general information on where to look for a job, recruitment procedures, and resources on obtaining relevant qualifications.

Essentials of working culture in Finland

  1. Punctuality and reliability

    Always be on time, or 5-10 minutes early. If you know, that you will be late, inform as soon as possible.

    This extends to following schedules and agreements such as work shifts, meetings, assignments, or project deadlines. You are expected to do your agreed tasks by a given time, and if you’re not able to, ask for help or inform of delays within a reasonable time.  

  2. Professional skills

    Finland is considered the best place for skills development in Europe, but it is also the main area, where foreigners are at a disadvantage.

    In Finland, you are expected to continuously and simultaneously develop your professional skills and education. Workplaces will provide essential learning to support work skills, but a lot of the professional growth within the workforce, comes from people being active about expanding their knowledge area, continuing their education, learning new skills, and seeking better opportunities. Education at every level goes hand-in-hand with practical experience, and many students are expected to also work during their studies.

    If you’re unsure of what skills you need, or how to apply your existing qualifications on the local job market, check out our friends at International Professionals Finland ry, who have extensive information and coaching on the matter. (link on the left)

  3. Language

    Finnish and Swedish are the two official languages in Finland.

    As with many other countries, you can get by in English, but professionally it's only viable in the biggest cities, and not in all work fields. You are expected to have at least basic proficiency in Finnish, if you want to live and work in Finland.

    A lot of foreigners decide to learn Swedish instead, because it’s a lot easier, however even though Swedish is an official language, the vast majority of the country speaks Finnish. There are Swedish-speaking areas, and companies who hold operations in Sweden, but not nearly enough opportunities to justify learning solely Swedish.

  4. Summer planning begins in January

    Summer jobs are the easiest way to get an entry-level position, or try different professional fields, before committing to a career path. What most people don’t expect is, that the summer job positions fill up already in January-February, March at the latest.

    This is due to the typical Finnish summer vacation being 3-4 weeks. A lot of the planning is done as soon as work resumes in the new year.

Looking for work

Below you will find a selection of search engines for finding work in Finland. They are by no means all the jobs available, but will give you a good start.

Please note, that a lot of them are in Finnish only. You can use Google Chrome’s page translation to help you out, however we recommend, that you try to learn basic terminology, and that you have your application materials available also in Finnish.

For more work opportunities, you can check the individual web pages of companies, universities and organizations. International search engines, such as Linkedin and Facebook are also viable options.

  • Työmarkkinatori

    Information, services and open jobs related to working life and unemployment. Log in and create a job search profile or job advertisement.

    www

  • Kuntarekry

    Jobs, substitute work and gigs, as well as information about working in municipal organizations and welfare areas.

    www

  • Valtiolle

    Job search service of the Finnish government. Our service is a showcase for working in the state and an application channel for open jobs and internships in the state.

    www

  • Work in Finland

    Work in Finland is the official Finnish website for international talent and domestic companies looking to recruit from abroad. This site was created by a coalition of public sector organisations and is a part of the Talent Boost program.

    www

  • Oikotie

    Finland’s largest search engine for open vacancies.

    www

  • Duunitori

    All open jobs with one search. You can also browse only job advertisements that state the salary for the position .

    www