Looking for advice on relocating to Finland.

1POSTS

15 years ago

My wife (Finnish national) and I (British National) are looking into the possibility of relocating from the Costa Del Sol in Spain, to somewhere in Finland. This is to enable us to be closer to her family, as well as start one of our own!

I have been looking on various sites the past few weeks and they appear to pose more questions than answers for me!

The nuts and bolts of my dilemma is I am currently in a relatively well paid job in Finance and IT and have been with the same company for 7 years, 5 yrs in good London company before that and 4 years in the NE of England (telco comp) b4 that. My wife's family state that getting a job would be straight forward in Finland with my experience, yet I do not get that impression from the web pages so far. I am asking for good honest advice, of not just the job market for a Qual. by experience Accountant/business Analyst, but also lifestyle and life in general in Finland.

I have loved my holidays there every summer for the past 6 years, but as everyone knows, holidays and expat living are not the same!

Appreciate your comments

J

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brujire Member

2POSTS

15 years ago

Hi!
I moved to Finland two years ago, beacuse my husband found a job. I am nurse, and I had read that Finland need nurses, so I was pretty sure that I will find a job. but I did not. The reality in this country is that if you do not speak finnish you will have troubles to find a job.
I would not move without a job offer, but you are right that is a nice country and is great to live here.
also the social benefits are great and is the best country to have kids.

good luck and welcome to Finland if you decide to move

vveach New member

7POSTS

15 years ago

Hi, I can understand you're dilemma! I am in the process of moving to Finland from the US to be with my boyfriend (a Finnish citizen). I have been looking for work like crazy since February, but have not received any offers while I am in the US. I have just completed my degree, and I am trying to stay positive that I will have better luck after I arrive in Finland. It may be hard, but I think that you will be able to find something after you arrive, especially with your experience and since you are a citizen of the EU. Have you seen the website, Aarresaari? I check it often, and there seem to be quite a lot of postings for jobs in the IT sector. Here is the link if you haven't seen it: aarresaari.net/english/jobboard.htm

Good luck and stay positive!

Monstarcookie Active member

37POSTS

15 years ago

I would suggest you look for a teaching job, teaching IT to the international students. There has been a lack of all kinds of teaches, but mostly IT teachers. You should call the universities and ask if they have an opening.

citizen1 ViP

131POSTS

14 years ago

jdm, you got a good piece of advice from vveach. Aarresaari has lots of jobs for academics and students. In case you fail to secure a job, Aarresaari also has a lot of internships, which may not be such a bad idea. You could then add the internship to your CV as Finnish work experience. This may help as Finnish employers may be suspicious of foreigners who have worked for companies they have never heard of. And it would be easy enough for them to verify that your fabulous reference is authentic.

Also, what you might do is cold call the HR managers of companies you are interested in. Lots of companies do not post all openings. They probably won't hire you on the phone, but surely will allow you to send your CV for further reference, maybe even pay a visit. Some of the bigger companies have English as their office language, so not yet knowing Finnish need not be a problem. Ironically, more is asked of people working in the service industry; they really must know Finnish in order to communicate with customers and colleagues.

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Aim2thecdock Member

1POSTS

13 years ago

I agree with most other posts here, I would not risk losing an income by moving to Finland unless you have a solid job offer. I've been living in Finland for almost 3 years ( coming from the U.S) and I must admit finding a job here is extremely difficult. well, unless you learn Finnish. Which sounds easy but, mastering Finnish in a way to land a job takes time. Not months but, years. My best advice to you is to stay where you are ...at least for now.

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