PLEASE ADVICE! - IT JOB POSSIBLE?

[Karhunkoski]

Now ... here is the bit that Karhun seems unable to grasp, Vero don't estimate tax rate on my current monthly income, they estimate it on my previous year's total income.

But you see I have grasped this concept fully a long time ago. I don't let vero estimate my tax % at all, I've rehashed my tax card online a few times as contracts have changed and salary has moved. Leave it to vero to estimate? Good Lord No!

Exactly, good point...when you can estimate your tax% ( especially the best bet is to change your tax % after the bonus is paid).

Yup, well it's not just foreigners who can't figure it out:

I was discussing this with a colleaugue in the car today. He complained about Pekkaset (extra hours worked related holidays) and bonuses being taxed at 50% if he took the cash option. I explained that of course they are, they are classed as additional income over your standard tax card. If you simply adjust your tax card accordingly, you will end up paying the same tax on Pekkaset and any bonus as any standard income. Of course the overall tax card % will increase slightly. However it seems some people are just too fleeking stupid to work this out and just enjoy the opportunity to complain at "suffering" a 50% tax rate.

Me? As usual I'm a happy tax payer, happy to fund the services that may help keep agressive beggers away from our friend in Tea & Sympathy.

[raamv]

Me? As usual I'm a happy tax payer, happy to fund the services that may help keep agressive beggers away from our friend in Tea & Sympathy.

Diont mind paying taxes too..
At least if you are smart enuff,..you can figure out the deductibles that you can use towards the credits..
Got me from owning close to a grand to getting back some..

[DMC]

Going back to your original question, one thing I should have mentioned before is http://www.theitjobboard.com where you can sign up for a regular posting of IT jobs. This is UK-based but if you just put Finland as keyword you will get a few jobs by email per day. I suggest you don't try adding more keywords; better to skim the list they send yourself.

You can either apply for the advertised positions, or try to work out / find out who the employer is and put them on your list of foreigner-friendly employers worth looking into. Finding out the employer is not always easy, because the ads are posted by recruitment agencies. Some careful questioning about the employer, their location, industry, products etc can produce useful clues, and the agency may identify the employer if you say you already have applications in with a number of copanies and wish to avoid applying for the same position twice.

[debonaire]

Okay enough of your Naive thinking DMC...
Dont start offering rose colored glasses to everyone so that they can feel and think positive as compared to the reality that happens here...which many others apart from me have posted..
Just because you are lucky doenst mean others are

By the way,DMC is not the only lucky chap to get a job without any finnish skills...I am also one of them..and I can count many others who have found jobs without any foundation in finnish language...

[cristina_b]

Hello,
I just wanted to tell you that I am already in Finland from one month and a week and I have already started to work since 22 of October.

There are a lot of things to tell, how do I feel in a foreign country, how was for me the first contact with Finland, what did I have to do for registering here, what did I do with my car, how I leave here, what taxex I pay, and so on.
But I'll tell you maybe about all this later and maybe in another topic.

My husband has not got a job yet. He had 2 interviws still now but he did not have any feedback. He called to the company for asking them and they answered that they did not have the time to send him an answer...
This answer seems stupid to me, without having the intention to offens anybody of course. If you don't want somebody to work for you, you just tell him that he is not the suitable person for that position, or you find any polite formula...
Anyway, I think it will be a long way for him to get a job, even if he really has IT experience and good skills. Finish language is important, even for IT field. If I look on the mol.fi site, the most part of the jobs are in Finish. We don't understand anything in this language, so it is impossible to apply to such jobs. Maybe you are right the person they are looking for but you cannot prove that.

Finish language..well that's another history My husband learnt the numbers from 1 to 10 and the months of the year, so he is really advanced comparing to me who know only to say "kiitos"

That was all from my part. There are so many stories to tell and so many experiences and feelings...but I don't think it is the right topic for that.

[shrecher]

Finish language is important, even for IT field. If I look on the mol.fi site, the most part of the jobs are in Finish.
Finish language..well that's another history My husband learnt the numbers from 1 to 10 and the months of the year, so he is really advanced comparing to me who know only to say "kiitos" :

I recommend not to wait until he learn Finnish as it could last 4-5 years to get understandable verbal skills. By that time, the skills will be obsoleted. He should search for a job right now. There are plenty of companies how official language is English. Check flander.com, they need SWE. For SWE positions it is better to check monster.fi rather mol.

Searching IT job in Finland could be much slower process then in other countries. The December is not the best time for job hunter, as the country slows down a lot for XMAS. Also remember, sometimes submitted CV can be handled in two/thee months. After he finds a job the phone calls will last few months

[cristina_b]

Thank you for your reccomandation, Shrecher.
Of course, he will already begin to search for jobs.
From my point of view I think I will be able to learn Finish in 10 years. Maybe my husband will learn faster than me but anyway he will be enough older and knowing to do nothing at that time that the Finish language will not help him any more

[cristina_b]

Hi everybody,
We are already from 3 months in Finland. My husband haven't found a job yet. He sent douzains of CV to all kind of companies. The usual answer is that Finish is required or that they found a more suitable candidate for the position. We have always imagined that it won't be easy, but we hoped that in the IT field Finish was not mandatory. Anyway it might be a lot of reasons for not finding a jos.
And I think that the the first one is that the foreigners are not part of the Finish people...It sounds stupid, I know..It is so basic and so evident that someone could say I'm idiot to do such an afirmation. But this is true. Finish people are protecting very well their job market. And I think it's normal. Why a foreigner would potentially take the job from a Finish?
If it was so easy to find jobs here, Finland would have been probably invaded by foreigners (as I heart the properties are bought by a lot of English people and the Finish are not at all pleased). Shortly, I think only if there is no a Finish guy on the Finish market to correspond to any position, only in this case a foreigner would be employed. I'm not angry, I'm just sad, because Finland is a beautiful, peacefull country with vey nice people. I would like to live here for ever, but without my husband having a job, how long could we remain? That all, I just wanted to keep you up to date with our situation. And I am sure it is very similar to many other situations. At least I have a job that I don't like, but it's a job anyway...

[Hank W.]

Well, it wouldn't be the beautiful peaceful country if we had all the nasty complaining foreigners here, now would it?

[shrecher]

The usual answer is that Finish is required or that they found a more suitable candidate for the position.

This is sad, but this is life. To work here foreigner must far exceed in qualification the locals. This is some "juha" or "pekka" could be just average, but a foreign worker must be close to Einstein to have chance to work.

It is so basic and so evident that someone could say I'm idiot to do such an afirmation. But this is true. Finish people are protecting very well their job market. And I think it's normal. Why a foreigner would potentially take the job from a Finish?

You found the job here and you don't speak Finish, right? So, at least this can proof that foreigns could find work here I wonder what is yours husband experience and which area he is looking for the job? Hasn't he tried to apply for a position at your company?

[antstar]

Hi guys,
I posted before on this site but not on this particular subject, as the first few months here I spent finding a house and so-on.
October I was actively seeking employment. If I go over some stuff already covered then I’m sorry but I have a few points that may be useful.
Up until mid December I sent my CV to all IT companies and applied for many jobs (disregarding out of depth jobs). As I am just finishing my BSc honours IT degree apart from that i have no experience in this field, coming from a forces and then food manufacturing background.
As you can guess most of my applications were ignored and the others turned down due to lack of experience. I networked myself thru everyone i knew for any type of work but as we all know lack of Finnish language usually means - "no thank you". I then had an interview with an IT agency; he saw my CV and decided to see me. His first words were "no language skills" "no experience" = Big trouble! After an hour I had talked him round to at least try. Just before Christmas my luck/perseverance changed, i had an interview (7th Jan), from this they agreed to employ me 2 days a week for 3 months starting Feb. Like Buses, on the way home from the interview, the agency rang me and said i had an interview with another company the next day, (althoughtthey liked me and the agency said it looks good i'm still holding my breath. the key points i'm trying to make are:-
Don't give up!
Try agencies!
Your up against Finns with the same qualifications as you, and maybe more experience, BE different! - Enthusiastic- give up your free time to learn with them, even if this doesn’t work it shows willing.
Be prepared to start off at the bottom and to take anything. Once you’re in, the world opens up.
After my interview with the agency, the "big Problem" attitude went away; give him something to work with and show good attitude. There’s so much negative vibes on here don't be beaten before your have already started. I have certainly not cracked it yet, but there if light.
The positions i'm after at the moment is quite low pay but its at least better then fighting with Kela for a Euro or two!

[cristina_b]

Hey guys,
Thank you for encourageing me, you have right, we shouldn't give up so quickly... I have found a job here even if I am a foreigner and even before coming here, this is also true..So, let's go on..
And for answering to Shrecher, yes, he tried to my company but it seems he has not enough experience in that field..
Well, he is working from more that 7 years in IT, more on technical stuff, like networking and infrastructure, and in the last 4 years, he had some management positions in different companies. Here he is looking for ANY job in IT, so it doesn't matter what he would really like to do or witch is his real qualification.
He might be a Project Manager or a Service Delivery manager, or a IT Operations Manager or simply he might just be a network administrator or a...tester...whatever..But it seems that he has not enough experience for any of these, thought he works in IT from 7 years and has very good references..
See you. I'll let you know when/if something happens

[shrecher]

Well, he is working from more that 7 years in IT, more on technical stuff, like networking and infrastructure, and in the last 4 years, he had some management positions in different companies.

Well, such type of work requires Finnish language even in true international company as it could require communication to external company.
If our company will open such positions I'll PM you.

Here he is looking for ANY job in IT, so it doesn't matter what he would really like to do or witch is his real qualification.

It makes sense to apply for Finnish language courses via mol.fi here. First 3 years you eligible for "adoption period". If MOL will send him for study he will get 450 euro (net) per month adoption money, plus compensation on transport exp. This lasts, as I wrote already, only free years, not a day more. This is not a big money, but at least some surplus in family budget. After 8-12 months, he should progress in the language to get this type of job.

[antstar]

It makes sense to apply for Finnish language courses via mol.fi here. First 3 years you eligible for "adoption period". If MOL will send him for study he will get 450 euro (net) per month adoption money, plus compensation on transport exp. This lasts, as I wrote already, only free years, not a day more. This is not a big money, but at least some surplus in family budget. After 8-12 months, he should progress in the language to get this type of job.

Yes, i am this course at the moment, (hopefully not for too long) but its fun and informative! if i don't get a full time position, i'm wondering if i can do three days language and two days part/time work?? i'm sure Kela would soon put a stop to that. but i do advice your husband appling for the language course, it is fun and you meet lots of people to get detention with