Employer's references and certificates

[usual_suspect]

Hello

I am starting to look for work in Finland - I'm sending out applications in English, but my certificates and employer's references are all in German. Do employers expect that I have those translated into Finnish, or at least, into English, and have them certified?

Thanks for any info on this
Topper

[Pursuivant]

and if I should apply a job in Germany and send my paperwork in Swedish and my certificates in Finnish they all will be very happy? not that German isn't the third most studied foreign language but it might sprain somebodys brain... well, not reading but writing would at least mine... also if you have a school certificate/diploma it might be a good idea to "explain" that as well, as the equivalencies of education aren't always obvious...

[usual_suspect]

Right... I guess I just send the original reference letters along with an English translation. For my school diploma, they actually gave us a sheet with explanations in English.

[Pursuivant]

which is good... the thing is you translate everything to finnish and then apply in finnish they'll expect to hold the interview in finnish...

[Cloudberry]

I think it's generally expected that your application is supplied in the native language of the employer unless of course they have advised otherwise. It is true, if you have everything translated into Finnish they will probably expect that you speak Finnish. If you don't (speak Finnish)you need to be upfront about that in your CV. You should list your language proficiency for each of the languages you speak eg. German, English, Finnish. It would be a good idea to contact the employer to find out what they want. It will save a lot of guesswork. Good luck!