ex-HMIT looking for work

[Roxlintu]

Hey everyone

Does anyone know of any firms that could use an ex HM Inspector of Taxes? Obviously I'm English and living in Helsinki. I'm speaking/using Finnish at a national language proficiency level of 4, but the opetushallitus doesn't recognise my tax qualification. Apparently there are only a handful of people in this country that do the roughly equivalent job of HMIT and they all have law degrees, which I don't have. I can do bookkeeping etc.. but I've had no luck finding work. I've applied for at least 2 jobs a week EVERY week for the last year and never had so much as a call or email. Understandable since speaking English doesn't give any advantage in a country where about 80% speak English I'm tired of sitting on my @rse and taking benefits, I've resorted to studying in lukio so that i can apply to uni to get some sort of finance qualification but there are still 2 years of lukio to go and i am too old to be doing this, I just want to work. Oh and of course I am studying Finnish still.. I have open applications in with firms such as KPMG and Deloittes but I wonder if you forum peeps would give the names of any other international firms?

And I'll pre-empt the negative nellies that are bound to comment on this, yes I am feeling sorry for myself, because I left a really good job because my husband hated the UK and wanted to come home to Finland, but I have worked hard since I got here to learn the language and find work and I guess I have just had bad luck, I would like advice from people in similar situations, not sarcastic commentary and people telling me I shouldn't have come here blah blah, like I got when I first registered to this forum.

If anyone who has found work has any tips please let me know!

[mrjimsfc]

I wonder if you join a club or some social group where you could volunteer to do the HMIT work for the group. You could then use that as a reference and if it's a group with socially influential people, you may have an easy time getting that job. It's obvious that the group you join should have a lot of "elitist" women who could influence their husbands on who they should hire.....

[Rosamunda]

Can't you work remote? Working for companies in the UK? It is dead easy to set yourself up in business here (look for the toiminimi threads).

I know a few people in the vero, I could ask them if they have any ideas about where someone could work in Finland (what is your experience in exactly).

PWC also has a Finnish HQ in Ruoholahti, Helsinki.

Have you tried the banks?

You could also try teaching English in the Financial sector (try AAC Global, EF, Richard Lewis) but your FInnish won't get much better if you're speaking English all day.

Why the lukio course? Can't you just apply to Uni with your A levels? There are plenty of courses in English these days.

[Roxlintu]

Thanks everyone for your replies, setting up a business might be my next step, although I'm a bit concerned about taking the leap, my husband is a student and with me being unemployed our financial situation is less then optimal.

I've sent an open application to PWC too now, thanks for the tip! I'd be interested in working for the verotoimisto but I don't think my Finnish is up to scratch yet.

And the reason I am at lukio? Well I found the immigrant Finnish course offerred by the työkarri terrible, I was very disappointed in the teaching, especially the teachers who could not explain the grammar, if you asked my a verb changed a certain way etc... you were just told it's like that just learn it, even though there are simple rules to help. THen we moved to Helsinki and I heard about Eiran aikuislukio which had a good rep for teaching FInnish and also had lessons in the evenings so I could go even if I found a job. Then the longer I went without a job I decided to apply to amk/yliopisto but after seeing the entrance exams I realised I had forgotten all my maths so I signed up to the maths lessons at Eira, then the työkkari told me if I wanted to keep getting benefits I needed to take more courses to qualify. Then my parents found the remains of my a-level certificates in their attic, chewed by mice or rats or god knows what, and I only managed to get copies of half of them because 2 of the exam boards tell me that the candidate number/school number that I gave them doesn't match my name, which is annoying because none of the places I have applied to will accept half the certificates and a signed/stamped letter from my sixth form conforming my grades. So until I find a job my option is too continue with lukio, matriculate and apply to amk/yliopisto to get a qualification for a job I can already do!!!

You gotta laugh right??

Although I did think of opening a fish and chip shop because I really miss them and I havent found anywhere in Hesa that sells anything similar.

But anyway thanks for the ideas everyone!

[filecore]

Although I did think of opening a fish and chip shop because I really miss them and I havent found anywhere in Hesa that sells anything similar.

That'd be grand. There's an Irish bloke in Porvoo whose daughter and her husband have a mobile chippy that drives around the Sipoo area and seems to be doing fairly well.