I have to comment on a couple of things here though. However, this is my own opinion:
- if you go to a career counsellor, the counsellor does NOT do a good job in Finland if you get "the factory-made materials" (well, maybe them too to give some initial information for the ones who are completely clueless) and a ready model for how to do your CV and cover letter (which I know that happens often e.g. at the career offices of the universities. So wrong. Unfortunately the ones working in these offices often have no background in recruiting).
In my opinion a good counsellor helps you build up your profile so that it looks like you but enhances those strengths that are typically most interesting in the eyes of the employer. This also means taking away all the unnecessary stuff, all the not-believable stuff, all the lame things everybody says. Also, a good counsellor gives you the tools to help your self in the job search, that is, find all the sources you can use in your job search. My own ideas and connections are limited, my work is to get you to create your own connections and to get your ideas going.
It definitively is useful, if you have a partner, who has good ties. Definitively worth using them! However, not every Finns is good at looking for a job in Finland either, and not every Finn has those ties to assist their partners/ friends with (and not every friend is somebody I would hire...). However, they will know what the culture is like, which is a great bonus.
Your opinions have been very valuable, thank you everybody.
However, there will be no such services offered by me as apparently it is illegal to charge for the kind of services I was thinking about. It is good to always take a look at the law too
