How to search for software work in Finland?

[Icestorm]

Hi all, I'm new here.

I'm a software developer from the US, primarily experienced in development for financial services. From what I'm reading on the forum here, information technology is the main line of work that doesn't require fluency in Finnish; is this still the case today? (I do not currently speak or read any Finnish.)

Where would I find out more about which relevant technical skills are in high demand in Finland? Also, what are recommendable job-search techniques were I to seek to find work in and relocate to Finland? I'm aware of the mol.fi site and the like, though the listings are all in Finnish.

Thanks for any advice.

[Adrian42]

I'm a software developer from the US, primarily experienced in development for financial services. From what I'm reading on the forum here, information technology is the main line of work that doesn't require fluency in Finnish; is this still the case today? (I do not currently speak or read any Finnish.)

There are many jobs in IT where Finnish is not required, but in the majority of IT jobs it is required (when either the company language is Finnish or many customers are in Finland).

Thank god, Finland does not have a big financial sector and is therefore less affected by all the sh*t happening in that sector.
But that also limits the job opportunities for you (if your skills limit you to that sector).

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Finnish IT job market still hasn't recovered from the suicide of Nokia in 2011.
If you are good in your field you might find a job, but there is much competition between many highly skilled unemployed professionals for few jobs.

Also, what are recommendable job-search techniques were I to seek to find work in and relocate to Finland?

I usually search:
- Mol
- Linkedin
- some other job sites like Monster/Glassdoor/...
- search for companies that are in my field and that are either Finnish or have R&D centers in Finland (like e.g. Intel/Samsung/Huawei/...)

I'm aware of the mol.fi site and the like, though the listings are all in Finnish.

When Finnish is not required, the job offer at mol.fi is usually in English.

[CH]

From what I'm reading on the forum here, information technology is the main line of work that doesn't require fluency in Finnish; is this still the case today? (I do not currently speak or read any Finnish.)

Dunno if it is the main one (probably), but yes, most IT jobs do not require fluency in Finnish, and it's common that a lot of IT workers in a company have been recruited from abroad. (Edit & disclaimer: I work in a very specific IT sector, where this is true... might not be true for the sector you are interested in.)

Where would I find out more about which relevant technical skills are in high demand in Finland?.)

I would go with whatever you have most experience with, unless your skill set is not relevant anymore. When an employer is looking at recruiting somebody from abroad, they are probably looking for an expert in something and that they cannot find similar skills here easily. Anyway, what I would do is look at the job postings in your field... what are they looking for, is there something you are missing in your own CV?

Also, what are recommendable job-search techniques were I to seek to find work in and relocate to Finland? I'm aware of the mol.fi site and the like, though the listings are all in Finnish.

As a general rule, if the job listing is in English then they are open to an English speaking applicant (actually, often the application has to be in English and a Finnish speaking applicant will be tested on his or her English language skills), if it is in Finnish only then they probably expect the applicant to be fluent in Finnish.

I haven't been looking at IT job listings for a few years, so it might have changed... anyway... Mol.fi has some IT listings, but perhaps not the most interesting ones (although they might be posted there, too, usually just not only there). Oikotie and Monster are good places to start (the links are the search for IT jobs in the whole country, but you can narrow it down... use Google translate). Don't forget to upload your CV there and set that you are looking for a job. Also update your LinkedIn profile, or create one if you haven't already! Look also at headhunting sites, like http://www.barona.fi, http://www.academicwork.fi/, http://www.adecco.fi, http://www.eilakaisla.fi/. Also, check out consulting companies like Accenture. Once you get a hang of what the keywords are that you are interested in, use the Power of Google to find the relevant companies that are listing jobs you are interested in.

[CH]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Finnish IT job market still hasn't recovered from the suicide of Nokia in 2011.

I'm pretty sure I read recently... somewhere... that there are now more IT jobs in Finland than there were pre Nokia layoffs.

[DMC]

I'm aware of the mol.fi site and the like, though the listings are all in Finnish.

Thanks for any advice.

To find the English language ads and filter out many Finnish language ads, include a common English word ("and" or "the" for example) in the key words you search for.

[Adrian42]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Finnish IT job market still hasn't recovered from the suicide of Nokia in 2011.

I'm pretty sure I read recently... somewhere... that there are now more IT jobs in Finland than there were pre Nokia layoffs.

It would be interesting if you could dig that out.

Everything I read in the news and hear from friends about unemployment and job search in the IT sector doesn't sound good.
It is theoretically possible that there are more jobs than 2010 and higher unemployment at the same time when there are more people available in the field, but I actually doubt that there are more jobs in the IT sector.

And the basic pattern at least in my specific field is that before 2011 Finnish IT companies were desperately searching for developers, but today everyone offering a position for a software developer gets overwhelmed with job applications.

Don't get me wrong:
It is not hopeless and definitely possible to find a job, but there is much competition.

Examples for news on the IT sector from YLE last month:

But following mass retrenchments by Finnish phone maker and top employer Nokia as well as growing unemployment in the IT sector

http://yle.fi/uutiset/engineers_union_t ... ts/6669881

Renesas axes 800 jobs in Finland
The lay-offs are another serious blow to Oulu, northern Finland's largest city, which has lost nearly 3,000 jobs in the IT sector in the past few years.

http://yle.fi/uutiset/renesas_axes_800_ ... nd/6707630

[CH]

I'm pretty sure I read recently... somewhere... that there are now more IT jobs in Finland than there were pre Nokia layoffs.

It would be interesting if you could dig that out.

I can't find the exact same article I read, but was probably from the same original news as this one (and for some reason I cannot seem to be able to find the original from Tekniikka & Talous... maybe it was only in the paper version):
http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/talous.shtml ... 05/1760116
(According to the news the game industry numbers weren't counted into it... I find that incredibly strange.)

It is not hopeless and definitely possible to find a job, but there is much competition.

It depends totally on the it sector you work in and what skill sets you have. If you have sought after talents and a good CV you will have no problem finding a job. What I do find is that the employers seem to be looking for very specific type of talents (the requirement list in job listings tend to be a mile long and most of it I would myself put in the "wishlist" part... I mean, guys/gals that would actually fill all of the requirements don't read job listings, they are already hired), and they rather wait for the right one than hire somebody that kind of fits.

[Adrian42]

I'm pretty sure I read recently... somewhere... that there are now more IT jobs in Finland than there were pre Nokia layoffs.

It would be interesting if you could dig that out.

I can't find the exact same article I read, but was probably from the same original news as this one (and for some reason I cannot seem to be able to find the original from Tekniikka & Talous... maybe it was only in the paper version):
http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/talous.shtml ... 05/1760116
(According to the news the game industry numbers weren't counted into it... I find that incredibly strange.)

Neither is Nokia part of the IT Services Sector, so when Nokia fired a four digit number of people working in IT that also didn't show up in this statistics...

[DMC]

Could some of the figures refer to vacancies rather than jobs? I doubt that Nokia had many openings just before they crashed, so their cut-backs would not have changed the figures for vacancies very much but would have changed the figures for jobs (where jobs includes both filled and vacant positions). So believing that total vacancies has increased is easier than believing total jobs has increased.

[Adrian42]

Could some of the figures refer to vacancies rather than jobs? I doubt that Nokia had many openings just before they crashed,

Nokia did a completely unexpected 180° turn in their strategy, and they literally went from extensive hiring to extensive firing.

so their cut-backs would not have changed the figures for vacancies very much but would have changed the figures for jobs (where jobs includes both filled and vacant positions).

Wrong, you miss the obvious correlation between these two:

A person losing his job will usually immediately try to fill one of the existing vacancies at other companies - decreasing the number of vacancies when he found a new job.

So believing that total vacancies has increased is easier than believing total jobs has increased.

Also wrong.

There much less vacancies for IT jobs in Finland at the moment, that is easy to see when you look through job ads every now and then.

In what direction the number of people employed has developed is actually something something where one could have a wrong impression, since without looking at statistics the only information you have first-hand from people you know are about vacancies, quantity and quality of applicants for jobs, and how hard it is for yourself and your friends to find a job.