Educated UK male seeks work. Any help folks?

BenjaminRich · Post by **BenjaminRich** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 5:02 am

Hello all.

I'm a likable 33 year old UK citizen moving immediately to Finland to be with my girlfriend and am seeking meaningful ft/pt employment.

I'd consider most things, but my strengths lie in communication, both verbal and written and as cliche as it may sound - in people skills.

I am learning FInnish but would not yet call myself a speaker. Tricky isn't it

I've a BSc (hons) in Psychology from the University of Birmingham, 5 A's at A-level (including maths and English) and am a level 3 City and Guilds Automotive mechanic.

I would be willing to work hard and professionally at most things, but for reference my occupational experience includes:

Teaching of English from beginner to experienced, to children and adults alike.
Clinical and legal work in a variety of hospital and forensic settings.
Legal work and research within a psychology/mental health field.
Mechanical repair of cars/motorbikes etc.
Academic/psychology

I really would consider anything, as I love her and wish to be here in Finland. (awwww)

Any ideas folks? Ask around, ask your neighbours, ask their neighbours...you get the idea. Extremely grateful for anything at all.

mrbenjaminrich@yahoo.co.uk

**Sponsor:**

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:20 am

BenjaminRich wrote:I'm a likable 33 year old UK citizen moving immediately to Finland

I don't think many people find work through this forum, but you might increase your chances if you are a bit more specific. Where in Finland will you be located? Mind you, providing that info will increase your chances in the same way as buying 2 tickets will increase your chances of winning the lottery; I think you need a contingency plan. It is possible to find work here but I doubt that a post here will lead you to a job. Old-fashioned leg work is probably essential.

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:22 am

...I agree, plus getting the girlfriend to network like crazy with all her friends and relations.

There is a cruel shortage of nurses and carers in the field of mental health (especially outside the capital area) and caring for the elderly. If you can ramp up your Finnish that might be an area you could look into.

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:56 am

penelope wrote:There is a cruel shortage of nurses and carers in the field of mental health (especially outside the capital area) and caring for the elderly. If you can ramp up your Finnish that might be an area you could look into.

Op would most likely need some more education for that?

BenjaminRich wrote:I'd consider most things, but my strengths lie in communication, both verbal and written and as cliche as it may sound - in people skills.

Tell me, BenjaminRich, what good is a communication skills when you are unable to speak?

That is to say, your strengths are weakened quite a lot when you can't use them. Different language and different customs change communication, imho.

BenjaminRich · Post by **BenjaminRich** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:58 am

Thanks for the prompt replies everybody.

I'll be based in Helsinki.

CH · Post by CH » Sat Sep 03, 2011 2:59 pm

I think it would also help if you also listed what you have experience of working with ("I have worked x years as a y, where I used z..."). What degrees you have is all fine to have (although as you state them they really don't mean anything to me, and I would guess the same for most empoyers), but employers really want to see some work experience, too. The jobs you listed as preferential, do you have any experiense what so ever in those? Have your girlfriend translate your skills and degrees into something meaningful in Finnish context, and I don't mean word for word... but well... how you wrote your post gave absolutely nothing that a employer here would be looking for. You list as your biggest asset "communication" and "people skills", but that needs to go with an actual skill... in themselves they don't go that far (well... handing out samples in a shopping mall).

Being in Helsinki area certainly helps. If you were to look for work in the UK, what kind of places would that be... try to contact the same kind of places here. Think of something were you don't need to communicate with any customers. You need to do the leg work, and you need to market yourself to the employers (and you certainly didn't give anything that anybody else could use to actually do your leg work for you... "so, I know this bloke... well, actually I don't, but see... he has worked as... um... well... he has really good communication skills, he wrote this smashing intro... oh, wait...").

jahasjahas · Post by **jahasjahas** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:51 pm

Upphew wrote:

"You don't have permission to access "http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/i ... 1_1769.jpg" on this server."

mmac · Post by **mmac** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 4:59 pm

You really have your work cut out for you. You will really struggle without any contacts to get anything, never mind something you're looking. If your girlfriend and her friends/family cannot help you, then you may end up being very disappointed and very bored. This may seem very negative however as many on this forum will tell you it's realistic. Really stress to her that she needs to push those family and friends connections for you,

You would most likely be better off trying to find work from the UK and move when you have it secured, because at least in the UK you can earn some money whilst you look. Without a job it will take you anything from between 6 months and a year to get a residence permit, and without that you can't get a social security number which means no bank account, no mobile phone, in fact you'll be pretty much dependant on your girlfriend.

If you think your relationship can cope with that and your girlfriend supporting you (or you having enough savings) then good luck !. I'm not saying you can't succeed just that many people severely underestimate the issues and difficulties involved. In reality it is much easier for Finns to find work in the UK.

Mölkky-Fan · Post by **Mölkky-Fan** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 7:28 am

But as he has already decided to move here, then let's not bring out the doom and gloom responses.

ps I have now given four people jobs from this forum, so again there is always a chance...

I have somewhere between 75 and 100 foreign friends here, all but one now have work (and he seems quite happy not working) and it can be anything... teaching English, working as a greenkeeper on a golf course, software, project engineers, project managers, sales, musicians, graphic design, car mechanics, web design, care workers...
I must say that I always see people saying that your friends and family network is very important but I do not know anyone that got work via family contacts, maybe it does work, but I wonder if this is just not a phrase which everyone has to say when someone is here looking for a job.

My advice is threefold (I am sure I have said this before many times on the forum):
1. the first job means a lot... shows your next employer that you can work here, helps (in some cases) you to improve your Finnish, and gives you a bit of money and freedom and most importantly can lead you to your next, better job. So take what you can without expecting high wages, managerial position etc. Usually in a small - medium company you have a chance of being spotted fairly quickly if you are worthy of being promoted.

2. work out where your skills are (do not forget your English language is a skill as are your communication skills, and when you get to hear many of the Finnish people giving English presentations you will appreciate this)- and start targeting companies which could need those skills. For example, if you do not speak Finnish yet and your English is good, then look for companies which are working in international markets, and look for work in sales/ projects etc. Be willing to travel a lot and you can get something. If you have skills teaching, then first check out the international schools or English stream schools or Finbrit or similar. If nursing or caring is your area, then you need to get your Finnish up and running... but I might be able to help you with contacts in care homes as I partly work in that area and have many care homes as customers.

3. make sure your CV is Finland-icised. Mine was not when I came (it was a typical English CV) and I got very few responses to hundreds of applications, then a nice chap from Mercuri Urval gave me some free help to get my CV changed, and then I got one job, and a few more offers very quickly.

You can just apply to every job on http://www.mol.fi, but it is tough work and not so rewarding.

ps. I would think car mechanics might not be a bad route as lots of the garages seem to be hiring, in fact a few months ago Inchcape were and so were Autokeskus.

Good luck!

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 8:48 am

Good post Mölkky-Fan.
I too have doubts about the networking thing. I do know a couple of Finns who got jobs that way, but I doubt if it is as common as often claimed on here.
Your advice looks good, but I am not too sure about taking any job just to get started. It is a tricky one. Yes, you need to get a start and most people need to earn money, so it is tempting to take that route. The problem with it is that many employers define you by your last job. A rocket scientist who came here and initially worked as a cleaner would tend to be regarded as a cleaner when applying for their next job.
I would advise against applying for every job you see on MOL. My experience has been that it is better to spend some time on research and then make very targeted applications tailored to highlight how you would be a good match to the prospective employer. You can't do that with a shotgun approach.
On the other hand is sounds like you have a lot more experience of this that I do. 75 to 100 foreign friends is more friends than I have in total, anywhere.

Mölkky-Fan · Post by **Mölkky-Fan** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 9:22 am

I agree with your comments on the first job, but on the flip side if you do not have a job then it is also a problem for the hirer.

I prefer to hire someone who has tried to work doing something, rather than sat back for a year waiting for that perfect job. But you are right, what I meant was that I took a PM job with a large pay cut compared with my previous jobs outside Finland (I had been Senior PM and Project Director for large companies previously), but quickly was promoted to run the department and now run a company and earn a lot more than I ever did outside Finland. Of course if you want to be a senior manager, flipping burgers does not help much towards that goal, but maybe a step back into project engineering might.

I agree with your comments on applying to every job, I tried it (not with MOL, but with other sites) and it was a waste of time. I got my offers from approaching the right companies even if they were not hiring, having studied the companies and targeting the ones I thought I could benefit.

Csphilli · Post by **Csphilli** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 4:54 pm

It's going to be difficult I agree. But that doesnt mean it's impossible. YOU have to network just as much as your GF. You must put yourself out there, meet people, connect with them and their friends.

I was able to find employment through contacts I met at the I.E.S.A.F. organization. For some reason the Fbook link is displaying correctly but not the organization's direct site. Just google the acronym without dots and it'll be the first thing to come up. They can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/2453203904/

They hold monthly pub quizzes at Molly Malone's (Helsinki) the first Wednesday at 7pm. All in English.

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