English-speaking internship in Finland

[Mortson]

Hello all,

I am currently a second year undergraduate studying International Relations at Aston University in the United Kingdom, and am seeking a 12 month English-speaking placement. My Finnish language skills are very basic, but I would hope that a year in Finland would allow me to take some classes and improve. My reason for wanting a placement in Finland is because my girlfriend is a Finnish national, and we hope to live together in Helsinki after I have graduated.

I would like to know the following:

• Has anyone else done an internship in Finland? If so, which company was it for?
• Are there any particular companies that are more likely to take on someone who does not speak a great deal of Finnish? Do you work for such a company?
• If I can't find a placement, would I be better off working in the UK (to get some experience on my CV) or studying in Finland for a year? Would Finnish employers look upon a study placement favourably?

I'm really at a loss about what to do. I know that my language skills (or lack thereof) are going to be a limitation, but I just want to get some feedback on my chances. If there really is little to no chance of getting something, it isn't too late to look for something in my own country.

Thank you very much for your time.

[Sami-Is-Boss]

Erasmus placement in Finland sounds like your best bet. You'll be able to support yourself with the British student loan (as pathetic as it is, admittedly), you'll get better at the language (assuming you don't exclusively hang out with other Erasmus, which is an easy trap to fall into), and your host institution will most likely have some kind of job board or careers service.

[Mortson]

Erasmus placement in Finland sounds like your best bet. You'll be able to support yourself with the British student loan (as pathetic as it is, admittedly), you'll get better at the language (assuming you don't exclusively hang out with other Erasmus, which is an easy trap to fall into), and your host institution will most likely have some kind of job board or careers service.

Thank you for your reply! Is it possible to use the careers service of the university that I join? If so, that sounds really quite appealing.

[Ice_Man]

What are you studying ? Fiskars provides numerous internship opportunities where Finnish language skills are not necessarily a pre-requisite. http://www.fiskarsgroup.com/careers/ope ... am-finland

[Mortson]

Thank you so much Ice Man! That link was really, really useful.

I'm studying International Relations and Social Policy so unfortunately I don't have the advantage of studying marketing or business.

If anyone else has any suggestions, please let me know. It's really quite difficult for a non-Finn to know which companies are likely to recruit foreigners and so any suggestions are much appreciated.