Finnish Job Search

 

Language can be a major obstacle in getting a job in Finland. Unless you speak Finnish or Swedish fluently, your choices are limited to international companies and special areas such as engineering, IT or independent work.

There are many positions in Finland that require professionals who are fluent in English and who can speak Finnish or Swedish at the business conversation level. A sound working knowledge of the local language is considered necessary to cope with daily office life and life outside work.

Finnish citizens pay among the highest taxes in the world, but enjoy one of the best welfare systems.

Finland Basic Data

Background: Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It finally won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.

Capital: Helsinki

Climate:cold temperate; potentially subarctic, but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes

Ethnic groups: Finn 93%, Swede 6%, Sami 0.11%, Roma 0.12%, Tatar 0.02%

Languages: Finnish 93.4% (official), Swedish 5.9% (official), small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities

Economy - overview: Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy, with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Trade is important, with exports equaling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Rapidly increasing integration with Western Europe - Finland was one of the 11 countries joining the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on 1 January 1999 - will dominate the economic picture over the next several years. Growth in 2003 was held back by the global slowdown but will pick up in 2004 provided the world economy suffers no further blows.

Labor force - by occupation: public services 32%, industry 22%, commerce 14%, finance, insurance, and business services 10%, agriculture and forestry 8%, transport and communications 8%, construction 6%

Unemployment rate: 8.5% (2002 est.)

Natural resources: timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver

Industries: metal products, electronics, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, copper refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing

Currency: euro (EUR)

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999)

Internet country code: .fi

Finnish Job Search Info

Now to finalize your job search, if your cover letter and CV are ready, you may email them through our international job search engine to recruiters and executive headhunters.

In addition, on the finnish cover letter, finnish CV and finnish job interview pages, you will find useful tips.

Good luck with your finnish job search!