Job search Q&A for International Professionals from Finland with Daria Galina and Lidiia Salo

Job search Q&A for International Professionals from Finland with Daria Galina and Lidiia Salo

In this Job Search Q&A for international professionals in Finland, career coach Lidiia Salo and job search mentor Daria Galina share practical advice on finding work in the Finnish job market.

This episode is also available on Spotify

Questions and answers:

Question: Is learning Finnish essential for getting a job in Finland’s financial sector, and is it realistically possible to reach professional fluency (spoken and written) within 5–6 months?

I have experience in banking, taxation (mainly US-based), and financial modeling from my home country. Despite this background, I haven’t been able to secure any internships or training opportunities in Finland, which has been frustrating. I have relevant qualifications, but I face barriers such as language and limited professional connections. During university, as an international student, I struggled to build networks, and now I work with data, financial modeling, and forecasting, yet most job postings require Finnish language skills. This, combined with Finland’s current job market situation, creates uncertainty about my future.

Daria: 

In short: yes, Finnish is usually required in Finland’s financial sector. It’s a hierarchical, rigid industry where language is often a prerequisite. Strong Finnish skills (around C1 level) significantly improve your chances, while anything below that makes employment very difficult—especially in traditional finance roles. I want to be honest rather than discouraging.

Large organizations, such as banks, are bureaucratic with strict hiring filters, including language requirements. A more realistic starting point is smaller companies or the startup sector, where requirements are often more flexible.

Question: Does networking really help in getting a job in Finland, and what is the best way to do it, for example on LinkedIn.

Question: I know that one option for networking is attending career fairs and job meetups. But I live in Lapland, and there are none here—just me, the reindeer, and Santa. So how should someone approach networking remotely?


Question: Is it common to connect directly on LinkedIn with managers or people who work in the companies I’m targeting in my job search, or do you recommend just sending applications through the usual channels?

Lidiia: 

I would definitely say to at least connect with them, because sometimes the jobs are not published on LinkedIn. Sometimes someone just writes a post saying, “Hey, we are planning to hire someone, reach out to me,” or “Hey, my company is planning to hire, here is the link,” and the position isn’t even listed on LinkedIn.

Daria: 

Regarding reaching out to hiring managers by phone, email, or LinkedIn—I get it. I’m an introvert too, and I understand how uncomfortable it feels. I’m also not a huge fan of cold outreach. However, it’s a must, because initiative is highly valued in Finland. Showing proactivity already gives you a huge advantage over other applicants, even if their application or profile seems more suitable. Reaching out to hiring managers can be a decisive factor when a decision-maker weighs candidates.

You should definitely reach out to ask hiring managers or talent acquisition people more about their company or the role they posted. This is part of networking. Even if you don’t land the role, your outreach may lead to a connection. Networking is practiced through doing, and it often feels uncomfortable, awkward, and stressful at first. That’s normal. You will likely do it poorly at first—and that’s okay—but gradually, you’ll get better, more comfortable, and less stressed about reaching out to people.

One smart question to ask is about expectations: for example, “In this role, how would you define success in the first one to three months after I join the team?” This helps you understand how the company measures performance and whether it’s a good fit for you. If they can clearly articulate expectations and onboarding processes for new team members, it’s a strong signal that the company is worth following, even if you don’t land a role on your first attempt.

Question: If I want someone from my professional field as a mentor, is there any other way to find a mentor for career development, or even for potential job referrals?

Daria: 

Yes, there are communities across Finland that offer mentorship programs, such as general mentorship on job searching in Finland or integrating into Finnish society. There are also communities in specific domains that have mentors volunteering to support international talent in finding employment within their industry, as they know all the quirks of that field.

What you might want to do is check LinkedIn for these communities and subscribe to their newsletters to stay updated on what they offer. Keep an eye on the programs and events these communities organize. There are plenty of people mentoring on a volunteer basis in Finland—it’s a huge movement. Many people are ready to help and offer mentorship.

Lidiia:

You can also look for a mentor yourself—you don’t need an organization or anything. If you know companies where you would really like to work and see people you genuinely want to learn from, you can ask them to be your mentor. But again, it’s a big ask. Don’t suddenly message someone on LinkedIn asking them to be your mentor—they don’t know you. It’s not asking for a job, which is even bigger, but it’s still a significant request.

I would suggest the first step is to get to know the person in some way—attend an event at their company, go to community events, or send a message to start building a connection. Only after that should you ask if they would consider being your mentor.

Question: I've noticed that personality and, I don’t know, MATRIMA tests are increasingly part of the recruitment process in Finland. Could you share any tips or strategies for performing well on these assessments?

Lidiia: 

We just had a session on that with a recruiter from Finland, covering personality and logical tests. You can watch the recording below: 

Question: What are the most important parts of a LinkedIn profile to focus on in order to get hired or catch a hiring manager’s attention, and how should it be customized?

Daria: 

Big question—and a good one. I would say there are certain parts of your LinkedIn profile that are search-sensitive. For example, your header—the line or lines that appear right under your name—and your About section are both search-sensitive.

I would start by meticulously reviewing your LinkedIn profile, beginning with the basics: your profile picture should be professional and neat. You can also use a LinkedIn banner if you want to highlight something, but that’s more of a minor detail.

I would focus on three or four essential elements:

  • Your header
  • Your About section
  • The detailed descriptions of your most recent roles (especially the last one or two)
  • And lastly, your profile URL (the web link to your profile)

Your profile link should be edited to include only your name, without extra symbols—this is a small detail, but it signals professionalism.

The most important parts are the header, the About section, and the descriptions of your recent roles. When describing your roles, focus on what you achieved and the value you created. Use numbers and measurable results—this is a game changer. If you can clearly quantify your impact and communicate the value you brought, it shows strong professional awareness and signals high competence to recruiters and hiring managers.

Lidiia:

And I will share a big secret with you. Recruiters also check your LinkedIn, and they also check your activity. If you are sharing content that looks unkind, toxic, or like nonstop complaining, you will not be invited to an interview.

The reason I’m sharing this is that everyone knows what is happening in the Finnish job market right now. It’s extremely frustrating. Being rejected again and again is genuinely traumatic. Some people, feeling all this frustration and anger, go to LinkedIn and write about it. My heart says, “I feel you,” but my brain says, “This is not something to post on LinkedIn.”

Question: Do you recommend video CVs?

Daria:

It depends on the role. If you are asked to optionally submit a video CV, I would personally treat it as non-optional—as a must-do. However, it really depends on the hiring manager, and I can’t say what the approach is in every situation. If it’s optional, you can choose to do it, but keep in mind that it’s an additional piece of information for recruiters to process. If they are receiving hundreds of applications, it might actually slow down the process.

In some cases—especially in creative roles, for example in marketing—a video CV can be an interesting way to make your application stand out. If you decide to record one, keep it under one minute. No one will watch a video longer than 60 seconds. I’ve personally processed many video CVs and video replies in my work, and I honestly never go beyond 40 seconds. I usually even watch them on 2× speed—this is a very honest answer.

So, in creative roles, maybe yes—even if it’s not required—if your video CV is truly creative, distinctive, and you are confident it will positively influence the hiring manager’s decision. But if it’s generic, if you’re just reading from the screen with no expression, and it’s very basic and general, I wouldn’t put effort into it.

Lidiia: 

I even thought that maybe a video cover letter would make more sense—answering two questions: why I want to join the company and what makes me stand out. But the challenge is: how do you make sure they actually watch your video? If there are 300 applications and a recruiter spends 10 seconds per application, it becomes very difficult for them to watch a video.

So if this is something that truly inspires you and makes you happy—record it. As Daria says, maybe it shouldn’t be a CV, but more like a cover letter in video form, where you make a real effort for a particular company, instead of repeating what’s already written on your CV.

If you do that, use a shareable link (for example, an unlisted YouTube video) and make sure it’s clearly visible in your CV. Under your photo, you can add a small YouTube icon or emoji and hide the hyperlink there so it stands out immediately. Then they can clearly see that there’s a video they can watch.

If you just place the link in your contact information or cover letter, they will most likely only read your CV and may not even open the links. Recruiters usually quickly scan to see if you’re a fit or not.

And also—please don’t burn yourself out doing this.

Question: About LinkedIn strategy: I’ve heard that you should position yourself as aiming for one very specific role. However, in Finland there aren’t that many open jobs available, and I believe my experience is transferable to other roles. How should I position myself so I don’t limit my chances of being considered for different roles?

Daria: 

What are we talking about here? Are we talking about different industries, different domains, and how transferable these skills are at different levels? I would say that generalists in Finland are valued, especially because of the country’s historical background. The population has always been relatively small, so people often had to be “jacks of all trades,” as teams were small and you needed to wear many hats within a company.

And today, generalists are valued in this market. However, my question remains: how different are the roles you’re referring to? Because based on the answer to that, I could give more specific guidance.

Lidiia:

it’s not an easy question to answer, because I’m someone who usually says: narrow it down if possible. The reason for this view comes from reviewing thousands and thousands of applications. If you were asking about a CV, it would be much easier to answer—I would say it should be very specific to one area of experience. I would even check all your titles to see if they make sense, because in many cases they don’t make sense quickly enough for recruiters to invite you to an interview.

But when we talk about a LinkedIn profile, it’s different, because a LinkedIn profile includes more information and offers a broader perspective on your work experience. In that case, as Daria said, I would look at how far apart the roles are. For example, if you’ve worked in sales, marketing, and maybe a third area like customer roles, it’s possible to combine these three on LinkedIn. The CV, though, should be much more narrowly focused.

However, it often happens that the roles are very different. For example, in a recent session, there was a person looking for jobs in marketing and data science, but whose experience was in business development. When I open a LinkedIn profile like that, it becomes very confusing. My first impulse is to say: could you choose one? Data science and sales or business development—or even marketing—are very different fields.

If you studied data science in Finland but all your previous experience is in sales, and you apply for data science roles, and I open your LinkedIn and the first header I read is something like “marketing professional, sales, and data engineer,” I think: who are you? If I can’t clearly understand your professional identity, it becomes more challenging for you to get interviews—not impossible, but more difficult.

So yes, again, as Daria says, it’s about what exactly you’re looking for.

About Lidiia and Daria

Lidiia Salo is a job search mentor and career coach helping experts build a strong personal brand & get the offers they deserve. 

Daria Galina has a diverse background of over 13 years across different sectors and domains, including heavy industry, tech startups, operations, project management, product management, learning, and training. She is also a qualified teacher in Finland, a job search mentor with Get Hired in Finland, and head of learning with Herizon.

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