Lentokentän ja ydinvoimalan kautta digitaaliseksi suunnittelijaksi
Ennen nykyistä työpaikkaansa digitaalisena suunnittelijana Fondionilla Sid kerrytti työkokemusta yllättävistäkin paikoista; ydinvoimalasta, Helsingin keskustassa vartijana, tehtaassa, laivan kansimiehenä ja lentokentän siivoojana.
“Olen arvostanut kaikkea työtä mitä olen tehnyt, en usko huonon työn termiin. Kokemusteni kautta olen nähny niin paljon erilaisia ihmisiä ja ammatteja, että moni ei uskoisi. Tämä ymmärrys taas auttaa minua nykyisessä työssäni suunnittelemaan entistä parempia käyttöliittymiä kaikenlaisille ihmisille, myös niille joita ei arjessaan tapaa.”
“Olin aina halunnut työskennellä teollisena muotoilijana tai arkkitehtina, mutta kouluun päästyäni tajusin miten paljon digitaalinen ympäristö kiinnosti minua. Tietokone mahdollistaa tekemisen ihan eri mittakaavalla.”
Unelmatyö löytyi sattumalta
MeetFrankiin Sid törmäsi Linkedinissä, kun alkoi pohtimaan tulevaisuuden työhaaveitansa. Mielessä pysyi ajatus tiimistä, jossa pääsisi kehittämään tuotetta alusta saakka omien taitojensa kautta. MeetFrankiin Sid liittyi kokeillaakseen onneaan – ja se löytyi nopeasti.
“MeetFrank tekee työnhausta automaattista. Latasin apin, ilmoitin omia tietojani bottiin ja algoritmi osasikin pingata minulle heti Fondionin avoimen työpaikkahaun.”
MeetFrankin rekrytointiappi perustuu algoritmiin, joka yhdistää työnhakijat ja työntekijät toisiinsa ilmoitettujen taitojen perusteella. Algoritmin avulla appi osaa tarjota työnhakijalle sopivimmat avoimet työpaikat.
“Fondionin paikasta tuli heti sellainen olo, että tänne pitää hakea. Siinä ilmoituksessa mainittiin oikeastaan kaikki mitä etsinkin – käyttöliittymäsuunnittelua, tuotekehitystä ja pieni, intensiivinen tiimi.”
Sidin mukaan parasta työnhaussa oli se, ettei haun aloittamiseen tarvinnut valmista CV:tä tai edes koko omaa nimeään. Keskustelu potentiaalisen työnantajan kanssa oli myös helppo aloittaa. “Anonyymius ja mahdollisuus kysyä kysymyksiä avoimesta paikasta tekivät rekrytointiprosessista helpompaa ja nopeampaa, ja samalla myös aidosti työnhakijaa arvostavaa.”
Digitaalisena suunnittelija pääsee ratkomaan ongelmia päivittäin
Fondionilla on tällä hetkellä 12 tiimiläistä, jotka ovat rakentaneet tiimihengestä välittömän ja joustavan. Fondionissa Sidin mielestä parasta on juuri “työhön liittyvä ongelmanratkaisu, joka ylläpitää kipinää pitää yllä myös työhöni liittyvä ongelmanratkaisu. Käyttöliittymiin liittyvät ovat niin monimutkaisia ja monitahoisia, että välillä ratkaisujen löytäminen tuntuu ylitsepääsemättömiltä. Ja sitten kuitenkin se ratkaisu löytyy jostain. Jatkuva itsensä voittaminen pitää minut edelleen tässä työssä”.
Developing business-driven ecosystems and enterprise architectures all have a clear objective to make clients’ lives easier and businesses more effective and functional.
Multinational strategic change and technology company Nortal’s Partner and Head of Technology Jarkko Enden explains why digital ecosystems utilising modern CRM and ERP solutions are a hot topic in IT at the moment and how teams at Nortal embrace it.
Interview
Hello Jarkko! Tell us a little about yourself.
I have 20 years of experience in different areas of software and IT service development. This includes enterprise architecture, full stack development, concept and business development, agile processes, DevOps, software architectures and quality management processes.
Healthcare is topically my strongest area, since I’ve worked as CTO in a healthcare company. I also have a long background in developing with Microsoft’s tools.
Your role, Head of Technology, covers a wide range of responsibilities. When did you start at Nortal and how does your daily work look like?
My career at Nortal started about 4 years ago, after working in healthcare technology for almost 20 years.
At that point Nortal had worked with healthcare clients mainly in the Baltics, and my role as a Lead Architect was to kick-start this business in Finland. It was quite a big risk, but during these four years we managed to grow this part of our business exponentially, and currently our teams consist of more than 60 experts.
Currently I’m the head of our Technology & Business Solutions unit, developing our internal processes and solution portfolio, as well as overseeing the work of various development teams. I also work as an enterprise architect in large digital ecosystem projects.
Nortal in Finland has 4 offices (headquarter in Helsinki), nearly 200 employees and 35 years of history! The company is providing technological solutions and consulting in all domains – healthcare, public sector, industry, enterprises etc.
The importance of education is a trending discussion in the computer science sector. Do you think studying is worth the effort for an IT expert?
I have studied at Helsinki University and have a master’s degree in computer science.
It is many times said that you really only learn once you go to work. But as a serious IT expert, it helps to have theoretical knowledge to be able to look at the big picture.
At Nortal you talk a lot about ecosystem thinking. What does the notion mean and why is it a hot topic now?
Basically, this idea comes from the fact that the whole world has gone digital. Nortal’s digital ecosystem approach initiates a shift toward viewing IT as an ecosystem, rather than a simple business function.
As technology can change entire industries’ business models and create new business opportunities for innovators, IT must become a strategic partner to management and an enabler of business transformation.
For us at Nortal, we strive for long customer relationships. Our aim is to be the enterprise architects of the digital transformation of our customers. We are very much focused on business benefits and tailoring solutions for each customer.
To put it very simply: IT is not a business unit anymore, but rather an enabler for the entire business ecosystem. It’s quite natural that this is a hot topic in an exponentially digitalizing society.
No arguments there, digitalisation is far-reaching and full of potential. What tools do you use at Nortal to make this happen?
Our aim is to utilize the most modern and robust tools available. Depending on the customer case naturally. We want to make sure that our tools and architecture solutions support modern environments and are also future-proof.
In our customer projects we aim to utilise secure, cloud-native solutions and hybrid cloud architectures. We have deep expertise in all the main cloud environments (Azure, GCP, and AWS).
Nortal values cross-functional teams. How do you implement it in Nortal’s daily life?
Especially in larger projects our teams are built around business processes instead of technologies, and they are composed of cross-functional experts. In one team you might have CRM and ERP experts, and custom software developers, all working towards the same goal.
However, certain dedicated projects might have expert teams focused on a specific system, such as CRM.
At Nortal, we value cross-functional know-how and learning. We have a ‘Friday Techie Show’ for all our developers and IT experts, where people get to present their work and findings to others.
Also, our Finnish IT architects have their own group, which normally gets together quite often to discuss architecture decisions, technologies and current business topics.
Our senior architects also typically contribute their know-how for sales activities.
Give our technologically talented readers some tips. What does it take to become an IT architect?
Generally, a senior IT architect needs to have a good understanding of enterprise architectures, business processes, data solutions, and client communication, to mention a few. Leading architects also need to develop suitable leadership skills, which in today’s working culture have to be based on merits on architectural thinking, and not top-down management.
The role of a solution architect at Nortal is a very strong and responsible one. Architects have an important role in projects, but they also hold the torch of implementing practices around the organization.
Nortal is a strong supporter of constant learning and education. We support our employees in applying for certifications in different areas, such as Microsoft Dynamics and cloud technologies. All Nortal group employees are also entitled to use one workday per month for education.
What’s hot in the talent market and what sort of specialised expertise are you currently looking for?
CRM is a hot topic right now, especially as part of a comprehensive IT architecture renewal program. CRM, customer relationship management, is traditionally viewed as a standalone sales tool. In the modern world it is actually a lot more than that. CRM (or XRM) is an essential part of a modern enterprise ecosystem.
Nortal is currently looking for CRM specialists/architects to take part in these ecosystem projects.
Do examples inspire you? Who is your role model or guru if you can say so?
This is easy! Martin Fowler, who is perhaps the best-known software architecture expert in the world. Among other things, he is considered to be the father of microservice architectures. He introduced innovative solutions already as a young IT guru in the 1990s. He is still a visionary in his own field of designing software.
It’s evident that joy is built into your profession! But how do you take your mind off business?
I have a passion for music, and I tend to joke that I’m another failed rock star. Back in the day our band was close to making it, at least we thought so.
I still play guitar in a few bands. Together with Nortal’s Chief Legal Council we have a group, which you can see as the house band at Nortal’s parties.
Join Nortal’s amazing team! Check out their active job openings:
No doubt the best known startup hub is Silicon Valley – the place is as famous as Michael Schumacher in Formula 1. Just like plenty of Finnish drivers competed with Schumacher (and won!), Finland’s capital Helsinki is on the top of the game in the startup world and successfully challenges the status quo.
Too good to be true? To find out how Helsinki has grown into an innovative stronghold, we contacted Helsinki Business Hub representatives – the people whose daily task is to support acceleration of business growth in the area.
A lot of cities are telling us that they are the most amazing destinations. However, Helsinki Business Hub is stepping up the game with actually providing a FREE 90-day relocation package, so talent can come and see themselves what Helsinki is all about. How does this opportunity work in real life? Who is the 90 day Finn targetgroup?
Thanks for bringing this up! It’s a fun campaign we launched especially the founders, investors and techtalent in the US-Silicon Valley in our mind. For years, the Finnish worklife has had a strong focus on empowering the employees. This means flexibility with combining work and family, working hours and remote work for example. This model has worked really well for us in Finland. The pandemic was the last push that encouraged us to take this thinking even further. Perhaps work from home could mean work from anywhere?
The 90-day relocation package is limited to max. 15 chosen applicants, but there is a lot of support we can offer to founders and tech talent planning to relocate, starting from meaningful connections and industry specific information all the way to introductions to ecosystem partners. And do note, this offer is available for everyone, with or without application.
Considering relocation or curious about Helsinki job life? MeetFrank recruitment app has now collected all the insightful data and highlighted it on the front page. Still have unanswered questions? Join the community and get advice from fellow users.
Now we just have to jump straight to the main question: why should innovative entrepreneurs and curious talent choose Helsinki?
The quality of life is something I can’t emphasize enough.
The winter is slushy, dark and long, and can sometimes get overwhelming, I get that, but click your day light on and listen to the positives: Four different seasons, each with distinct attributes. Clean nature on your doorstep. Fresh air. Safety and trust – for the society, democracy, business environment.
Friendships that start slowly but are for life. Work-life balance, you can pick-up your kid from daycare at 4pm. In addition to these come the secondary aspects: innovation-savvy society, closely-knit startup ecosystem, strong public support, lack of hierarchies.
We would gladly avoid talking about C-19 altogether, unfortunately it disturbs our life significantly. How has the pandemic situation affected the HBH?
There’s a C-19 joke of Finns having difficulties keeping the newly advised 2 meter distance from each other as the distance we are accustomed to is 4 meters….
Well, jokes aside, the pandemic has hit Finland as it has every other country in the world. HBH was no exception, we closed our office and have mostly been working remotely since March. As the gravity of the situation became clear to us, we had to rethink ways to support our clients and owners through this period. The usual way of working was out of question, so we have done test runs with different virtual event concepts ranging from Q&A sessions to pitching events.
The reception has been good. Our highlight of the year, Slush, has in the past years secured its position as the international meeting point for tech innovation and growth capital. So, this year was definitely different with no actual, physical event taking place, but Slush once again was able to nurture the connection between the founders and the investors through their NODE platform.
It is said that Finland has the most helpful ecosystem for scaling business. What role has Helsinki Business Hub in this notion?
One of the reasons why Helsinki is great for testing new innovations and scaling up is its size: it’s a modern European capital city, but it’s not too big, just the right size. Finns are tech savvy and interested in trying new things, a nation of early adopters and society built on trust, respect. transparency and low corruption.
Helsinki region has the most locally connected startup and innovation ecosystem in the world (according to Startup Genome report). Decision makers are relatively easy to approach and open for a dialog, there is low hierarchy and power distance.
HBH connects foreign investors and tech companies with the key ecosystem players, helps to efficiently launch business in the Finnish capital area and provides quality deal flow from Finland for venture investors.
What is the most significant success story of HBH that pops in mind first?
Our work is to promote Finland and the Helsinki region as an investment location, tech hub and a great place to work. Every year for six years in a row Helsinki has attracted most investment projects in the whole Nordics.
Also positive response and enormous amount of applications, which we have received for the 90 Days Finn program show that Helsinki is no longer seen as a remote corner of Europe, but is interesting, relevant and appealing to tech talent.
Our success is defined by the success of our clients. There are many interesting cases, all of them significant in their own way, but probably Muji and Zalando are the names well known to everybody. It’s great to see how Zalando’s office in Helsinki has grown over the years from a small team to the tech hub with more than 100 employees. HBH has been supporting Japanese design company Muji in their flagship store project in Helsinki and in collaboration with the Finnish tech company Sensible4 on the first self-driving all weather bus shuttle Gacha. This was very exciting!
Insightful comments from Helsinki Business Hub experts:
You have a pretty detailed insight of what talent needs and companies have to offer. Do the majority of companies prefer remote work (working from abroad) or talent relocation to Finland?
Panu Maula: This depends on the needs of the company and the situation of the talent. Traditionally companies have tried to relocate the talent but remote working has been around for a while already, especially within startup companies.
Remote work has become the latest trend which comes with its own advantages as well as challenges when the company needs to be aware of the laws and legislations of the country where the person is hired.
One of Finland’s uniqueness is being the global seafaring hotspot. How is smart maritime and Helsinki connected? What are the growing possibilities in that field?
Maria Hartikainen: Helsinki region is one of the leading marine technology and maritime innovation hubs in the world. The ecosystem is diverse and well connected – from headquarters of large tech companies like Wärtsilä, ABB Marine, Cargotec and Helsinki Shipyard to growth companies like Norsepower, Iceye, Fleetrange, Seaber and many others.
Aalto University is one of the best engineering schools in Europe and it has a major input in Finland’s exceptional engineering talent pool. And I’m especially pleased to see more and more women studying engineering, Finland offers great opportunities to build a successful career in tech.
Speaking about future drivers of technological development in the maritime industry I think biggest opportunities are in digitalisation and sustainability
It is rather rare that such a company like Helsinki Business Hub is owned by the city of Helsinki. What are the main benefits and goals of that ownership?
Sonja Malin: There are a lot of cities in Europe that provide support for companies planning to invest in that particular region, however what separates Helsinki from the others, is that the city has a strong vision of becoming the most functional city in the world. Sounds grand, doesn’t it?
The plan includes a lot of tech, sure, but more importantly it’s about enabling people, the citizens, to influence decisions that improve their everyday lives. This mindset is something that can also be seen in the way the city of Helsinki works with founders. For us working at HBH this is a huge benefit and means we are able to provide our clients an easy access to testing their gear or service, as the whole city acts as an urban platform. A great example is Testbed Helsinki.
Want to boost your company’s visibility in the Finnish job market?
To kickstart the community in Helsinki, MeetFrank and Helsinki Business Hub have joined forces to boost the job market visibility of companies operating in Finland.
Leave your contact details, and we’ll be in touch shortly. 👇
Founded in 2003, Sievo is a global leader in procurement analytics. The company now manages over 350 billion euros in spendings yearly. They have also succeeded in building an incredibly diverse organisation with people from over 30 different countries working in their Finnish and USA offices.
To find out how they did it, we interviewed Janina Kurki, Head of Nerd Attraction & People Development Partner at Sievo. In the interview, we talk about challenges that recruiting internationally presents, finding the best talent from abroad, and tips to the companies planning to start hiring globally.
In addition to the company’s take on the matter, we also asked some questions from Sievo’s employee Aleksandr Shevelev. The Senior Software Engineer is originally from Russia, but in 2019 decided to move to Finland to work at Sievo. How was his relocation experience and how smoothly did he settle in? Let’s jump into the interview to find out!
INTERVIEW
People from over 30 different countries are working in Sievo. It might not seem outrageous for a tech-company in 2020, but Sievo has been hiring international talent since its establishment. Why did you choose to focus on hiring internationally from the beginning?
When Sievo was founded in 2003, the founders Matti Sillanpää and Sammeli Sammalkorpi built a procurement solution to help big companies globally. Our first client was a Danish company LEGO, and already the third hire was a non-Finnish speaking specialist. So our focus is not on hiring internationally, but on always having the best talent.
“Our focus is not on hiring internationally, but on always having the best talent.”
What are some of the greatest mistakes Sievo has made on this journey of hiring and relocating foreigners? Maybe you could share a specific story?
Hiring international people requires that the company has a working culture that fits for people from different backgrounds. I think Sievo has been exceptionally successful in that, but it might have made us assume it would be an easy thing to do and that relocated people would fit in Finland organically.
There has not been a crisis that I could think of, but it helps if things are well prepared in advance. There have been surprises on how many daily activities in Finland rely on e-bank credentials. Also, the taxation might hit hard when you see your first payslip. There cannot ever be too much information shared beforehand, and we should share even more information about the local ways of working. When you have a relationship of trust with people going through relocation, they will also trust your advice on managing the Migration Bureaucracy Jungle.
Aleksandr: Between companies, there are quite a lot of differences in management and working style. I am glad to say that Sievo’s values were quite helpful in making the transition between companies and countries. I was extremely happy to see that within Sievo I get a lot of opportunities to grow, which was one of my concerns during the relocation process.
How does Sievo find the best talent from abroad to relocate in the first place?
We do use different channels to promote ourselves; LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Meetfrank, etc. We take part in meet-ups and events, and our developers have good networks where they promote their work and teams. We have always been able to attract international talent, so it has helped a lot when we have much more diverse candidate pool potential.
We do not settle for the basic ways, instead, we are always looking for new ways and channels, e.g. we were also one of the first companies in Finland using Meetfrank too.
Aleksandr: When I started looking for a job in Finland, I visited a job fair organized by Helsinki Business Hub in the Consulate General of Finland in Saint Petersburg. At the event, I had the first interview round with Sievo and some other companies. A couple of rounds of interviews later I chose to accept Sievo’s offer.
How much do you have to convince people to choose Finland as a place to work? What are the country’s main attractions for potential employees, a wage level, culture or something else?
Actually, mentioning Finland makes it easier. Mainly people are worried about the climate, location and taxation. However, people are usually pretty positively stunned, after sharing the tips about surviving the cold and darkness, and what great things the high taxation rate brings (safety, clean environment, free schooling and health care). Also, the current situation with Covid-19 is just a concrete example of how well things work in Finland.
Sometimes it seems that Finland is the best-kept secret for IT professionals. It would help if Finland would be promoted as one of the best countries for developers as it is confirmed already by the latest research.
“Sometimes it seems that Finland is the best-kept secret for IT professionals.”
Aleksandr: I started to look for a job abroad due to general political, social, and economic problems in Russia. Finland became my first choice because of several factors, including being a well-managed country and its closeness to Russia. It is relatively easy to get to Saint-Petersburg via train without long queues at customs (if there wasn’t a raging pandemic).
What are the biggest challenges for foreigners while relocating to Finland based on your experience?
You cannot get things done without e-bank credentials and to have them, it takes multiple visits and a lot of bureaucracy. Also, getting rental accommodation as a foreigner (without bank credentials) takes longer than it should. Sievo provides accommodation to get started and helps with recommendations, references and even sets-up appointments with the long term renters, but it still might be time-consuming to get things sorted.
The Finnish bureaucracy has its ways, and it definitely might cause issues at some point. But we promise every new team-member assistance with any matters because moving to a new country is quite stressful already by itself.
Aleksandr: The main problem was the thinning or breaking of almost all the social and personal network connections. From the technical or bureaucratic standpoint relocation with Sievo’s support was quite a smooth process. There were some delays in getting the Finnish ID Card and renting a place to live, but it was mostly due to my inexperience with the local market.
When looking back, there were several means of support provided by Sievo:
Help with the paperwork
Financing the moving expenses
First accommodation in Finland
Lots of help and information in general about living and working in Finland.
Currently, European countries have closed their borders already for a second time this year, which makes relocation more challenging. On the other hand, people are working remotely more than ever. How has this year changed your views on recruiting?
As we have always recruited internationally, the remote tools have been used for years already. We are also very fortunate in a way because businesswise it is one of the best years in Sievo’s history – and we are recruiting probably more than ever. It has shown me that we have been able to recruit people that have a high tolerance for change and uncertainty.
I have not felt the need to make huge adjustments on our side, but candidate behaviour has changed. People think thoroughly if now is a good time to change jobs, so they check information about the company very carefully, including the financial data.
“People think thoroughly if now is a good time to change jobs.”
From a growth company point of view: we have been able to bring people stability in very unstable situation and been agile to adjust with the ‘new reality’ while enabling Sievo’s hockey stick growth.
How do you see the impact long-term? Are people likely to look for new challenges internationally?
International migration has already started. It is not just Covid-19 that makes people search for brighter futures. Climate change, political uncertainty and even warfare will make people leave their current homes. I personally hope we can globally make an impact for a better future for all, so migration wouldn’t be the only way to provide safety and prosperity to everyone.
Let’s look at the bigger picture for a moment. Hiring international talent to Finnish companies has been a hot topic over the summer. Why do you think the issue has gained so much attention this year?
I have been very surprised about the fact indeed, but it is definitely a good discussion and an important topic. I have been talking about the issue since 2017, but it hasn’t raised that big headlines until now. I believe the increasing need for talent and the shortage of experienced professionals are finally coming to a critical state where IT companies in Finland need to become more accepting of international talent.
When it becomes a business-critical issue, the change will happen. I believe it is inevitable. The difficult question is how well the companies can make that change – changing your work language and company culture is not a recruitment decision, it is a strategic decision to the core. And that takes time.
What would you suggest to companies that are only now making their first steps to attract talent from different backgrounds?
Before anything, I would recommend companies to think about why they are making the transition, what it means to them and what are the objectives. Also, the team has to be involved in the process as early as possible.
There are some cruel rumours about “international companies” where a couple of international developers are kept in a separate room “so they would have someone to talk to” as in the cafeteria the only spoken language is Finnish. Or similar cases where the official slide decks are in English, but the rest of the documentation is in Finnish.
In these kinds of cases, I would recommend the company to re-evaluate whether they are ready for international talents, and how they can help with the integration to the team. There are lot of companies that have done it already, the knowledge and information is available, it never hurts to ask help to have a better starting point for the change.
Let’s start with what makes Finland such a good environment for entrepreneurs and aspiring startups with some good-to-know facts:
👉 To start a business, you should have a good idea based on market and user insights and a good team to execute it – that we all know. What about the startup environment? What should it offer to entrepreneurs? 🤔
The 3 essentials for a vibrant startup environment are talent, investors, and funding.
🥁 Attention entrepreneurs; apparently the Greater Helsinki startup ecosystem scores highly for all of them.
👉 Entrepreneurs can have access to venture capital and government funding. 💸
If you were to open a business, what would you need the most?
🔊 Did you know thatFinnish startups receive the most venture capital per capita in Europe?
In this article, we will dive into Finland’s exciting startup ecosystem and get to know some of the outstanding companies better.
First, let’s get started with the Finland-based companies on MeetFrank; the industries they operate in, the size of their teams and their types.
Finnish Companies on MeetFrank
The number of Finland-based startups is increasing every day, as is the number of Finnish companies on MeetFrank.
🔊 As of December, there are many active Finnish companies on the MeetFrank app.
What about their type?
In the chart below, we can see that consultancy companies make up the majority of the company types followed by startups, scaleups, and SMBs.
Next in line is company industries.
The chart above tells us that Software Development, Technology, and SaaS make up the top 3.
The four industries to watch in the Finnish business ecosystem are Consultancy, Analytics & Big Data and and Cloud Computing. 💡
Working in one of these sectors? If so, stay tuned for the thrilling opportunities from companies operating in these industries!
Wondering about the size of these companies? 11-50 people teams make up the majority in this list. This shows us that small but productive teams take centre stage in Finland. 🎊
The Finnish Startup Ecosystem in 2020
“Finland is an ideal test market and springboard for startups looking to enter the European and global markets, with ready access to the eurozone and good connections to Asia. Also, Finnish consumers are tech-savvy and interested in trying out new digital solutions,” says Annamari Soikkeli, Senior Advisor at Business Finland.
If the Finnish startup ecosystem had 4 keywords, they would be support, connections, technology and digital solutions.
✅ Ranked the most digitally advanced nation in Europe in2019 by the European Commission’s annual Digital Economy and Society Index, Finland is the new centre of innovation in the region.
✅ It seems that in 2020 all the rankings have been in favour of Finland. Based on the strength of its startup ecosystem, the country ranks in 13th place among 100 countriesaccording to StartupBlink.
If all these amazing stats have motivated you to consider a new phase in your career in Finland, let’s find out about the outstanding Finland-based companies on MeetFrank and learn more about what they are up to!
Recently announcing many openings, IsoSkills is the go-to company for companies looking for professional IT development, testing and management services.
They have offices in Helsinki and Bucharest. The Romania team mostly works remotely, although the company also has a cozy office in Otaniemi in Finland.
If your field is Software Engineering and you are looking for a job nowadays, consider IsoSkills, as they have posted lots of vacancies lately! 😉
Sound good? Exciting? Thrilling? Download the MeetFrank app today to have a look at their latest openings! 📱
As we shared earlier, Finland has become a hub for startups operating in the Technology and Health industries. Given how the world has changed due to the pandemic and the growing need for new technologies for health, it is no surprise that Mediconsult Oy is attracting lots of attention lately. 😉
In their own words, the company “offersIT solutions to meet the needs of healthcare, social care and elderly care organizations”. 🤓
Their services range from a ‘COVID-19 Digital Symptom Assessment’ to ‘mHealth for Professionals’.
Would you like to be part of their team? If so, be quick and have a look at their most recent openings on the MeetFrank app!
Do you need a finance advisor in your personal life in addition to a job in the Finance industry? If so, you can find both at Selma Finance Oy. 😊
The company defines itself as a financial assistant for investment newcomers. With offices in Helsinki and Zurich, Selma Finance Oy has 2500+ clients so far and their vision is to scale throughout Europe. 💪
To see their openings from Marketing to Software Development, download the MeetFrank app today!
Is logistics one of the fields you want to work in? If so, meet DroppX – a same-day delivery solution for online stores and businesses.
Their mission is to reinvent urban last-mile logistics. 👏
With headquarters in Finland, DroppX offers multiple solutions both for companies and couriers.
To hear more about their recent job postings, dive into the MeetFrank app!
First steps to a career in Finland
If you are interested in hearing more about Finland-based companies and the Finnish job market, don’t forget to visit our Insights page and enjoy fresh data every day! There you will gain a better understanding of the opportunities, market competitiveness, average gross and expected salaries and more!
We hope you find your dream job soon! 🎇
Want to boost your company’s visibility in the Finnish job market?
New location-specific communities in the MeetFrank app bring together insightful discussions, active job offers and interesting facts.
To kickstart the community in Helsinki, MeetFrank and Helsinki Business Hub have joined forces for a campaign in December, which aims to boost the job market visibility of companies operating in Finland.
Leave your contact details, and we’ll be in touch shortly. 👇
The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has arrived in Finland as well which resulted in new restrictions and measures starting from November until December 15. 😷
In this report, we will compare market competitiveness, the number of job openings, the offered gross salaries and more between November and May. 👍
Our goal is to see how the Finnish job market has been doing in the first and second waves of the coronavirus pandemic.
👉 Both the number of job openings and applications saw a decline.
👉 Finland saw a slight change in market competitiveness in October. It was somewhere between the “challenging” and “OK” levels.
Now is time to dig into November’s stats and see the most significant changes since May!
Job Market Overview
As we mentioned above, both the number of job openings and applications saw a decline in Finland.
What about this month?
However this month, similar to Estonia and Lithuania, the number of job openings in the Finnish job market has seen an increase. 📈
However, the number of job applications has decreased this month. This is similar to other countries in the region as well. Apparently, the opportunities outnumber demand. 🤔
➡️ From a different angle, the expectations of job seekers may not be matching with the offerings from companies.
What about market competitiveness?
If you are looking for a job in Finland, we have some good news for you. Nowadays, it is at the happy green level – the “OK level” – to find a job in the Finnish job market. 😊
Wondering about the offered and expected gross salaries?
Both salaries saw a small increase as of mid-November. This has been an ongoing trend since October which means the low gap between the salaries persists.
Job openings in Top 6 Specialties: November vs May
Time to talk about every job seeker’s favourite topic: job openings in the top 6 specialties. 🤓
In this section, we will compare November’s number of job openings (as of today) with May’s.
🔊 What was the situation like back in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic? What about now – how is the Finnish job market doing in the second wave?
When we look at the chart, we can see that:
✅ In November the number of job openings in all industries fell compared to May’s stats.
✅ The Software Engineering industry saw the highest fall – more than 50%. Despite this significant decrease, this specialty still has the highest number of job offerings compared to the others in the list.
✅ Data Analytics already had a low number of job openings in May and now it has decreased by more than approximately 60%.
Let’s see how the data will look in December!
Offered Salaries: November vs May
The offered and expected salaries have been a rollercoaster for most countries and Finland is one of them.
In this section, we will discuss how the offered gross salaries have changed since May.
➡️ The winners of this section are Design and Data Analytics. These 2 industries saw an increase in November compared to May’s numbers.
Good for you designers – Design made a giant leap forward as of mid-November! 💃
➡️ Surprisingly, companies operating in the Sales and Business Development industry are offering exactly the same salaries in November as they were in May.
➡️ Marketing, PR & Design saw the lowest increase when it comes to offered salaries.
Market Competitiveness Per Specialty
In this section, we will talk about market competitiveness and how easy it is to find a job in Finland nowadays.
We will also dive into the top 6 specialties.
Let’s summarise the data above with 4 main takeaways:
💡 Software engineers are always at the top of the list when it comes to the most sought-after employees. But as of mid-November, it seems finding a job will be a bit more challenging for them.
It seems to be at the “OK level” now, whereas it was “easy” in May.
💡 Good news for IT & Sysadmin experts! Now it is very easy for you to find a job in Finland. Our data shows that the market is offering the perfect environment for you!
💡 The market has become more competitive for (Tech) Project Management and Data & Analytics.
💡 The Sales & Business Development and Marketing, PR & Media industries are facing less challenges in November as well. The ease of finding a job in the latter is not perfect though.
Welcome to the MeetFrank family!
🥁 Lately, we welcomed 7 new members to the MeetFrank family: Tovari Oy, Growflow Oy, Combient Foundry, Fondion, Trustmary, Elenia, and AtoZ!
