Comments for Metropolia Blog

Comment on Feedback Culture by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:49:27 +0000

Hey guys,

really cool blog! :):):)

Comment on Admission for Finnish only! by Ville

Ville — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:58:32 +0000

I can almost see the frustration on your face but don’t give up. Persistence is often rewarded. There are many opportunities (especially if you accept an internship without salary) especially in the fields of technology and medicine. Business related internships can be harder to get but i’m sure the opportunities are there.

Even though the corporate language of MNEs is usually English, the local language is unfortunately often required not only in Finland but almost in any other country. I’ve had the chance to talk with the HR manager of TNT Express in Vienna concerning the topic who elaborated their recruitment policies concerning the foreigners and people with foreign backgrounds. In Vienna offices they have at least one foreigner in each office room with various sets of language skills. However, daily business is still mainly conducted in German language mixed with English for communication between offices internationally. I imagine the situation is quite similar with other transportation companies since their business is very much linked with local customers.

Even though the free movement of labor has opened many new doors for Europeans, the language barriers remain and will be there as long as we have strong national identities. In many cases the companies do not discriminate based on language skills, they are simply looking for persons who are perfectly fit for the positions.

While looking for companies who could support a Bachelor Thesis students i have talked with many interesting people who encourage all applicants to show enthusiasm and point out the what you can offer for the companies. Me and my colleagues received 20-30 rejections before we could find two companies, who were willing to assist us and only one of them could offer information in English language.

I know it is harder to find an internship in Finland than in GB for example but keep trying.

Keep trying!

Comment on Admission for Finnish only! by Heidi Kaukoranta

Heidi Kaukoranta — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:01:16 +0000

Dear student(s), Thank you for a very interesting and current blog post. It is true that finding a work or placement in Finland is not easy for students without Finnish skills. Every year also I am trying to contact local companies and promote our international and very talented students. Big multinational companies are all saying that they would need business students that have strong international skills but quite seldom they offer an actual post to us. Fortunately there are companies that do recruit our wonderful international students but it demands a lot of work and patience (and some luck) to find the position.

They say that at least 70 % of open vacancies are filled through personal networks, so there’s no job advertisement to be found. You just have to know somebody that knows somebody. This makes job hunting very challenging for people that have stayed so short time in a country.

As you listed your options, I would recommend for you to keep on applying patiently and use your fellow students’ help. The staff of our business school is also happy to help all students. So ask your lecturers and you are also very welcome to visit my office B217. Let’s see what we could come up together.

Good Luck!
Heidi Kaukoranta, Placement Coordinator
heidi.kaukoranta@metropolia.fi

Read Tube’s Vacancies announcements and see some good link lists of recruitment companies from EBA,EM,IBL -student information workspace

Comment on Admission for Finnish only! by Annika

Annika — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:40:52 +0000

That is so true. And ridiculous I think. There are so many companies in Finland that have English as their corporate language, yet they ask all the applicants to be fluent in Finnish! What is the point if you still need to do your job in English!? And what is even more ridiculous, is that most of the companies spend huge amounts of money in employees’ English training; the employees actually go to a language class once a week on their work time. Wouldn’t it be better to learn English by chatting with a colleague on a day to day basis?

But don’t lose your patience yet, I know for sure that there are English speaking people working in Finland without knowing any Finnish. You do have a chance!

Good luck with your search!

Comment on Don’t buy flowers. It is only Valentine’s day. by Mehalet yared

Mehalet yared — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:02:37 +0000

Valentines day is a special day to celebrate together with your close friends and to remember those that are not with us anymore.. Happy valentines day to all and remember to appreciate your true friends to the fullest

Comment on Where’s Marko? Travel Diary Entry 5 by Annika

Annika — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:38:50 +0000

Love these posts, especially the amazing photos! …and perfect timing on the Australia post as I’ll be there next week, so excited!

Comment on TV – The Forgotten Promotion Medium (or “Watch this funny clip!”) by Louise

Louise — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:45:31 +0000

The ad has been pulled – see BBC article at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16000522

Comment on TV – The Forgotten Promotion Medium (or “Watch this funny clip!”) by Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:50:32 +0000

What a crap! Dictator:))) What an idiot may believe that those countries will be better off after those guys in charge have gone?

Comment on TV – The Forgotten Promotion Medium (or “Watch this funny clip!”) by fahmi

fahmi — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:51:26 +0000

Great round up of how traditional marketing coupled with digital marketing could have a more profound effect in not only getting the message across but also cheaper, faster and at scale.

Comment on Where’s Marko? Travel Diary Entry 2 by sami

sami — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:31:14 +0000

Great stuff