A Story of Small Steps, Silent Wins, and Surprise Opportunities – Hansika Ekanayake
When I landed in Finland, a country far away from my home country, the city felt like an unfinished sentence. Everything was new, the tram lines, the quiet mornings, the polite nods, even the way people waited patiently at pedestrian crossings. I remember thinking that if I can learn how to survive my first winter here, maybe I can learn how to build a career here too.
But like many international students, I carried an invisible question with me everywhere: How does a newcomer actually break into the Finnish job market?
It didn’t help that almost every student conversation included some variation of, “It’s tough to find an internship here.” I heard it so often that it became a soundtrack. Yet somewhere between the lectures and library sessions, I started noticing the exceptions, the students who found traineeships in great companies, the ones who talked openly about their growth and challenges. I wasn’t jealous, I was curious. If they could figure it out, maybe I could too. That curiosity became the beginning of my journey.
The Early Days: Quiet Preparation No One Sees
I began my Master’s with zero expectations and one clear intention. I wanted my degree to connect to real industry experience, not just theory. So while I was still settling into the semester in September 2024, I was also starting to deep-diving into the Finnish job landscape. With just 1.5+ years of experience behind me, I didn’t feel pressured to jump into a senior position. Starting as a trainee felt like the right foundation to learn, adapt, and build myself up in a new country.
At first, it felt like exploring a forest without a map. I clicked through LinkedIn, JobTeaser (JobTeaser is Tampere University’s official online career platform for students and recent graduates, connecting them with job ads, internships, employer info, and career events) many other job boards, and random company websites with no real strategy.
But slowly, patterns emerged. I noticed how early summer trainee positions were posted, how companies valued clarity and initiative, and how a well-written motivation letter could change everything.
I spent evenings reshaping my CV, rearranging bullet points, and rewriting sentences that suddenly felt too vague. What surprised me most was how reflective the process became; you learn a lot about yourself when you try to summarize your life into two pages.
Searching Became a Ritual. At some point, the job hunt turned into a daily ritual. Mornings began with coffee and new postings. Evenings ended with updates to my application tracker. I didn’t apply to hundreds of roles. I applied to the ones that sparked something, roles where my 1.5+ years of experience back home and my Bachelor’s studies didn’t feel irrelevant, but rather like a bridge to something new. Some applications went into a silent void. Others received polite rejections. I treated each one like a closed door I didn’t need to knock on again. Then one week, everything changed.
The Unexpected Invitations
It happened on an ordinary weekday afternoon. I opened my inbox without any expectations and blinked twice. Two companies, both Finnish, both reputable had invited me for interviews.
My first reaction wasn’t confidence. It was utter disbelief, followed quickly by mild panic, and eventually joy.
One interview was held in the most Finnish way possible, over coffee in a relaxed restaurant environment. We talked about my experiences, my curiosity, and even a bit about my life in my home country. The second interview was more structured, a longer conversation with deeper technical discussions and scenario-based questions.
What surprised me in both was how much they cared about how I think rather than how much I know. Finnish interviews have a quiet intensity. They’re not flashy. They’re honest, calm, and deeply focused on whether you’d genuinely fit the team.
I learned quickly that:
- saying “I don’t know” is respected
- explaining “but here’s how I’d learn it” is even more respected
- and being yourself is the strongest strategy you can bring
The Moment It Became Real
When the offer finally arrived, I had to reread it multiple times to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. A summer traineeship. My first one in Finland! And not just any company, but one where I genuinely wanted to contribute and grow. Stepping into my traineeship felt like stepping into a new version of myself. I learned how Finnish companies operate, how teams collaborate, how decisions are made, and how trust is built.
The workplace was calm, supportive, and surprisingly empowering. And somewhere along the way, this opportunity grew into something bigger, the chance to write my Master’s thesis with the same company. That was the moment everything clicked. One good opportunity can open an entire pathway.
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me Earlier
Looking back, I wish someone had whispered this in my ear on my very first week in Finland “Don’t underestimate the importance of small steps. The job search is not a sprint, it’s a series of quiet efforts that compound.”
I also wish I knew how helpful university resources are. At Tampere University, I booked career guidance sessions, used JobTeaser for application help, and asked for feedback on my CV. These weren’t just services they were confidence builders.
And most importantly, I wish I knew that every student here is figuring it out. Locals, internationals, everyone. You’re not behind. You’re simply on your own timeline.
Even though I got my traineeship this year, companies in Finland are already opening applications for next summer. Recruitment starts early December, some even before that. Earlier than most students expect. So keep an eye on LinkedIn, JobTeaser, other career portals and career events organized by univeristy. Sometimes the right opportunity appears quietly, without fireworks, and it’s your job to notice it. If there’s anything my journey taught me, it’s that opportunities don’t always come loudly. Sometimes they come as a small email that changes your entire week. Be ready for it!
Looking Doesn’t Always Mean Seeing, A Glimpse of What Lies Behind the Job Market – Tanveer Rahman
There is a Finnish saying “Ei kysyvä tieltä eksy”, which means someone who asks doesn’t get lost. In Finland, job seeking is not a maze, but somehow almost everyone still gets lost, even when you ask. The real questions for me, however, were: ask who and ask how? Working on those two questions is how I ended up landing my summer traineeship as a first-year international master’s student in Tampere.
Apply to jobs where you can apply yourself
When I arrived in Tampere, my friends told me that if you haven’t applied to 500 jobs, you haven’t really tried to get a job. That pretty much encapsulates the harsh job market and economic scenario in Finland. But I am the hopeful sort; I can see the positive in any situation. I also decided, in that moment, that I was not going to apply to 500 jobs. My logic was simple. If I applied to 500 jobs, none of those applications would be any good, would they? I wanted to take time with each application and put in genuine care, because recruiters can see the effort that goes into them.
Second, I did not want to use AI to create my applications, which is also easily traceable and often distrusted by recruiters. My reasons for these choices were reasonable. I wanted to make an impression with my approach, not just my qualifications. I wanted my choices and personality to come through to the people reading my applications.
The mystery of the hidden job market
The job market in Finland is limited. I went to some job fairs in Tampere and attended seminars as well. What I kept hearing repeatedly was the fabled concept of the hidden job market, which supposedly accounts for 80% of all jobs. No one really explained what it is, though, so here’s what I found.
The hidden job market includes all jobs that are not advertised. Roles are filled internally, positions are filled through recommendations, and a third category, jobs that don’t even exist yet. These are roles a company hasn’t considered creating. And this is where I wanted to make my presence felt.
The asking that worked
I am a student of the Accessibility and Diversity in Digital Services program. It’s a brand-new field, so the curriculum is still developing. As part of that development, we visit real companies. We went to Quha, a company that makes accessibility products for people with disabilities, to learn about their innovations. There, I struck up a conversation with their Head of Marketing and was intrigued by their working principles, one of which is the leanness of the team operating worldwide.
When I got back home, I thought I would approach them with my expertise: content creation, a role they didn’t currently have. So I made a presentation analyzing their communication strategy and showing what I could do for them through social-media campaigns and content. I sent it directly to the Head of Marketing. Keep in mind, there was no job opening, and that is exactly what they told me in their reply. I was disappointed, but I didn’t give up.
Tampere University internship voucher
Tampere University has an initiative called the “Internship Voucher.” This is a sum of money that the university grants to support students in securing internships and gaining real work-life experience. It’s a thoughtful program, considering that salary is often the main barrier to entry for traineeships. Knowing this, I proposed to Quha that with the Internship Voucher, I could partially fund my own internship. And that’s when they called me for an interview.
A conversation not a test
The interview is almost always a conversation. As Hansika mentioned, it’s more about how you think than what you know. I would add that it’s more about who you are than what your skills are. In Finland, it is expected that you are competent at what you do, so who you are is what differentiates you. And that’s how I landed my traineeship at a Finnish company in my first year.
As I end my story, I want to leave you with something a senior employee once lamented: applicants can’t seem to define what it is that they do. So if you are carving your space, be sure to have clarity about what you do, so that you can communicate who you are. And remember, to ask is to create a new possibility.
About the writers
