Internationality series - Employment in Finland during/after your study

So, going to Jyväskylä to study, many international students have asked me about the possibilities of looking for jobs or settling down in Finland. Here is one of many answers to your concern.  

This course is one of the example of many ways you can explore your opportunities of employment here in Jyväskylä or Finland. You can start a business here if you want to.

PLACE: Jyväskylän Yritystehdas, Vapaudenkatu 25 (Vanha Juomatehdas), 40100 Jyväskylä 

COURSE SCHEDULE
The ABC of starting a business I Thursday, February 26, 15:00 pm – 18:00 pm
The ABC of starting a business II Thursday, March 5, 15:00 pm – 18:00 pm
Course conclusion Thursday, March 12, 15:00 pm – 18:00 pm 

COURSE PROGRAMME
We will meet three times to talk about entrepreneurship in general and go through the basics of founding a company, including business planning, funding, different forms of enterprise, taxation, and marketing.
This course is free of charge. It is organised by Tuhansien Järvien Uusyrityskeskus ry (TJUYK). The course will be held in Finnish or in English, depending which language the group desides, but if in Finnish, the necessary topics will be discussed and all the course material will be available in English. 

REGISTRATION
The maximum group size is 12 participants. We give priority to unemployed immigrants. If you'd like to come to the course, please register by February 20, 2015. Send an email to the following address: iina.puikkonen@jykes.fi Include the following details in your email: your name, email address, phone number, mother tongue, and your business idea, if you already have one. Please register only if you are sure that you will attend the course. You will get a diploma from the course if you participate to all the three sessions.

Aside from courses like this, there is a Career Service available inside the University of Jyväskylä where you can come for advice concerning employment, click here for more information. This is also free of charge for you. 

Below is one of the examples of activities that the Career Service is trying to organize: 

Day at Work for International Degree Students Friday 20.03.2015

The purpose of the Day at Work is to introduce international degree students from the University of Jyväskylä and JAMK University of Applied Sciences and companies in Central Finland to each other. In practice, this means that you , as a student, will make a one day visit (10.00-15.00) to the company. 

By participating, you can showcase your own skills and share the day's experiences on social media. The day may include different activities according to the wishes of the company, for example:
• Small talk in a foreign language
• Sharing information about your culture
• Commenting on brochure materials and web page 

We hope to get enough companies to be able to offer this opportunity to all the registered students, but unfortunately we cannot guarantee that. Please note that all the companies may not be situated in the city of Jyväskylä. You will get details about the company you were chosen to visit in the beginning of March. Day at Work -company participants will donate money through Taksvärkki Ry for international charity work. 

Registration: http://www.lyyti.in/Day_at_Work_6174
Dead-line for registration 6.3.2015.
More information:
Muru Linjala
Career Specialist
Career Services, University of Jyväskylä
muru.linjala@jyu.fi

Even though I have not been very lucky myself in looking for well-paid part-time jobs, I delivered newspapers and advertisements for Jyväkylän Jakelut for a year. This job is quite hard work for girls especially during winter but I know a Mexican girl who is as small as an average Asian girl and she has been doing this job for several years already. I stopped working because I had to go to Nepal for my internship as some of you might know. You can register for the job here. When a position opened, they will contact you on the phone or via email. So, remember to provide correct phone number and email address. Basically, there are two kinds of distributors: the single/double-area one and the multi-area one. If you distribute ads by bicycle or walking, you can only distribute maximum 2 areas. But if you have a car, you can ask for 5 or more areas and go distributing with your car. The petrol fee is covered by the company.

Several students I know succeeded in looking for quite good part-time jobs at agencies like SOL or OPTeam. You register on their sites and they'll contact you if there's anything available. But the chances are slim for those without experiences, even cleaning or dish washing.

For those who have IT background, your chance is higher since Finland has high demand for IT experts. You can subscribe to international students mailing list here, IT companies send their recruit announcements to this mailing list from time to time.

Documents:
- In order to sign any contract, you need a tax card which you can get for free in the tax office. Click here for more information. 

- In order to work in a kitchen where you have contact with food, you need a hygiene pass which you have to take an exam to obtain it. Click here for more information. 

Good news for international students who want to stay in Finland to look for jobs after graduation is that instead of only having 6 months like before, now, you can apply for 1 year residence permit to look for jobs. More information here. 

It might be hard at first for international students to find a job here in Jyväskylä because after all, it's a university city, lots of students want to find part-time jobs and most of the jobs require speaking Finnish. However, like anywhere else in the world, you have to be active in looking jobs and know where to go to get help. 

So, be prepared financially before coming to study here, you won't be pressured to find a job. It will take some time. It'd be best if you can find a job in your home country (translation for example) that you can work online or something like that before coming here. 

Alright, good luck!