Story by Jamk Alumni, Felix

Blog by Felix Dorscht, Jamk International Business Alumni

Hello there! My name is Felix, I’m 25 years old and from Germany. In Germany, I got a vocational degree as a banker and started my studies in Finland in fall of 2018. Why I decided to move to this cold, almost inhabitable Nordic country you ask? Like so many other men before me, I came for love. But after living here for over 5 years I learned to love Finland and I see it as my home. I mean come on. There’s nothing better than a cold beer in a hot sauna.

My studies in the IB-Family:

With a background in finance and sales, my path led me straight to getting a business degree. Apart from widening my knowledge, studying at Jamk helped me create a social network in this new and often weird country. It made me learn more about myself and my strengths and weaknesses and in my final year of studying let me get to know the Talent Boost initiative.

A Talent Boost success story:

In my last year of studying, I started looking for jobs or internships in the Jyväskylä area. Like so many other students I had to find out the hard way that finding a job in Finland is not as easy as one might think. Especially when not speaking Finnish yet! After sending countless job applications and receiving many declines (or mostly no responses at all) I asked Piia from the Talent Boost team for help. She told me about Talent Boost and gave me tips about my CV and many more things related to the application process in Finland. Since I was rather unsure what employers expect of me in Finland it was very reassuring to have a local with much experience give me guidance.

But the best part of it: After our conversation, I kept getting e-mails about possible job opportunities that fit me personally! “Hi Felix, this company is looking for a finance guy. I think it would suit you” “Hi Felix, that company is looking for a salesperson. I think it would suit you!”

And finally: “Hi Felix! Export Maker is looking for a project manager to help them with market analyses and customer searches in the German market. I talked to their recruiter, and they were very interested in you!” …..

My Internship at Export Maker Oy:

Now that I had a foot in the Finnish working world´s door I knew I didn’t want to let that go. I worked hard during the Internship. I got very good feedback from our customers and my bosses were happy with the work I did. So, when my internship came to an end, I had a meeting about what’s gonna happen after and was so nervous I could think of anything else that day. But I didn’t need to worry ?. They offered me a full-time position as a project manager after the summer break (Thank you even more Piia!!!!)!

My Tips for students reading this who were in the same boat as me:

I know how stressful and depressing the job search is. But it’s the same for everyone, which might sound even more depressing but what it means is, you shouldn’t take it personal. You’re not at fault if you get yet another decline on your application or you’re ghosted yet another time. Use the excellent service that talent boost offers! Visit seminars to widen your network and get in personal contact with the companies! Adapt to the Finnish job search culture. You can use its difficulties as opportunities when you adapt to them well. Use your experience and contacts you made in your home country as your selling point! Those are what make you unique! And one company surely needs exactly what YOU offer.

I hope my story gave you a little hope and maybe some of my tips will help you in the future. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via LinkedIn.

And be sure to check out Export Market too! ?

Best of luck in your job search!!

Felix