Mastering Finland

Join Roham as he shares his inspiring journey from Iran to Finland, focusing on his quest for better education for his daughter. He candidly discusses the unique challenges of living with ADHD, including difficulties with focus and time management. Roham's determination to learn Finnish amidst these hurdles is both touching and relatable. The conversation also addresses the cultural differences he encounters, the pursuit of meaningful connections, and the importance of seeking support while navigating life as a neurodivergent individual.

This is the first episode of the "International Authors in Finland" series, and in this episode, we welcome mother and daughter Pamela and Eloisa Spokes. They co-wrote a book together during the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic when Eloisa experienced distance learning and spent lots of time at home with her mum. That's when the idea to create an engaging book for families sparked their minds. Their book "Would You Rather...?" is also translated to the Finnish language and offers excellent entertainment for everybody ready to have some fun. Listen to this episode and learn more about the authors, creating and self-publishing the book. Buy here: https://amzn.to/2OlOEtn

This week, Jean sat down to chat with Karina, a PhD student of Applied Linguistics at the University of Jyväskylä. Originally from Japan, Karina began her upper secondary education in Australia. There, she experienced quite a bit of culture shock as a result of the louder, more direct Australian culture. In Finland, Karina once again feels at home. Read on, or listen to episode 45, to learn more about Karina’s story.

In this episode we combined two interviews together to provide you an overall picture of recruitment in FInland enriched by many tips and suggestions on how to improve your job-searching in Finland. In the first part of the interview (0:00-24:25), we talked to Hannah Gay that started her Finnish journey as an intern at The Shortcut, a company you may remember from our previous episode. She currently works as a talent acquisition consultant at Tieto Evry. Hannah shared with us her views on the current international job market in Finland. After meeting with Hannah, we chatted with Miina Väisänen (24:25), a Finnish recruitment professional living in Paris. Miina has an eclectic background in recruitment, psychology, and freelance journalism. Miina grew up in Helsinki, where she was educated in psychology and journalism. After working as a recruitment specialist in a Nordic-French company, Miina briefly returned to Finland to continue her education before returning to Paris. In her current role as an international career consultant, she works with students who are looking for professional direction.  We really enjoyed sitting down to talk with both of these knowledgeable and helpful guests, and we hope you do, too! Tune in to hear more about the Finnish recruitment process from an inside perspective. As always, be sure to check out the links in the description box for more information. Links: Hannah's LinkedIn Nordic Diversify Miina's LinkedIn

Continuing our series on job-seeking in Finland, Petra chats with Stefan Cave. Originally from the UK, Stefan moved to Finland with his partner in 2019 seeking a better work-life balance. Upon arriving in Finland, he applied his background in HR and operations management to his role as COO at talent accelerator The Shortcut. Tune in to this episode for Stefan’s advice for international job seekers and to learn more about how The Shortcut can help you. You can check out the company’s success stories and sign up for upcoming events at the links below. Links: Stefan's LinkedIn The Shortcut Homepage Success Stories Upcoming events

Iiris Ranta, who recently graduated from the University of Jyväskylä with a master’s degree in intercultural management. While completing her thesis on international talent recruitment and retention in the city of Jyväskylä, Iiris focused on the topics of labour migration and the internationalization of higher education. The results of her thesis support the idea that in order to create successful ecosystems and services for international job seekers, public governance should turn to the knowledge and experiences of the internal talent which already exists locally. Additionally, we talked about a very important articles, which you might recall from our coverage last month, centered on an article written about the Home Care Allowance received by stay-at-home moms in Finland. The article focused on the benefits available to migrant women who stay at home to raise their children. The article suggested that migrant women stay at home because they have this allowance, and would not work if they had the opportunity. Listen to this episode to hear more about Iiris's thoughts, views, and ideas related to the topic of job-seeking. Links KYKY & Co. Podcast Our summary on articles mentioned in this episode

This week, we had Doula Danielle on to talk about her experience working as a post-partum doula in Helsinki. Through her personal practice, Mothers Transition, and as a member of The Nest Helsinki International Doulas+, Danielle offers needed support for new mothers and their families. Growing up, Danielle moved around quite a bit. Born in Israel, Danielle also lived in Copenhagen, Finland, and Amsterdam. She recently returned to Finland in August of 2020 with her husband, a Finn, and their four-month-old baby. To learn more about Danielle and her journey, listen to this episode and check her recourses. LINKS: Mothers Transition Homepage Free Online Workshop The Nest Helsinki International Doulas+ Send Danielle a Message

Meet Varpu, your “Finnish fairy godmother.” On her online platform Her Finland, you can find culture-based language courses that will help you master Finnish (or, at least learn enough to get by), as well as tips and tricks for thriving in Finland -  from the perspective of a native Finn! We sat down to chat about Varpu’s motivations for building Her Finland, the challenges of building a digital business, and the services she provides. Listen in for details on her upcoming language support course, price ranges, discounts, and a sneak peek at her plans for the future! Oh, and don’t forget to check out our link for the upcoming MasterMind class (limited access) that starts on March 1st 2021, and for the 30% off of Varpu’s cookbook, featuring tons of crave-worthy Finnish treats! Her Finland FREE Connect with Finns Course FREE Spark Your Finnish class Upcoming MasterMind group (Limited access) course 30% Off Varpu’s Cookbook

Join us for a chat about Esther's inspiring experience related to learning the Finnish language, working and raising children in Finland, and overcoming the language barrier to gain meaningful employment as a foreigner. She also talks about the loneliness and depression she experienced after giving birth to her children. Finally, Esther shed some light on the unpleasant situations she faced during her internship in an old people’s care home, and when stepping up during a house committee meeting. Give this episode a listen if you want to feel encouraged on your Finnish journey!

Valentine’s Day is happening soon and we thought we might share a bit about how do people usually celebrate such a day in Finland. In this episode, we talk about the history of Valentine’s Day in Finland, its focus on friendship, how do Finns celebrate this day, and how does a university approach this special day. We also collected a few voice recordings from our dear listeners about how they see the Valentine’s Day in Finland and how they celebrate. Moreover, we couldn’t stop ourselves from reflecting on our own friendship and shared with you some dear memories of ours.