Tips for job and internship hunting for EIT ICT

Labs Master School students in Finland

An internship in the industry or in the EIT ICT Labs partner network is one of
the key components in this Masters programme. Your Masters thesis topic
and I&E thesis should be connected to the internship. The university and
the CLC Helsinki will do their best to help you, but you are still the best
person to help yourself! Being active gives you more opportunities to find
an internship that youre genuinely passionate about, and it also gives a
good impression of you as an potential employee of the company.
Here are some tips to help you get started!

1. Start looking for the internships early enough.
Start at latest right after your arrival in Finland, or preferably before. The internships should start in
January. The Masters thesis should be submitted in end of June (at latest), and I&E thesis in end of May.
2. Continue at your summer job.
If you find a summer job in Finland, you have the opportunity to build good connections, get some valuable
working experience in the country, and have great chances to continue at the same company for your exit
year internship.
3. Internship vs. Masters thesis position vs. job
We have a tradition in Finland that students of technology write their Masters thesis for a company in the
industry. Usually, its a company they have been working for before, but some companies also hire Masters
thesis workers. When looking for internships, be aware of the difference in this terminology: a Masters
thesis worker is an employee who gets paid, while an internship can also be unpaid (and possibly also less
guided and less relevant). The nominal duration of an EIT ICT Labs Master School internship is three
months, but Masters thesis positions are usually longer. If writing the Masters thesis is not your main task
at the company, its possible to do a three-month internship with any tasks given by the company and write
the Masters thesis after that or during the internship on your free time. Though, this naturally means that
you have less time to write the Masters thesis. And finally: nothing prevents you from looking for a
permanent job and starting your career by writing the
Masters thesis!
4. Aim for meetings!
Dont be shy! The Finnish society is very non-hierarchic,
so dont be afraid to call the people or send reminders if
they dont reply to your e-mail. Short e-mails are better

than long stories: first, because they are fast to read and give the indication that they can also be replied in
short and second because the purpose of the e-mails is to trigger the recipients interest in you, not to
share your life story. When you call, remember to introduce yourself clearly (articulating is important with
foreign names!), and refer to your e-mail correspondence or previous meeting etc. So in short: e-mails are
ok, calls are much better, and meetings are the goal!
5. Spread your nets widely enough!
Finding a job itself can be challenging, but finding a job in any country without knowing the national
language (see point 6!) is even more challenging. Dont be disappointed if you get no replies, unprecise
answers or no thanks. If you contact ten companies and get an offer from one, thats a good result! If youd
like to have more offers to choose from, simply contact more companies. It pays off later!
6. Learn some Finnish!
Even a few words can help you distinguish from the crowd, and if nothing else, that proves that youre
interested not only in the money but also in your working environment.
7. Residence permit and working permit
EU/EEA citizens can work without limitations in Finland. Non-EU/EEA citizens should get a working permit.
However, youre allowed to work with your student visa
- max. 25 hours a week during the academic year, no limitations during summer time
- unlimited hours if the work is part of a traineeship required for a degree or is on a research paper
required for the studies (which is the case if you write your Masters thesis for a company)
- You may be granted an extension residence permit for looking for employment after graduation
(max. 6 months)
- Read more at http://www.migri.fi/studying_in_finland.

8. Sources of information

- Career Services
o In addition to your local administrative and academic coordinators and the CLC, the Aalto
Career Services may also be helpful:
Main page: https://into.aalto.fi/display/encareer/Homepage
Job hunting guide (accessing requires logging in with Aalto user name):
https://into.aalto.fi/display/encareerweb/Job+Hunting+Guide if you dont have
Aalto username yet, see the next page in this document
- Student guilds
o Your guild gets information about plenty of
available jobs, so join them and their mailing list. At
arrival to Aalto, you will also be assigned a student
tutor who is appointed by the guild and he/she can
introduce you to the other guild activities (including

company excursions)!
Computer Science and Engineering: https://www.tietokilta.fi/en/
Information Networks: http://www.athene.fi/international/

- Job portals (many are, unfortunately, in Finnish!)
o http://www.te-services.fi/te/en/index.html
o http://www.aarresaari.net/english/jobboard.htm
o http://tyopaikat.oikotie.fi/en/?

Tips by Aalto Career Services
(from Job Hunting Guide, https://into.aalto.fi/display/encareerweb/Job+Hunting+Guide)
Even though English is widely understood in Finland, some employers may be hesitant to hire people who
don't speak Finnish (or in some cases Swedish), as it would mean that everyone else in the office would
need to switch languages. Another obvious disadvantage is that you'd miss all the unofficial
communication.
Our tips & experience for you
1. Start learning Finnish immediately. For some jobs, even a poor grasp of the language is enough.
2. Focus on skills you have that may not be commonly available.
3. Keep an eye out for jobs where your knowledge of your home country would be an asset - think
outside the box (training for future expats, etc.).
4. Apply for jobs where your coworkers are likely to be highly skilled OR on the other end of the scale,
ethnic restaurants, post office etc.
5. Look for vacancies at exporters and other firms that deal with foreigners as part of their business.
6. Network, network, network..
7. Concentrate also on searching micro-companies / hidden
job markets
Check Aarresaari academic career services info for foreigners.
National Labour Market Confederations - Guide to Working in
Finland (general information about the labour market rules)
Finnish Immigration Service - Information on immigration principles
and practices applied in Finland
Finnish Immigration Service - Studying in Finland
Finnish Immigration Service - Working in Finland
Infopankki - General information
Employment and Economic Development Office - Working in
Finland

Ministy of Employment and Economy (*.pdf) - Working in Finland
Virka Info - a public information service for Helsinki residents

Masters students internships 2013 (EIT ICT Labs Master School)
Companies and contact persons
Companies represented at the matchmaking event 10 October 2013
Company Contact person Contact persons e-mail
Nokia Mr Jyri Huopaniemi
Mr Jukka Rantala
jyri.huopaniemi@nokia.com
jukka.i.rantala@nokia.com
VTT Mr Tatu Koljonen (was at
matchmaking event)
Mr Charles Woodward
tatu.koljonen@vtt.fi
Charles.Woodward@vtt.fi
Futurice Mr Risto Sarvas Risto.Sarvas@futurice.com
Forum Virium Mr Pekka Koponen pekka.koponen@forumvirium.fi
CSC Mr Kimmo Koski kimmo.koski@csc.fi
Multitouch * Mr Petri Martikainen petri@multitouch.fi
Ell-i* Mr Teemu Hakala temmi@iki.fi
Koru*
(http://www.korulab.com/)
Mr Christian Lindholm info@korulab.com

Other companies/startups interested in Masters students as interns:
Company Contact person Contact persons e-mail
Samsung Mr Mikko Kukkonen m.kukkonen@samsung.com
Walkbase* Mr Tuomas Wuoti tuomas@walkbase.com
Framgo* Mr Kenneth Salonius kenneth@framgo.com
Reaktor Mr Karri-Pekka Laakso karri-pekka.laakso@reaktor.fi

* These are EIT ICT Labs based startups which you can also meet at the CLC.