How do Finnish employers see foreign job applicants

1
How do Finnish employers see foreign job
applicants?

• Dr Sc (IB) Minna Söderqvist
• Helia Research and Development

2
Project

• 33 employer interviews in 2004
• Experience of foreign subordinates, either with a
  degree from Finland or elsewhere
• State, community or private employer
  representatives
• From all over Finland
• From different industries
• 635 questionnaires back 2004/2005
• Experienced and inexperienced
• State, community or private employer
  representatives From all over Finland From
  different industries

3
Results

• Importance of internationalization of
  higher-education institutions
• What contributes and what hampers foreigners in
  finding a job in Finland?
• HRM processes and foreign applicants
• Differences in a superiors work if there are
  foreign subordinates

4
Conclusions

• Proposals to state authorities
• Proposals to work communities
• Proposals to higher-education institutions
• Proposals to foreign job applicants
• Proposals for further research

5
Different foreigners in Finland

• Ca 320 000 working addresses about 55 000
  foreigners working all over Finland? employers
  not personally experienced
• Different foreigners different needs and
  capabilities!
• Refugees with difficult backgrounds
• Marriage based immigration
• Highly-educated experts and their spouses (dual
  career)

6
Higher-education institutions important
internationalizers of regions

• Thanks to our HEI our region has become more
  multicultural Thanks to our HEI our business
  has become more international
• Different views on passing a degree in Finland

7
Positive attitudes, but benefits not realised

• Foreigners no threat to Finnish working life
• Multicultural work community taken as more
  innovative
• Foreigners seen as a possibility
• ? Thanks to foreigners our business has not
  developed, they have not brought new customers or
  new partners
• ? annual accounts of foreign HRM
• ? recruiting of foreigners according to their
  education

8
Attitude and Motivation A foreigner should

• Be educated
• Be professional
• Have intercultural skills
• Have own initiative
• Be reliable
• Be able to use Finnish as working language

9
To be a foreigner and Finnish HRM

• HRM not strategic issue in SMEs ? foreign
  background not yet taken into consideration
• When choosing recruiting channels
• In interviews
• In salaries
• In induction processes
• In engagement
• In socialization to work community
• In induction of superiors to recruiting
• ? Employers would need an active recruiting
  policy

10
A Foreign Applicant Should

• Be able to speak Finnish
• Have a BIG network of Finnish persons!
• Be able to handle the You are a bigger risk in
  recruiting
• Be able to show your expertise and
  professionalism in the interview
• Find out about Finnish way to recruit and to work
  (fellow students/employees, neighbours, friends)

11
Superiors and work communities need instructions
and further education

• How to take benefit from the international
  dimension in the real work
• How to meet diversity in real situations
• What intercultural capabilities are and how to
  use them
• How to change the superior and HRM if foreign
  subordinates