What to do?

Unemployment

To get the best help for your situation, first answer the questions on the Preliminary questions page.

Job-seeking

Prepare for job search

Finding a job is likely to be easier when you first analyse your thoughts and wishes. For example, consider these questions:

What could you do based on your training and work experience?
Where could the workplace be located? Would you be ready to move for the job?
Are you looking for full-time or part-time work?
Would you like to have one employer or could you have numerous employers or clients?

Collect all your certificates:

degree certificates
certificates of the courses you have completed
various cards used to demonstrate your competence (hygiene passport, fire work card, etc.)
extracts from open university or open university of applied sciences
employment certificates.

Keep the certificates organised so they are easy to access when you need them.

If you need the specific dates of your qualifications for job applications, you may obtain them from the Suomi.fi Web Service if you have studied in Finland. Go to the Your data section of the Suomi.fi web service and identify yourself. The right to study section contains information on qualifications completed in Finland from certain years onwards.

If you have lost your certificate of employment or have not received it from your employer, request it from your employer. The employer is obligated to write you a certificate of employment for 10 years after the end of the employment relationship and also after that if it is not unreasonably difficult for the employer.

Write the job application separately for each job you apply for. You can certainly use certain sections in several applications, but the application must not be too general. In the application, explain why you are applying for the position in question and from the employer in question.

There are different ways of preparing a job application in different fields. The employer may provide instructions on the form and length of the application.

Instructions for preparing a job application:

Job application and CV - Te-palvelut.fiOpens in a new window.

It is customary to attach a CV to the job application.

Compile a CV on your education and work experience. In the CV, you list your work experience and training starting from the most recent to the least recent.

Job search training and job coaching provided by the TE Office and municipalities will help you complete your CV and job application.

For more detailed instructions on how to write a CV, refer to the online guides.

Instructions for writing a CV:

Job application and CV - Te-palvelut.fiOpens in a new window.

Make a short presentation video or an electronic portfolio, i.e. a sample folder, if it is customary in your field.

Be prepared to tell about yourself and your competence also verbally.

Updated: 28/11/2023

Search for jobs in many ways

Use different methods in looking for a job. Do not leave your job search solely for applying to vacancies, but make use of your previous contacts. Also ask employers, who have not announced vacancies at the moment, directly about the vacancies.

If you use social media, use it to help:

In LinkedIn, you can set up your profile to indicate that you are looking for a job.
In social media services, tell your followers or contacts that you are looking for a job in a specific field.
An employer who is interested in you may look through your social media profiles. Think about what they look like in their eyes.

Job search tips online:

View job advertisements in online services and magazines.

Online job-seeking services:

Some vacancies are not advertised anywhere. Sometimes employers will invite people who they are familiar with from different contexts for interviews.

Contact workplaces where you have previously worked or completed a traineeship.
If you have been invited for an interview by an employer previously, contact them and ask whether there are any new positions open.
Send an open job application or contact interesting employers even if no vacancies are open right now.
Use your own networks. Ask your acquaintances and former colleagues to tell you of any vacancies they hear about.
Follow the newspapers and social media in your area to find out which new companies or projects are starting in your area.

Updated: 23/2/2024

Get help finding a job

The TE Office or municipal employment services provide you with individual help in job-seeking.

If you have just become unemployed, you can have an initial interview within five working days of registering as unemployed. After that, you will meet a TE Office or municipal official every fortnight for the first three months of your job search.
If you are unemployed for more than six months, the services you will need in your situation will be agreed upon again.
If you are unemployed for more than a year, you can get special services to support your employment. Read more in the Supporting employment section.

The TE Office and municipal employment services may guide you to meet different experts and participate in coaching, events or other services:

Job search training helps to get started with the job search.
Job coaching helps with, for example, writing a job application.

If you are a member of a trade union, ask the union whether it offers its members job search training.

Find out if the local association for the unemployed offers job search training.

Associations of the unemployed in different parts of Finland (in Finnish) - Työttömät.fiOpens in a new window.

Updated: 2/5/2022

Seize job offers and opportunities

TE Offices and municipal experts will provide you with job offers, i.e. notifications of suitable jobs. Follow the instructions of the TE Office or municipality.

Job Offer - TE-palvelut.fiOpens in a new window.

Also apply for and accept short employment relationships. Even a short employment relationship may continue or result in good contacts. The most commonly used way for employers to get new employees is to contact former employees, so a short employment relationship can help you in the future when you are looking for a job.

Updated: 26/4/2022

Apply for reimbursement of job search costs

If you are an unemployed jobseeker and are invited to a job interview or aptitude test, apply to the TE Office for reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses for the costs related to the job interview. You can apply for compensation if you travel to a job interview within Finland or to another EU/EEA country.

Apply for the reimbursement from a TE Office within a month since the end of the trip. You can also receive compensation in advance in full or in part.

Reimbursements of travel and accommodation expenses caused by job seeking

Updated: 26/4/2022

Apply for support for the costs of accepting work

You can apply for financial support for costs when you receive work.

Apply for commuting and relocation allowance for the journeys to work for an employment relationship with the duration of more than two months:

If you are a member of an unemployment fund, apply for a mobility allowance from your unemployment fund.
If you are not a member of an unemployment fund, apply for a commuting and relocation allowance from Kela.

You can receive assistance when your daily commute is

in full-time employment over three hours
in part-time employment over two hours.

A commuting and relocation allowance can be paid when you move to a different location for employment.

Before your work begins, find out from the unemployment fund or Kela your right to a mobility allowance. Apply for the allowance within three months since the beginning of your employment relationship.

Kela's commuting and relocation allowance – Kela.fiOpens in a new window.

Mobility allowance of the Federation of Unemployment Funds in Finland (in Finnish)Opens in a new window.

If you have to rent an apartment from a place other than your permanent place of residence for work, fill in the details of this in your tax return.

Work housing deduction (in Finnish) – Vero.fiOpens in a new window.

Updated: 26/2/2024

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