3. If you want to master the Finnish language, don’t wait to start learning it.

If you’re planning to learn Finnish, start from that and leave all other things until later. I did everything else simultaneously and postponed learning the Finnish language. Our team at Fjord was small but international, and our working language was English. So I didn’t have to struggle to learn Finnish at work, which was both good and bad.

Now I’m in my seventh year working at Tietoevry, and I still use English as my primary language of communication. In the beginning, I was the only female and the only international employee in my team; however, the workforce has become more diverse since those days, and we see more and more women in tech.

It made me nervous at first that everybody had to speak English only for me. Then I realised that we were all equal in that regard, because English was nobody’s first language. Your most important qualities in the workplace are your attitude and ability to create value with your capabilities and professional skills. Furthermore, diversity brings many benefits – diverse teams allow us to create increasingly innovative solutions and services.

It’s important for my husband and I that our kids speak both their heritage language, Russian, and Finnish equally fluently. They attended Finnish-language day care, which got them off to a strong start, and they now go to a bilingual Finnish-English school.

It eases the lives of my children a great deal that they speak fluent Finnish, and it’s a great advantage to be able to learn many languages right from an early age.

4. Find out about taxation.

It was an adventure for me to move to Finland. I was so excited about the move that I didn’t find out about anything in advance and didn’t ask for advice. I learned about things as they emerged. The biggest challenge to me in Finland has been to understand taxation. At first, I paid too much tax, but gradually I learned about tax refunds and tax deductions – for example, that I could make tax deductions on books that I buy. Today taxation is well presented online, so it’s easy to find information.

5. Be proactive with your colleagues.

Your work is easier if you’re proactive with your colleagues. This has been especially important in the last two years, when teams have been forced to do remote or hybrid work. It’s important to meet all your colleagues face to face or virtually to ask how they are, and you should ensure that everybody is on the same page. Don't wait for others to contact you; take the first step and reach out.

If you don’t receive a response right away, don’t be shy to try again. Consider this life hack to maximise your chances of getting a response: email messages are often ignored in a hurry, so instead of sending email, schedule a meeting directly on the person’s calendar and suggest a chat. Make up a funny title for the meeting to make it memorable and positive.

“5 things that I’ve learned about building a career in Finland”