Your CV arrives at a Finnish company. It holds your qualifications, your experience, and your story. Before anyone reads past your name, a decision may already be forming.

Perception shapes the Finnish job market in ways both visible and invisible. Research from the University of Vaasa reveals that CVs with foreign-sounding names face significant barriers, often never being read to the point of describing competence and experience (Viitala, 2024). The story of Ann, a Filipina professional with multiple Finnish degrees, including a master's in ICT, illustrates this reality starkly. Despite her qualifications, years passed before she found work matching her training. Having a CV stating she was born in the Philippines proved enough to prevent job interviews.

This is the reality many internationals face in Finland today. Understanding how perception operates and learning to navigate it strategically can mean the difference between opportunity and frustration.

The Current Market Reality

Finland's labour market stands at an interesting crossroads in 2025. The employment rate is projected to reach 71.4% in 2025, rising to 72.3% by 2027, with unemployment expected to decrease from 9.5% to 8.8% during the same period. Over 56 shortage occupations exist, many tied to digitalisation, healthcare, and critical infrastructure.

The paradox is sharp. Thousands of positions remain unfilled whilst unemployment persists. Approximately 18,000 new IT roles are anticipated in 2025 alone, with the technology sector needing 130,000 new skilled workers by 2030. Yet many qualified candidates struggle to secure interviews.

The gap exists partly in skills mismatch. It also exists in a perception mismatch. How employers perceive candidates matters as much as what candidates actually bring.

Three Types of Discrimination

Research identifies three categories of discrimination-related phenomena in Finnish recruitment (Viitala, 2024).

Overt discrimination happens intentionally. Recruiters block candidates based on personal beliefs, strong prejudices, or hunches. This includes requiring perfect Finnish language skills when they are genuinely unnecessary for the role, or dismissing applications based on names alone.

Covert discrimination operates unconsciously. Well-meaning recruiters hold implicit biases they may not recognise. They might genuinely believe they select purely on merit, whilst unconscious patterns shape their choices.

Contextual discrimination emerges from workplace structures and traditions that advantage some employees over others. These systems may appear neutral yet create systematic disadvantages for certain groups.

According to the 2019 Eurobarometer survey, 40% of respondents from Finland believe gender might place an applicant at a disadvantage in recruitment. Similar patterns affect age, nationality, and ethnic origin.

How Perception Actually Works

Finnish law requires equal treatment in hiring. The Non-Discrimination Act states that employers must choose the most qualified applicant for the job and prove their choice is justified on acceptable grounds related to the nature of the work. Qualities unnecessary for performing tasks cannot be required.

Reality diverges from law. Research shows last names still affect who gets hired, with some job postings using thinly veiled language saying they want 'local' employees. Even when internationals are hired, insufficient support with the Finnish language can lead to short-lived employment relationships.

The challenge compounds. Different countries and cultures take vastly different approaches to how people present themselves on CVs. Some cultures use extreme superlatives and emphasise everything. Nordic cultures, including Finland, favour modesty, austerity, and sticking to facts. Applications may paint pictures of individuals and their actual skills very far from reality.

Strategic Responses

Understanding perception allows you to work with it rather than against it.

Present evidence, never assertions. Finnish culture values demonstrated capability over claimed capability. Instead of stating you possess a quality, show where you have deployed it. Describe specific situations with context, your action, and measurable outcomes. This approach bypasses perception filters by forcing focus on actual results.

Address the language question directly. If a role genuinely requires extensive Finnish, acknowledge your current level and your active learning plan. If Finnish skills are secondary to the role's core functions, demonstrate how you have succeeded in multilingual environments previously. Companies increasingly recognise that diversity brings value when properly supported.

Leverage cultural translation skills. Your international background gives you capabilities that many local candidates lack. You understand multiple business cultures. You navigate cross-cultural communication naturally. You bring perspectives shaped by different systems. Frame these as strategic assets, which they genuinely are.

Seek companies actively building diverse teams. Organisations like the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare have conducted recruitment experiments to promote diversity with good results. Companies serious about inclusion create structures supporting diverse employees. Target them specifically.

Build visibility before applications. Perception shifts through repeated exposure. Contribute to professional communities. Share insights on platforms where hiring managers gather. Speak at events. Write about industry challenges. Become known for your thinking before your CV arrives.

Practical Action Steps

This week, take these specific actions:

Audit your CV for perception barriers. Remove anything inviting unconscious bias whilst retaining your authentic identity. Focus the first page entirely on demonstrable results. Make your capabilities impossible to ignore before nationality or background become factors.

Identify five companies with strong diversity commitments. Research their initiatives. Study their public statements. Look for evidence of follow-through. These organisations have already worked to counter perception bias internally.

Prepare three achievement stories. Write them as brief narratives. Context, challenge, your specific actions, measurable outcomes. Practise delivering them naturally. These become your evidence when perception tries to override merit.

Connect with employee resource groups. Many Finnish companies now have internal networks for international employees. These groups often influence hiring and can provide insights into which managers genuinely support diversity.

Learn enough Finnish to demonstrate commitment. You need not be fluent. Show you are seriously learning. This signals long-term intention and respect for local culture, shifting perception from "temporary foreign worker" to "committed professional building a career here."

The Larger Picture

Perception in the Finnish job market operates at multiple levels simultaneously. Individual recruiters carry personal biases. Organisational systems embed historical patterns. Cultural norms shape what is perceived as "normal" or "professional."

You cannot single-handedly change these systems. You can navigate them strategically. You can seek allies within them. You can demonstrate capabilities so clearly that perception barriers crumble.

Finnish law provides strong protection against discrimination. If you experience discrimination, you can contact the Nationwide Telephone Service of occupational safety and health authorities confidentially. Document everything. Seek guidance early.

Simultaneously, work proactively. Build relationships. Create visibility. Demonstrate value repeatedly. Perception shifts slowly through accumulated evidence.

The Finnish job market needs your capabilities. Skills shortages are real and growing. The question is whether perception barriers will prevent a connection between your capabilities and employers' needs.

Understanding how perception operates gives you tools to bridge that gap. Use them deliberately. Your career in Finland depends on it.

References

Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. (n.d.). Recruitment experiments to promote diversity. Finnish Red Cross. https://www.redcross.fi/week-against-racism/say-no-to-discrimination-at-work/

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Finland. (2025). Labour market forecast: Employment to pick up by the end of 2025. Finnish Government. https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410877/labour-market-forecast-employment-to-pick-up-by-the-end-of-2025

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.). Discrimination. Tyosuojelu.fi. https://tyosuojelu.fi/en/employment-relationship/non-discrimination/discrimination

The State of Hiring and Recruitment in Finland for 2025. (2025, August 23). 9cv9 Blog. https://blog.9cv9.com/the-state-of-hiring-and-recruitment-in-finland-for-2025/

Top Hiring Sectors in Finland 2025. (2025, November 19). Intelligent Employment. https://intelligentemployment.com/hottest-sectors-hiring-finland-2025/

Viitala, R. (2024, January 29). Discrimination in recruitment? Nothing is ever as simple as it appears, says the professor. University of Vaasa. https://www.uwasa.fi/en/newshub/articles/discrimination-recruitment-nothing-ever-simple-it-appears-says-professor

Working without discrimination. (n.d.). InfoFinland. https://www.infofinland.fi/en/work-and-enterprise/finnish-working-life/working-without-discrimination

About the Author

Francis Oyeyiola, MA Edu., AmO, MSc. Econ. (Industrial Management), BEng. IT, founder of CoachMe2.fi, specialises in helping professionals navigate career transitions in the Finnish market and across continents. With more than 10 years of experience in career coaching and a deep understanding of workplace cultures, Coach Oye has guided hundreds of international professionals towards meaningful work aligned with their authentic capabilities.