Finnish CV format and cover letter: what employers expect

Finnish recruiters want to see quickly whether you meet the requirements, so the norm is short, structured and factual. InfoFinland says a CV (ansioluettelo) is usually one to two pages. Job Market Finland recommends a comprehensive but clear CV that doesn’t stray far from the common structure, with work experience and education in reverse chronological order.

• Contact details: name, phone, email, city, and a LinkedIn link if it is up to date.
• A three-line profile at the top: your role, years of experience, one or two concrete strengths and the kind of job you want. Finns read hype as noise, so keep it factual.
• Work experience: title, employer, city and country, dates, then three to five bullets that show results rather than duties.
• Education: degree, institution, country, year, plus one line on what the degree covered if the title isn’t self-explanatory.
• Other competence: languages with levels, IT skills, and cards and passports such as the hygiene passport (hygieniapassi) or occupational safety card (työturvallisuuskortti), which some jobs require by law.
• References: names and contact details of people who have agreed to recommend you. Ask their permission first.

Keep the layout simple enough for an applicant tracking system. Many Finnish employers, including the public-sector portals Kuntarekry and Valtiolle.fi, take applications through online forms. Plain headings and no text boxes mean nothing gets lost. Run it through our ATS score checker before you send it.

A photo is optional. InfoFinland says you can include one, but check the job advert: some recruitments are anonymous, and then the employer wants applications without a picture. If you do use one, make it a recent, neutral headshot.

Finland’s Data Protection Ombudsman says an employer may only process personal data that is directly necessary for the employment relationship. Discrimination is prohibited on grounds including age, origin, nationality, language, religion, belief, family circumstances, health, disability and sexual orientation. In practice, leave out your date of birth, marital status, children, religion, passport number and health. None of it helps your application, and some of it invites bias.

The exception is your right to work. If you are from outside the EU, one line such as “Residence permit with unrestricted right to work” or “Non-EU citizen; offer would qualify for the specialist permit” answers the employer’s first unspoken question.

Job Market Finland’s advice to international jobseekers is to describe your education’s content clearly, because degree titles vary internationally. A Finnish recruiter may not know your university, so give it context: the degree’s length and level, the main subjects, and your thesis if it relates to the job.

Do the same for employers. One short line saying what a company does and how big it is (“logistics group, 2,000 employees, 6 countries”) turns an unfamiliar name into evidence.

For most jobs the employer decides how to value a foreign degree. For regulated professions such as teacher, nurse or doctor, you need a recognition decision from the Finnish National Agency for Education (OPH) or another competent authority before you can practise. Our qualification recognition guide explains how.

State every language with a level, not an adjective. Finnish courses and certificates use the Common European Framework scale from A1 to C2, and recruiters recognise it. “Finnish A2 (course 3 of 6, ongoing)” is more useful than “basic Finnish”, and it shows you are learning. If you have a YKI certificate, give the level and year.

If the job is in English, still list any Finnish or Swedish you have. It signals that you plan to stay, which matters to employers weighing whether to invest in you. Our guide to English-speaking jobs in Finland covers where English is enough.

List two or three referees who know your recent work, or write “References available on request” if space is tight. The Data Protection Ombudsman states that an employer must obtain your consent before asking a former employer about your performance, so a reference check is something you agree to, not something done behind your back.

When a Finnish job ends, you can ask for a certificate of employment (työtodistus). InfoFinland says there is usually no need to send such certificates in advance, but bring them to the interview. If you worked abroad, bring what you have: a reference letter, a contract or an English translation of your certificates.

The application letter (työhakemus) is where you look forward. Job Market Finland describes the CV as your history and the letter as the future: why you are applying, how you meet the selection criteria, and what you would offer. It recommends about one page and warns against making lists. InfoFinland puts it at a little under a page.

• Opening: the role, where you saw it, and one sentence on why this employer, with a genuine detail rather than a compliment.
• Middle: two short proof stories tied to the two most important requirements in the advert, each with a result.
• Fit: how you work. Finnish working life is low on hierarchy and values frankness, so show independence and plain communication instead of claiming them.
• Close: that you would welcome an interview, and when you can start or what permit situation applies.

Write it for this employer only. Work in Finland stresses that an application must always be tailored to the employer you are applying to. Check yours with our cover letter checker.

Because many Finnish jobs are never advertised, the open application (avoin hakemus) is a normal tool, not a cold call. InfoFinland suggests describing your skills and the kinds of tasks you would be interested in. Many companies have an open-application form on their careers page, and Job Market Finland advises updating it regularly. Name a team or problem you could help with; “any suitable position” gets filed and forgotten.

Some employers ask for a video instead of, or as well as, a letter. InfoFinland puts the appropriate length at about one to three minutes. Treat it like the opening of an interview: who you are, the one thing you are best at, and why this job.