Job interview in Finland: 12 common questions and tips

Few interview questions come completely out of the blue. Reread the job advert and note the main requirements. Find out what the company does and who its customers are. Choose three to five examples from your own work, since one good example often fits several questions. Reread your CV and application too, and practise your answers out loud. Do not memorise them: the aim is to know your examples so well that you can tell them naturally.

The interviewer wants a professional summary, not your life story. A good structure is what you do now, what you have done before and why you are applying for this job. Keep it to a minute or two.

Connect three things in your answer: the content of the role, the company and your own skills. An answer is strong when it would not fit just any job as it stands.

Pick two or three of the main requirements from the advert and give a short example for each. Concrete evidence carries more weight than general adjectives.

Choose strengths that are useful in this particular job, and describe a situation where each one showed. "I am organised" becomes believable when you explain how you kept several projects on schedule.

Name a real area for development that is not critical to the job, and say what you are doing about it. Avoid clichés such as "I am too conscientious".

The STAR method works well here. Describe the Situation and your Task, explain the Action you took, and finish with the Result and what you learned. Focus on what you did, and do not use the answer to blame others.

Give an example of shared work and your role in it. If you have resolved a disagreement or helped a new colleague get started, mention it.

Talk about what you are moving towards, not what you are running from. Stay professional about your current or former employer, even if your reason for leaving is unpleasant.

Give the reason briefly and directly, such as studies, family leave or unemployment. Then move on to what you learned during the break and why you are ready for this job now. You do not have to go into details about your health.

The interviewer wants to know whether your goals fit the role. Say what you want to learn and what kind of responsibility you would like in the future. You do not need an exact career plan.

Answer with a range you have researched in advance. You can find indicative levels on the MyJob.fi Salaries page, and more detailed advice in our guide to salary expectations.

Prepare a few in advance. You could ask what a typical working day is like, what is expected of a new employee in the first months, how onboarding is arranged, what the team is like and how the recruitment process continues.

Under the Finnish Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life, an employer may only process personal data that is necessary for the employment relationship. Pregnancy, family plans, religion, political views or trade union membership, for example, generally have no place in an interview. If you get a question like this, you can calmly ask how it relates to the job. The occupational safety and health authorities can give you more information.

Test your connection, camera and microphone in advance. Choose a quiet place with a tidy background, put the camera at eye level and look straight into it from time to time. Keep your phone on silent and the interviewer's contact details to hand in case of technical problems.

If you like, send a short thank-you message saying that you are still interested in the role. If the agreed schedule passes, you can politely ask how things stand. Also write down the questions you found difficult, so you are better prepared next time.