For alumni
As an alum, you are part of Aalto community. Let's stay connected and develop together!
Student Guide
After graduation
On this page you will find useful information about what to do as an international student once your graduation is behind the corner and you want to stay in Finland. If you do not have a job yet, don’t worry – there are many things you can do to improve your chances of landing one!
Welcome to the Aalto alumni community
After graduation, you are officially an Aalto alum – you do not need to register anywhere to be part of the community and benefit from your alum status! However, it is important to update your contact information so we can keep you in the loop about upcoming events and opportunities that could benefit you.
As a graduate, we warmly invite you to join Aalto Alumni Community on LinkedIn to connect with fellow almni, seek advice and into a network of professionals. Furthermore, you can participate in the activities of one of our numerous alumni societies.
If you have any questions on alumni matters, please contact [email protected].
For School of Business alumni
The School of Business alumni community offers possibilities for lifewide learning, networking and contributing to our School's mission: Better Business - Better Society. Join our alumni community!
Residence permits
After graduation, if you have a job in Finland you can apply for a work permit on the basis of a degree completed in Finland. If your current permit is a residence permit for studies and it has not expired, you can already start working while waiting for the decision on the work-based residence permit. You may work without restrictions during this time.
If you do not have a job after graduation, you can apply for a residence permit to look for work or to start a business. If your previous study permit is still valid when applying for the next permit, you don’t need to leave Finland while waiting for the decision. If you leave the country after graduation and your study permit expires, you can still apply for the residence permit to look for work in Finland as long as 5 years after graduation. The permit can be granted for a maximum of 2 years, given that you have sufficient funds for living in Finland (at least 560 €/month). If you are working part-time for example, your salary is taken into account when counting the funds.
If your studies are not yet finished and your study permit is about to expire, you usually have two options. If you have completed all the needed courses for your degree, you can already apply for the extended residence permit on the basis of looking for work. Once you get your degree certificate, you can submit it as an attachment to your residence permit application. However, if you have not finished all your study courses and your graduation is not likely to happen within the next 1-3 months, you should apply for an extension on your study permit.
You can read more information about the different residence permit types on the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) website.
Employment services
If you don’t have a job in Finland after graduation, it is advisable to register as a jobseeker. This will give you access to public employment services, and you might also become entitled to unemployment benefits depending on your residence status and previous work experience. You can register as a jobseeker by filling in and submitting an electronic form to the TE Office (the public employment services in Finland). For help and advice, you can also visit, call or email the TE Office’s service desk at International House Helsinki.
After you have registered as a jobseeker, you will be forwarded to the employment services of your municipality. Please read more about them below:
Job search and career development
If you don’t have a job upon graduation, do not worry as there are many support services available for you both through Aalto University and other organizations in our network. Most of these services are free to use and do not require you to register as an unemployed jobseeker. The services help you in job search, career development and creating a professional network and social community, so that you can ultimately stay in Finland and build your life in the Helsinki capital region.
Did you know that you can keep using Aalto JobTeaser for one year after graduation? You just need to update your private email address in your JobTeaser profile before your student email address (aalto.fi) expires, which happens about 4 months after graduation. By updating the email address, you can keep using Aalto JobTeaser portal to access job ads, career events and the Job Search Guide. Only the career coaching appointments are reserved for students.
Career design doesn’t end once you graduate – in fact, for many people it truly begins once you enter the working life or become a jobseeker. This is the time when you should invest in developing your competencies and finding your own unique career path based on your values and strengths. Read more about how Career Design Lab can help you in this experimentation, and don’t forget to explore the offering of Aalto’s Lifewide Learning to develop and update your skills after graduation.
Espoo Talent Hub by the City of Espoo provides numerous services to support you in competence building and job search. You can access some of these services if you live anywhere in the Helsinki capital region. For one-on-one mentoring, you can apply to EntryPoint mentoring programme in autumn (usually in September-October). In TalentMatch recruitment events, held two times a year in autumn and spring, you get to network with employers and other professionals.
In addition, if you live in Espoo you can apply to Career Club which is an intensive career development programme for international professionals. The Career Club usually starts in the beginning of the year and the application period is in late autumn (November). Apart from job search and career development, you can turn to Hello Espoo service point to find out about cultural and other leisure activities and services that are available for you as a resident of Espoo.
International House Helsinki provides information and public authority services for international professionals in the Helsinki capital region, so you don’t need to live in Helsinki to access these services. You can book an appointment to a personal Employment Coaching session or download the extensive International Jobseeker’s Guide. To start exploring what Helsinki has to offer in terms of free-time and leisure activities, MyHelsinki is the best information source for that.
Finland has a very high number of different associations per capita, and it is very common for Finns to be active in them. You can find associations for almost everything; there are recreational, cultural, professional, religious associations, for example. Associations are a great way to get to know new people and expand your networks, which is always beneficial in the long run when looking for a job. Associations are non-profit organizations, so the member fees are usually quite modest and many activities might be free for newcomers. If you're looking for national associations for immigrants, you can find a list of them on InfoFinland website. In addition, the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) keeps track of all registered associations in Finland.
Career Design Lab
Shaping sustainable and meaningful careers
Lifewide Learning
Aalto University Lifewide Learning helps you develop your skills in an ever-changing environment.
Trade unions and employee rights
In Finland, there are about 80 trade unions representing different occupations and job sectors. Trade unions negotiate with employer unions, for example on wages and other working conditions on behalf of employees. In addition, trade unions provide many services for their members, such as field-specific trainings and events as well as benefits and discounts. A majority of Finnish employees belong to a trade union, and you might consider joining one as well if you plan on staying and working in Finland. Some trade unions have reduced membership fees for their student members or unemployed members.
As a graduate from Aalto University, one of the unions below might be most suitable for you:
Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK
Suomen Ekonomit (The Business School Graduates in Finland)
It is important to remember that trade union is not the same thing as unemployment fund. By joining a trade union, you do not automatically become a member of an unemployment fund, although you can usually choose to join both of them at the same time. Unemployment fund has a separate membership fee which employees pay while they are working. If they become unemployed, they can apply to the unemployment fund for earnings-related daily allowance, which is significantly higher than the basic unemployment benefit from Kela. Just like trade unions, there are several unemployment funds for you to choose from; you can read more about them on TYJ website.
Whether you are unemployed or already working in Finland, it is important to understand the rules of Finnish working life and your rights at the workplace. Fair Play at Work website includes detailed information about working in Finland in 23 different languages. If you have any questions about trade unions or employee rights in Finland, you can also contact the free SAK employee rights hotline. The service is open to everyone and does not require trade union membership.
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