This blog post was written by Vladyslav (from Ukraine), a Software Development And Entrepreneurship student at Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences.
Estonia, a small nation in Northern Europe, is swiftly emerging as a favored destination for international students and young professionals seeking to carve out career paths. Known for its landscapes, Estonia is also at the forefront of digital innovation and technological advancement. This makes it an intriguing place for those looking to combine a quality lifestyle with high career ambitions.
The country’s commitment to technological prowess is visible through its tech scene. Estonia is the birthplace of several high-profile tech companies and a pioneer in initiatives like e-residency. Universities and businesses alike foster a climate of innovation and entrepreneurship that is highly attractive to students from around the globe. The government’s proactive approach to integrating technology into everyday life and the business sector provides plenty of opportunities for those skilled in tech and digital fields.
I will be speaking from an IT perspective and further statements might not apply to other areas.
Photo credit: Kristi Sits
I came to study in Estonia right in the middle- end of the COVID crisis and although this crisis made the job market shrink, in no way was it impossible to find a job. However, when completing bachelor studies, you are required to complete an internship related to your field of study, in my case, software development. Thus, I wanted to do it as soon as possible and recommend you to do the same since you will be overwhelmed with other things later on.
In addition to mandatory university, a full-scale invasion launched by Russia on my homeland made me rush to become more independent from my parents who were supporting me at that point financially, and with the war on the horizon, it was my turn to support myself and support them. Some of you might find yourself in a similar situation and trust me, it will get better, but you have to work towards that.
My university was sharing information about job opportunities and internships occasionally via email but nothing caught my eye. I also went to the university information system where there was a dedicated page to internships/jobs and that was better but still, you might want to get more information on that.
Some universities work closely with big, both local and international companies to offer you opportunities since getting an internship where you can teach everything about your particular company’s projects, infrastructure is very valuable so look out for that. Next, I went on LinkedIn where I was surprised by the number of internships, it was much better than I expected, actual positions for students where real-world experience is not mandatory. I applied for a couple of the most promising and interesting and started waiting.
This was all happening in the middle of March and I would get me at the end of April, then a couple of tests, an interview, and in the middle of May, I should have known what I would be doing during summer. However, having the mind of a policeman – always assuming the worst, I decided I needed to find even more opportunities.
When it comes to applying process, you unfortunately cannot show your personality in your CV so you are just a PDF document for HR, thus, if you have no projects, no achievements there – the chance is you won’t hear from them again. HR usually spends 7-10 seconds looking at applications and whether you get the opportunity or not is in some way, a split-second decision. Sometimes everything is done automatically and you cannot know anything about that.
Only if there was a way to communicate in person with your future employer about what their company does and what people they need, right? Well, I am happy to share that there is a job fair event held every year in TalTech specifically for those purposes called Career Fair by Võti Tulevikku every March and you can find information about it on their webpage.
I know, some of you might be anxious to go out and speak with strangers but this is different. The environment during this event just encourages you to communicate and research, exchange contacts and ask questions. This is a game-changer for those of you who are applying for a job/internship in highly competitive areas. Coming back to my earlier point of not being able to show your personality in a CV, here is your chance to impress a company representative and they might pull your application to the side and look at it from a different perspective. By coming to a career fair and communicating with companies’ representatives, you already show that you are interested in this company more than other applicants, are more outgoing, and so on. Of course, there are no guarantees in life but why skip on this opportunity? It is also free :)
Now moving on to the CV, there are countless videos on how to format your CV, and what and where to write so I won’t dive into that but if you have some position you really want to get – do not apply for that position right away. Apply somewhere else and try practicing interviews there. If you don't get a place – no problem, you can always ask for feedback to do better in the future. If you actually get it - then it would be up to you to decide based on your personal goals. However, this gives you a confidence boost as well as invaluable experience.
Also, many companies have their core values compass, usually a short booklet where you can look and prepare relevant experience for an interview. Regarding the actual interview: with anything related to the technical part – this is just a “skill issue” matter. Know your stuff and practice, but do not let people exploit you with huge, work-day-length homework assessments.
My last suggestion is the one that is often overlooked by many job applicants. If you really want to get into some specific company and they don’t have any positions open right now – write to their HR department and let them know you are interested. This is a long shot in terms of outcome but here we are trying out everything. Moreover, there are hackathons, presentations, and industry-specific events and you definitely should attend them if you can.
Good luck to all of you and I hope this article was useful to you, do not hesitate to reach out to me on LinkedIn if you have any further questions.
Find out which international degree programmes are available for you in Estonia.
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