What to do if a good education is not enough for employment? June found her way through the twists and turns
Sometimes it can feel that even though you have skills, training and a learning attitude, the job search hits a wall. That's what happened to June. Now, through many coincidences, he works in a permanent job as an information management designer for the municipality of Hollola.
June's story
After graduation, June worked for a long time as a teacher and trainer at universities of applied sciences. Having studied to become a designer at YAMK, June täppönnis trained experts in the field, - but found herself in the middle of employment challenges.
The moment of graduation fell in the middle of the recession, so the initial momentum of getting into working life was blocked. This challenge is familiar to many recent graduates - if you can't get a job in the field you want right away, it can be very difficult to get it later. During her studies, June had been asked to take part in teaching and additional jobs in the teaching field appeared. In the beginning, June did not dream of working as a teacher, but working life absorbed her. At the bottom, there was still a desire to be able to work as an expert in his field.
Another challenge to employment was brought by the ongoing change in working life. The fields June studied had taken a hard hit: the textile field had almost completely disappeared, and the graphic field and the printing industry had become much more efficient. A sharp cut in education budgets eventually also ended his work as an educator.
June started an active job search with the aim of starting in project or expert positions. He had strong core competence, but it was difficult to get a job in specialist positions, since his work experience had been accumulated mostly in teaching.
A new effort from the municipal experiment
When June moved to the employment municipal trial client, she got her own contact person. The best thing about June was when there was always the same, genuinely knowledgeable and interested in the client's situation, employee to support the job search. June says that it wasn't until the municipal trial that she felt she got help for the first time as an unemployed person.
The personal trainer referred June to the municipality's information management, where it was stated that a current project suitable for June's skills could be available. The financial aspect of the municipality was facilitated by a wage subsidy, which enabled an unbudgeted employment relationship - June started doing background research for the renewal of the municipality's website. June and her immediate supervisor see that in this situation many pieces fell together at the right time: the new supervisor wanted a new perspective, the personal trainer encouraged June to apply outside of her own core competencies, and the municipality had a big project starting at just the right time.
In half a year's employment, June got to grips with the tasks of information management, even though the tasks were new in many respects. When the information management designer position opened up, my personal trainer encouraged June to apply. The new experience gained from the municipal environment and the trust given in June's work created the belief that she would be able to take over the job. June applied, she was selected and thus the permanent work on the information management side began. Having previously worked through frequent part-time jobs, June's experience of working life has changed: she enjoys her work and also enjoys the opportunities offered by remote work.
June recognizes a challenge familiar to many university graduates: it is not easy to apply the knowledge gained from studies to the job market. It is difficult to understand: who needs my skills, what kind of jobs dare to apply and what can be done with this training? There was no support network like a personal trainer before, and without the encouragement, June doesn't think she would have applied for this position. In June's opinion, continuity is the biggest strength in the self-coaching model of the municipal experiment.
Hindsight's thoughts about unemployment
June admits that she was a timid job seeker - it didn't feel natural to walk in the door and market herself for work. At the same time, he realized that success in his field would have required a strong desire to market himself or, alternatively, become an entrepreneur. Neither felt like their own.
He would have also wished for psychological help if unemployment continued: the lack of prospects for getting a job can easily become overwhelming and the job search can become very depressing if you never make it to interviews. Similarly, he feels that age discrimination is real, even though he does not want to talk about this problem publicly. In these conditions, it is not easy to maintain faith in the possibilities of employment. Even in that, he values continuity and the formation of a personal bond with his support person.
As a job seeker, June thinks it is important to understand the overall social situation and to find out a lot about both Finnish and global working life trends. It helps to understand why even highly educated job seekers do not get employed. When you see things in the right proportions, the situation doesn't get to eat away at your self-esteem. You shouldn't remain idle during unemployment: you should always learn something new - even a new language - and read as much as possible. While unemployed, June learned both coding at an open university of applied sciences and a new language.
The supervisor's perspective
From the supervisor's point of view, June's arrival at the scene was at the perfect time. The municipality had a need for a task, which they had not been able to foresee, and there was no creator for it. It was also high time to modernize the job description of the position vacated by retirement.
There were many applicants for the position, but June's work history and skills stood out clearly. The eight-month salary support period had convinced the new work community of June's competence. Utilizing salary support was new to the new manager of the house, and its ease and convenience surprised even him. In recruitment, however, in addition to competences, the person and their motivation to do the work also decide a lot.
Hollola employment services
Text: Mari Ylä-Uotila
Published: 27.6.2023