What was it like to take a chance to start in a Finnish company and move across the world?
How did a non-Finnish speaker find a job in Finland?
What does joining a Finnish company feel like for a non-Finnish speaker?
How might it feel to take a chance and move across the world to find out?
Our Design System Owner, Jeongeun Lee, can tell you from her experience.
As a non-Finnish speaker in Finland
Jeongeun's story in Finland goes back to 2010, when she first arrived in Finland as an exchange student. She immediately fell in love with the country – the peace, the culture and the different way of life. As her exchange year came to an end, she felt she needed to return one day. “I wanted to come back to experience the culture and the way of learning to advance my studies in my field”, Jeongeun says.
And so she did! Seven years later, she applied for a master’s program at Tampere University. As she was accepted, she and her husband decided to move all the way from South Korea to Finland, as non-Finnish speakers.
"I talked with my husband, and he really encouraged me to seize the opportunity. I thought it is better to go and try than not try at all!”
Receiving an unexpected message
In 2022, Jeongeun felt it was time for a change. She had recently finished her studies and had been working for some time at another company in Finland as a UX designer. As an eager learner, she wanted more challenge.
In the summer of 2022, Jeongeun was finishing her summer holiday when she noticed a new message on LinkedIn. It was from Visma Solutions, from our Senior Talent Partner Katia. “Katia was asking whether I would be interested in the role of a Design System Owner. I totally was!”
As a non-Finnish speaker, she was immediately worried her lack of Finnish language skills would be a problem. This worry soon disappeared as she heard English was the primary language used within Visma Solutions.
Another thing that truly surprised her in the hiring process: Visma’s honesty and openness. “They transparently shared about their challenges with the current design system. I liked that kind of openness. Also, I saw the opportunity to focus more on the design system and challenge myself doing that – as I wished”, she explains.
Facing mixed feelings as a fairly introverted non-Finnish speaker
A few weeks later, after the interview, the phone rang. It was good news! She was offered the position at Visma Solutions. But Jeongeun was surprised by her reaction. Although she was over the moon about the prospect of starting this new journey, she was also experiencing mixed feelings about yet another change ahead. She didn’t know if she was ready for it. As a fairly introverted non-Finnish speaker, she wondered how she would “fit in”.
“I talked with my husband, and he really encouraged me to seize the opportunity. I thought it is better to go and try than not try at all”, Jeongeun explains. And so, she decided to take the chance.
What made Jeongeun feel at ease?
She recalls how her manager, Hesam, introduced her to everyone in the team. Another colleague, Sid, helped her to get started with the onboarding. “Sid had even prepared me an extra onboarding file I could easily follow”, Jeongeun says. The feeling of being an important part of her new team was already resonating with her.
As she joined Visma Solutions in the autumn of 2022, she immediately felt at ease and warmly welcomed. Jeongeun says the people here have been super supportive since her day one in the company. She has also experienced how passionately and boldly Hesam and Sid discuss things about designs, which impressed Jeongeun from the start. “From day one, I’ve gotten good energy from them. I had a gut feeling that I wanted to learn all I could from their passion and curiosity. And I have”, she explains.
Feeling equal and included
Jeongeun continues to be happy about her decision to seize this opportunity at Visma Solutions. She has learned about the latest technologies and design systems in a leading company in the industry and feels treated as an equally important team member.
Working in a company that operates globally in over 30 countries, she doesn’t need to worry about being a non-Finnish speaker. “I feel like my manager and colleagues really care for me. Even for casual conversations, people here immediately switch to English after noticing me. That makes me feel included”, Jeongeun summarises.
“As a fairly new team member, I find it important that I get to learn and share ideas, both with my team members and with our wider international community of 500 designers – that feels unique to me”, Jeongeun pinpoints.
“From day one, I’ve gotten good energy from them. I had a gut feeling that I wanted to learn all I could from their passion and curiosity. And I have.”
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