Finding a fulfilling job can be a tricky task in any case, but considering last year’s events and the current economy, the competition in the Estonian job market has become especially fierce. During my 10+ years as a Recruiter, I have seen candidates’ struggle on how to find a job in Estonia. Many different questions are filling candidates’ minds. If you are looking for your next step, I hope you can find some guidelines to rely on.
Play your cards right
Start your every application with some simple steps:
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Make sure you have updated your profile with all the latest information – job changes, completed relevant courses, etc.
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Proof-read your CV, take time to catch any typos. You can enlist a friend to help out to get a fresh outsider view.
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Carefully read the advertisement for the role you are about to apply for and assess honestly how much of your background fits the requirements.
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Start from scratch and write a new message for every application you send out. Bring out your uniqueness and suitability for the role in a tailored e-mail to send together with your CV.
Have a broader perspective
When looking for a job, the majority is turning to cv.ee or cvkeskus.ee as these are the best-known job portals in Estonia. Having a good and descriptive profile on the job portals with your contact details visible is always a good stepping stone. Unfortunately, this also marks the end of the road for many, since they do not know they can go further.
If adding your profile on a job portal was your first and the last step, I recommend checking these pages as well:
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Try MeetFrank for sales, HR, marketing, finance, and IT roles.
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Look into Goworkabit for some in-between short gigs.
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Check what Work in Estonia has to offer.
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Last but not least, don’t forget Linkedin.
Apply without a public ad
Have you ever felt that not all the roles are promoted publicly? That is right, positions may get filled using the companies’ own database of previous candidates or targeted sourcing for potential candidates from the Internet. Having a descriptive profile with industry-specific keywords will help you get into this pool.
As a Recruiter, I suggest you go through the following steps on how to find a job in Estonia:
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Start with the research of the recruitment agencies in Estonia. You can find an extensive list of different agencies here. It is worth exploring who are they typically hiring and whether it makes sense to send them an e-mail to introduce yourself.
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In Estonia, a real human being will read your application. Therefore don’t fill your CV with empty buzzwords that will actually impress only a computer. Instead of writing a list of words (e.g. team player, good communicator, etc.) describe what do you mean by them and explain your view. Add information that is relevant and will bring out your specific skillset.
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Send your CV to some carefully chosen companies. It might not bring you an immediate job offer, but your information will be in the company database and you might be contacted in the future.
To find the most suitable potential employers to reach out to, read the next paragraph.
Proactive approach for landing your dream job
If you want to land your dream job, you can’t depend on luck and the help of others. You have to put in the effort yourself. This approach applies to almost every profession.
Get the facts about your potential employer
- Learn about the history and people of the future employer. It is always a good idea to do some research on Google about the companies you’d like to work for.
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If possible, read reviews from former and current employees. There is no good equivalent in Estonia but some local companies can be found on rating-sites like Glassdoor or Indeed.
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For background about a potential company, I recommend using Krediidiinfo. You can create a free account to see the number of employees, contact person names, etc.
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If you want to go further, Teatmik is a good source for a more detailed view of the finances.
Completing these steps should give a clear view of the companies that deserve your time.
Get in contact
- If you know someone from the company, you can ask his/her help to get direct contact or a personalized introduction.
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Look for either HR or Recruiter contacts to introduce yourself via e-mail.
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Send a polite message that will show your prior knowledge about the company. Use the information from your research to outline why you are the right fit for them.
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Keep the first e-mail concise. Otherwise, the recipient might lose focus and not get to the end of your very long text.
Good luck with your job hunt with these tips on how to find a job!
If you want to join our team of experts, check out the birkle IT Careers page to see the vacancies we have.
