The Focus of this Lesson is Using the Present Tense to Express your Qualities as an Employee and Using the Past Perfect to Explain Your Job History
Opiskelen tällä hetkellä kirjallisuutta. Pidän myös asiakaspalvelusta. Olen ahkera, ja iloinen työntekijä.
"I'm currently studying literature. I also like customer service. I'm hard-working, and a cheerful employee."

We use the present tense to talk about immediate facts, facts that are related to now, or facts that are continuously happening.

In a job interview you can use the present tense to express what you are studying at the moment, where you are working at the moment, and your personal traits, which may be beneficial for the job and your employer.

1. Preesens: Present Tense

Singular

Plural

For example:

1. Minä opiskelen yliopistossa.
   "I study in a university."
2. Minä työskentelen kukkakaupassa.
   "I work in a flower shop."

You can add the partitive to make the expression more precise:

1. Minä opiskelen kirjallisuutta yliopistossa.
   "I study literature at university."

Or you can also add the essive case to express what you are doing/being currently:

1. Minä työskentelen osa-aikaisena kukkakaupassa.
   "I work as a part-time worker in a flower shop."
2. Minä olen kotiäitinä.
   literally "I am as a housewife," meaning "I am a housewife."

In job interviews, you are often asked why you applied for the job in question, or why you would be suitable for the job. That's a good time to express which parts of the job you like, and what kind of personal interests you have. You can express these with the present tense. For example, you can use these structures in your sentences:

1. Minä pidän...
   "I like..."
2. ...sopii minulle hyvin, koska...
   "...suits me well, because..."
3. Olen...
   "I am..."
4. Tämä työ sopii minulle hyvin, koska puhun eri kieliä.
   "This job suits me well because I speak different languages."
5. Olen luotettava ja ahkera työntekijä.
   "I am a trustworthy and hard-working employee."

2. Perfekti: Present Perfect

Let's also review the perfect aspect, perfekti,  as you will most likely need it in a job interview. The core meaning of the perfect aspect is "prior" or "before." You will notice the perfect aspect from the combination of olla, "to be," the main verb being in the form of the past participle. For example: olen ollut,  ("I have been"), olet ollut ("you have been"), hän on ollut ("she has been"), olemme olleet ("we have been"), olette olleet ("you have been"), ovat olleet ("they have been").

The present perfect is to talk about factual events that were completed before but also have importance now. For example, in a job interview you might say, olen työskennellyt siellä aikaisemmin, "I have worked there before," when your interviewer mentions another place or type of work, for example.

Many often teach present perfect as the verb tense used to talk about whether someone has had an experience or not.

Another way to use the present perfect is to talk about actions that have been recently finished.

How to Form the Present Perfect Tense

For example:

Verb: Juoda - "To drink"

1st singular: Minä juon - Minä olen juonut / "I drink" - "I have drunk"

2nd plural: Te juotte - Te olette juoneet / "You drink" - "You have drunk"

Verb: Lukea - "To read"

2nd singular: Sinä luet - Sinä olet lukenut / "You read"  - "You have read"

*2nd plural: Te olette lukeneet - "You have read (plural)"

1st plural: Me luemme - Me olemme lukeneet / "We read" - "We have read"

How to Use Present Perfect Tense:

The present perfect tense cannot be used with specific expressions of time, such as eilen ("yesterday,"), viime viikolla ("last week"), kaksi tuntia sitten ( "two hours ago"), kun menin lomalle ( "when I went on holiday"), sinä päivänä ("that day") etc.

It can be used, however, with generic time expressions such as ei koskaan, ei milloinkaan or ei ikinä ("never"), kerran ("once"), aikaisemmin, aiemmmin or ennen ("before") or vielä  ("yet").

The present perfect tense is commonly used to describe experiences, changes over time, uncompleted actions, accomplishments, and multiple actions.

For example:

Olen jo lukenut kirjan. "I have read the book already." - correct. Jo, "Already" is not a specific time expression.

VS

Eilen, olen lukenut kirjan. "Yesterday, I have read the book." - incorrect. Present perfect tense cannot be used with a specific time expression such as "yesterday." The correct sentence is Luin kirjan eilen. "Yesterday, I read the book."

In a job interview or when introducing your background in another similar situation, you can use the present perfect tense to explain where you have worked or studied in the past, for example:

1. Olen tehnyt kirjanpitäjän töitä.
   "I have worked as a book-keeper" (literal translation: "I have done bookkeepers jobs.")
2. Olen opiskellut taidetta.
   "I have studied art."

3. Work-related Vocabulary

Below is a list of adjectives and nouns to help you express your qualities as an employee.

Examples from the dialogue:

1. Kyllä, erinomaisesti. Opiskelen päiväsaikaan, joten ilta- ja viikonlopputyö sopii minulle oikein hyvin.
   "Yes, very much so. I study during the daytime, so evening and weekend work suits me perfectly."
2. Olen ollut aikaisemmin ruokakaupassa töissä.
   "I've previously worked in a supermarket."

Sample Sentences

1. Olen ystävällinen ja joustava työntekijä.
   "I am a friendly and flexible employee."
2. Olen työskennellyt pankissa ennenkin.
   "I have worked in a bank before as well."
3. Valmennan juniorijalkapallojoukkuetta, joten olen hyvä johtaja.
   "I coach a junior football team, so I am a good leader."

työhaastattelu "job interview"

The word työhaastattelu is made out of two words: työ, meaning "job" or "work," and haastattelu, meaning "interview."

For example:

1. Saitko kutsun työhaastatteluun?
   "Did you get an invitation to a job interview?"

myyntityö "sales work"

The word myyntityö is made out of two words: myynti meaning "sales," and työ meaning "job" or "work."

You can use this word whenever referring to a job related to selling something directly to customers. It can be, for example, a sales assistant position in a shop, or a telemarketing role. If you are talking about a sales manager position, it might be better to use the word myyntipäällikkö, "sales manager," to be more specific. You can also change the meaning of the word myyntityö by changing the word myynti, "sales," into another noun, such as suunnittelutyö, "design(ing) job."

For example:

1. Minulla ei ole kokemusta myyntityöstä.
   "I have no experience in sales work."

ruokakauppa "grocery store"

The word ruokakauppa, is made out of two words: ruoka, meaning "food," and kauppa, meaning "shop."

You can use this word whenever you want to refer to a shop selling goods for cooking and eating, i.e., groceries. It can be a supermarket, a small local shop, or a big automarket—there is no difference based on the style or size of the shop. It is not normal to use this word when referring to a take away-restaurant or a kiosk/convenience store with a limited stock. Use the words noutoravintola or take away-ravintola ("take away-restaurant") or kioski ("kiosk") instead.

People don't always say the whole word ruokakauppa when they say they are going food shopping. They often only say kauppa. You might hear Menen kauppaan, meaning "I'm going to the store."

For example:

1. Ruokakaupassa oli pitkä jono.
   "There was a long queue at the grocery store."

Applying for a Job in Finland

In Finland, it's quite common to search for possible jobs online, on the Labor and Economic Development Office website or independent job-seeker websites for example. Many jobs, however, are filled without any public announcements, so it's a good idea to contact businesses directly. Most often companies prefer that job seekers contact them via email, or by calling them.

When sending an email to a possible employer, it is important to be polite and write your message clearly. You don't need to exaggerate the level of politeness, however, as this may come off as unintentionally comical. Just be natural, efficient and clear!

When going to an interview, dress neatly, but don't worry about showing your personality. It of course depends on the role, but usually interviewees don't have to worry about strict dress codes. Dressing in clean, neat clothes and taking care of your appearance is important.

According to Finnish law, the employer can not put applicants and employees into a different position based on their age, nationality, race, religion, opinion, state of health, disability, sexual orientation, language, or any other similar factor, unless they have a good reason.

When you go to an interview, make sure to research the company you're interviewing with, and bring a copy of your CV with you. If you're going for a creative job, bring your portfolio with you. Sometimes name cards will be exchanged, but they're not that common in Finland, so don't worry if you don't have one.

Useful expression:

1. Päivää! Nimeni on.. Onko teillä mahdollisesti työpaikkoja vapaana?
   "Good afternoon! My name is... Do you possibly have any job vacancies?"