Reflec­tions on Tal­ent Day at Nokia

Insights from  Mervi Hol­ster-Hem­mi and Franziska Ranta­la

Our vis­it to Nokia dur­ing the Inter­na­tion­al Tal­ent Day offered valu­able insights into the company’s cul­ture and its approach to sup­port­ing inter­na­tion­al pro­fes­sion­als.

Both Mervi Hol­ster-Hem­mi and Franziska Ranta­la shared their per­spec­tives on the impor­tance of col­lab­o­ra­tion, adapt­abil­i­ty, and con­tin­u­ous learn­ing in career devel­op­ment, under­scor­ing Nokia’s com­mit­ment to fos­ter­ing an inclu­sive work envi­ron­ment for inter­na­tion­al tal­ent.

Mervi high­light­ed the sig­nif­i­cance of cre­at­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties for inter­na­tion­al stu­dents to engage with pro­fes­sion­als ear­ly in their careers. “Our goal is to pro­vide inter­na­tion­al stu­dents a chance to vis­it, engage, and meet employ­ees and team lead­ers,” she explained, empha­siz­ing how essen­tial net­work­ing is to career devel­op­ment. Mervi’s vision aligns close­ly with the spir­it of Tal­ent Day, where con­nec­tions are made and career path­ways are explored.

Also, Franziska Ranta­la shared her inspir­ing jour­ney of join­ing Nokia and her focus on col­lab­o­ra­tion with­in the com­pa­ny. “Nokia is a place where you can build good con­nec­tions and col­lab­o­rate with peo­ple,” she reflect­ed. She empha­sized how the open­ness of her col­leagues has been cru­cial to her suc­cess: “Team mem­bers are real­ly open and will­ing to help when you have ques­tions.”

Franziska also dis­cussed the chal­lenge of learn­ing Finnish, a step she took with deter­mi­na­tion. “Even small talk in Finnish brings you clos­er to peo­ple,” she not­ed. Her expe­ri­ence illus­trates the impor­tance of inte­grat­ing into the local cul­ture and how Noki­a’s lan­guage cours­es have been instru­men­tal in eas­ing this process. “It’s about build­ing con­nec­tions. Learn­ing Finnish helps you feel more con­nect­ed to the cul­ture,” Franziska added, encour­ag­ing oth­ers to embrace lan­guage learn­ing as a vital part of pro­fes­sion­al growth.

The event also high­light­ed Mervi’s belief in the pow­er of net­work­ing and gain­ing insights from pro­fes­sion­als across indus­tries. “Hav­ing the oppor­tu­ni­ty to dis­cuss and con­nect with pro­fes­sion­als not only helps stu­dents under­stand the job mar­ket but also allows them to influ­ence their own career paths,” Mervi stat­ed. She believes that engag­ing with pro­fes­sion­als dur­ing Tal­ent Day and beyond is essen­tial for stu­dents to devel­op their skills and expand their net­works.

In both Mervi’s and Franziska’s reflec­tions, there is a strong empha­sis on step­ping out­side one’s com­fort zone. As Franziska put it, “Some­times, the right oppor­tu­ni­ty takes time, but when you find the right team, it’s worth it.” This sen­ti­ment echoed through­out the day as par­tic­i­pants learned about Nokia’s col­lab­o­ra­tive cul­ture and ded­i­ca­tion to pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment.

The Tal­ent Day event under­scored Nokia’s com­mit­ment to inno­va­tion, com­mu­ni­ty build­ing, and sup­port­ing pro­fes­sion­al growth. Pre­sen­ta­tions from Nokia rep­re­sen­ta­tives high­light­ed the company’s focus on pro­vid­ing a wel­com­ing envi­ron­ment for inter­na­tion­al tal­ent. This made it clear why Nokia is such a desir­able employ­er for indi­vid­u­als seek­ing to thrive in a glob­al­ized, inno­v­a­tive work­place.

Franziska’s sto­ry serves as a reminder of the impor­tance of resilience and a proac­tive approach to career devel­op­ment. For those con­sid­er­ing a career at Nokia or in Fin­land, her jour­ney is a tes­ta­ment to the rewards of per­se­ver­ance and adapt­abil­i­ty.

Both Mervi Holster-Hemmi’s and Franziska Rantala’s insights offer valu­able lessons on how col­lab­o­ra­tion, lan­guage learn­ing, and net­work­ing can con­tribute to per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al suc­cess in an inter­na­tion­al con­text. Their reflec­tions under­score Noki­a’s role in cre­at­ing an inclu­sive, dynam­ic envi­ron­ment where inter­na­tion­al pro­fes­sion­als can grow and thrive.

Anna Nord­man also praised the impact of con­nect­ing tal­ent with com­pa­nies: “This is impor­tant work, bring­ing inter­na­tion­al tal­ents and com­pa­nies togeth­er. There were many more stu­dents ready to par­tic­i­pate than could be tak­en, which shows that there is a great need for this. We need a lot more com­pa­nies to get involved, to be able to raise this to the vol­ume need­ed.”

Also, Jes­si­ca Segu­ra, reflect­ing on the vis­it, shared her per­spec­tive: “The vis­it to Nokia was incred­i­bly use­ful. It gave us the oppor­tu­ni­ty to see first­hand what Nokia is cur­rent­ly work­ing on, which was excit­ing and infor­ma­tive. Engag­ing with mem­bers of the Nokia team was tru­ly inspir­ing, as it gave us valu­able insights into the com­pa­ny’s cul­ture and the inno­v­a­tive work they’re doing. I high­ly encour­age any­one who dreams of work­ing at Nokia to attend these events. It’s a great way to learn more about the com­pa­ny and under­stand what work­ing life at Nokia is real­ly like.”

Text edit­ed by: Jes­si­ca Segu­ra Polo