It has taken six months of trying, but finally I was able to send invites out to a set of possible clients at a company today to book in for sessions - and so far, one did. Granted, I sent the invites out later in the day than I would have liked, but at least it is a start and hopefully by the end of the week, the majority of the group will be booked in for this month. If they do, it will hopefully plug up some of the outflow and lead into a positive inflow.
Just a glimmer...
I don't put a lot of faith in hope, because it tends not to fall in my favour very often. I have hoped for a lot of things in my life, but not too many of them have materialised. I think the strike rate for those who rely on hope can actually be pretty good, it is just that they attribute it to the wrong aspects. I know some who tend to "fall on their feet" often, but it isn't their doing at all, nor their hope, it is just that they have a set of conditions that is better suited to positive outcomes. For instance, YoY in Finland, the amount of companies that have hired foreigners has fallen by around 30% and it wasn't that high to begin with.
It isn't just the economic climate, but also the political climate that is driving a lot of this, though there are far fewer jobs being advertised now than last year also. Many companies are no longer advertising open positions because they don't want to wade through the high volume of applications, with some estimates that over 50% of available jobs are not made public at all. This makes sense in many respects, but it also means that anyone who doesn't have a strong professional network is going to struggle to find a position, as essentially it is a word of mouth or what could be called a nepotic process of who you know.
I am not against who you know hiring processes for the most part, because there is value in the "friend of a friend is likely to be a friend" approach. However, it also has to be managed carefully, otherwise there is the risk that positions are filled by people who aren't qualified or even close to the best fit, but are there through network alone. This tends to backfire for the company, as they end up with lower quality employees who are more likely to stick around. Getting rid of underperforming people in Finland isn't as easy as it is in places like the US. In fact, underperformance isn't legal grounds for dismissal at all.
Based on the current climate, it looks like I am not going to find any suitable work as an employee, so I am going to have to keep pushing as a business owner. Ideally though, I would like to have a job that allows me to keep my entrepreneurial activities alive simultaneously, as I have for the last six years when employed, because it gave me the chance to start to close the financial gap to people who have all of the network and history in the country. Starting from scratch isn't easy, which is why it takes generations for foreigners to actually integrate fully into a new country.
As I see it, people should have to work to be part of the community, to add value in some way. This comes through many forms, but there should also be assistance by the community to help others grow. Of course, this doesn't happen very much because people are looking to maximise themselves, but if looking to build a strong society, it can't be left up to governments, because that is not what they do. In many western countries these days, there is a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment that is affecting the entire landscape, but what people should realise is, it isn't going to stop immigration. There are far too many economic interests that are tied to higher populations and that means that most are stuck with it, like it or not. And if stuck with some condition, the best thing to do is to make the most of it.
This small step forward today might not amount to much, or it could be a turning point that leads to a high enough volume to survive. My kind of business is unlikely to lead to thriving income, but if I do well enough at it, I may be able to pick up another secondary piece of work that supplements again.
While hoping that my crypto bags increase significantly in value.
Taraz
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