When I arrived in Finland as a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at the University of Helsinki, I carried with me the same mix of ambition and hope that many international researchers bring here. I envisioned a future where my work, my dedication, and my qualifications would naturally translate into a stable career and a long-term place in this country. I didn’t come with uncertainty on my mind, but with the quiet confidence that eight months of funded research would be enough time to secure a path forward. I imagined settling into a meaningful professional role, growing roots, and contributing to a society built on fairness, education, and opportunity.

Yet toward the end of that research period, reality arrived in a form I did not anticipate: application after application, rejection after rejection, quiet inboxes, polite declines, and a growing sense that the path I believed was straightforward was going to demand far more resilience than I ever expected to give.

Two weeks before my residence permit was set to expire, I did something I never thought I would need to do. I wrote a simple post in a Facebook group asking for any job; truly, any job; because as a non-EU citizen, there is no room for pride when the alternative is packing your life into suitcases and leaving. The responses came quickly and humbly: newspaper delivery, construction, cleaning, and Wolt delivery. It was not the future I had pictured when I boarded a plane to start a competitive research fellowship in one of Europe’s most respected academic environments. It was not even close. But it was a door, and at the time, that was enough.

So I decided to deliver newspapers in the dead of a Finnish winter; February, snowstorm, freezing mornings, silent streets at 3 AM, and a determination that burned louder than the cold. It began as survival, but slowly, I learned to see it differently. If I were going to walk miles every night, I might as well treat it as daily training. If I were navigating neighborhoods, I might as well master the layout of the city. If I were learning building numbers, even/odd sides, routes, shortcuts, I might as well collect these small learnings as tools for a future I refused to abandon. And yes, I still remember the night I accidentally walked toward a highway because I didn’t realize there was a bridge hidden on the other side of the street; a small moment of confusion that later became a metaphor for how this entire journey felt: the right path is not always visible at first glance.

I worked from midnight until five in the morning, sometimes finishing early and running to catch the last bus at 2:15 AM, rewarding myself with a small treat waiting at home. I would sleep for a few hours, wake up, and attend events across Helsinki and Espoo; Espoo Talent Hub, Maria 01, Epicenter Helsinki events, The Shortcut events & workshops (including a three-month Azure security training), anything where people were building, learning, or simply trying to belong somewhere. I met countless international talents who, in their own quiet ways, were fighting similar battles ; highly educated, highly capable, and yet, invisible until proven otherwise. And slowly, one conversation at a time, loneliness turned into community.

In my second year, I joined an integration program, waking from a short nap after my night shift to attend Finnish language classes in the morning, network in the afternoons, return home for a few hours of rest, and then begin the cycle again. I applied for mentorship programs, joined as a mentee in Integrify © and EntryPoint by the City of Espoo, volunteered in the matchmaking team at Arctic15 , Head of Global Participants Acquisition at Junction, and Sustainability Group Lead at Slush. I kept moving because movement was the only thing that kept my hope oxygenated.

Then came another shock: my residence permit extension was rejected due to new immigration policies. I appealed, knowing that one month was all the time I had left legally. Around the same moment, two deeply promising job opportunities slipped through my fingers ; rejected after a final interview for the head of global operations at Junction and first interview for head of start-up operations at Slush. Two doors were closing when I was standing at the edge of time.

I remembered a conversation with Anna Storgårds from University of Helsinki Career Services who once asked me, “What do you get from your 8,000 LinkedIn connections?” That question stayed with me. It whispered in the background until one day, I decided to act. I posted my 22 public LinkedIn recommendations as a carousel, followed by two posts demonstrating my value; one grounded in research, one in business. People in my network, real people who believed in me, amplified those posts, commented, shared, and made my story visible to the right eyes.

Within days, I was contacted by the co-founders of Yellow Method. We spoke, we connected, and they made the decision to bring me into the team. I finally stepped into the kind of role I had imagined when I first arrived in Finland: a Business Development position in a B2B SaaS company, mixing both research and business, exploring markets, and proving what I could do.

Life isn’t linear, and careers rarely unfold the way we script them in our minds. Financial challenges eventually meant I was laid off, but instead of viewing that as the end of something, I saw it as another transition; a clear signal to strengthen the areas I had touched, develop the skills I knew mattered, and continue building momentum in the direction I now fully understand I belong in.

Along the way, I mentored in EntryPoint by City of Espoo and another one by Think Africa ry, spoke at Familia ry’s Finnish Work Life program, shared networking insights at Course Connect by Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, and became a regular guest at Career Club by City of Espoo, also volunteered in Audio/Visual at Maria 01 pitching now competition. I tried to give back to the same ecosystem that carried me when I felt most unsure, because gratitude is only complete when it circles back into contribution.

Finland not only changed my circumstances; it changed me. I arrived as a tea-only person who couldn’t understand why people loved coffee so fiercely, and now I start my days with a big mug of coffee, not for the caffeine alone, but because somewhere along the way, it became part of the rhythm of belonging here. I once disliked cinnamon, yet now I genuinely look forward to pulling apart a warm pulla or a perfectly soft korvapuusti. I came with a nervous edge shaped by uncertainty and survival, and slowly, the calm structure of life here made its way into me; I became someone steadier, quieter inside, more patient, more grounded. And perhaps one of the surprises that still makes me smile the most: after growing up in a place where stray dogs meant danger and rabies was a real fear, Finland taught me what it means to trust and love dogs; to stop on the sidewalk, smile, and understand that some things in life change simply because safety allows softness to exist.

I am still here. Still building. Still believing. And still grateful; not despite this journey, but because of it.

Today, I’m looking for the next chapter

I am exploring Sales Development / Business Development roles within B2B SaaS or Research-to-Business (R2B), and am also open to advisory or ecosystem roles supporting innovation, international talent integration, or peer-support initiatives. I am also looking for opportunities as a researcher with a PhD in organic, medicinal, and computational chemistry, building on my record of 23 published research papers and international collaborations. Alongside my scientific and business background, I have completed three trainings with the Finnish Refugee Council - Suomen Pakolaisapu, ADHD-liitto ry, and MIELI ry, which deepened my understanding of mental health, resilience, and community support — all through the lived experience of an immigrant rebuilding his career and identity in Finland.

If you are hiring, building teams, shaping ecosystems, or simply believe in the strength of people who persevere, I would welcome a conversation.

Finland taught me many things: humility, perseverance, and the quiet power of small, consistent steps. But above all, it taught me this: you may arrive as a visitor, but you can stay as a contributor, a community member, and a builder; if you choose to stay in motion.

You can reach me here on LinkedIn or by message. If you prefer to start with a coffee, that is how most meaningful things in my Finnish journey began.

To my close friends: Marii Juht, Abigail Voigt, Van Tran, Natalia Lebedeva, Ekaterina Tolkacheva, mentors: Johanna Kolu Higgins and Ann (Zemenak) Sarimo who stood beside me through every uncertainty, offering guidance, encouragement, and quiet strength; kiitos. Your support carried me farther than you know, and I am deeply grateful for every message, every conversation, and every moment you believed in me before the results showed.

A special thank you to Leo from ICEYE, whose thoughtful feedback helped me refine my CV, and to the Jobbuddies program by Luckan, which guided me to narrow my focus and move with clarity. Your belief, insight, and kindness made a real difference when I needed it most. To Svenja Fassbender, who led us with care at Slush, surprised us with thoughtful gifts and handwritten postcards, and continued to support my job search through messages and tags. Your kindness, faith, and generosity of spirit made the hardest moments lighter and the hopeful ones brighter, and to Enitan Odupitan, Emma Stenroos, and Paavo whose support during my night-shift work made it possible for me to stay in Finland when it mattered most.

Thank you for reading, and thank you to everyone who has been a part of this story so far. The journey is not finished; it has only just begun its next direction.

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This blogpost was written by Yassine Kaddouri and originally published on his LinkedIn profile. We repost his text to Think Africa’s blog with Yassine’s permission.