New business cards

Since I'm in Finland now I thought I should update my business cards so that my information is actually correct. You can order free business cards from Vista print and just pay the shipping and handling. That's what I did in USA after my professor told me they would come in handy, you don't necessarily have your resume with you at all time (you NEVER have your resume with you unless you're going to a job interview or a recruiting/job fair) but you always have room in your wallet/bag for few business cards and you never know when you meet up with a potential contact/employer and giving them your card is a great way to be remembered. It's a very useful tool in job hunting.

The selection for the free cards is a little smaller here than it was in USA and I am not as excited about my cards as I was with the first one but having old information with a phone number that doesn't work right now would probably be counterproductive! So I used one of their designs, put my Finnish info in there, pressed "order" and then realized I probably should have added my american number just in case...that way I could have used it both in Finland in the US. Well, you live and you learn. Next time.

I've noticed that there is a difference with the finnish way of communication vs. american. Finns don't really leave voicemails as americans usually do. That way you'll know whether the call was really important and needs to be returned ASAP or if it can wait. We either think that they will call back when they see who the caller was or as a receiver, if it was important the caller will call again. I'm a fan of the american way. Part of the reason why we don;t leave voicemails might be because it's not a standard service and not everybody has it.

Finns are also slower to reply to text messages/e-mails. I feel that I'm in the middle of the american vs. Finnish as in america I could be taken as being rude where I don't necessarily call/text right back and when I say bye on texts, I don't go back and forth time and again. When I'm in Finland I expect people to reply to my calls relatively soon and text me back right away...and when they don't I feel like they are ignoring me. I think with the mergence of iPhones and other smart phones with their applications and music players in the USA, people carry their phones everywhere with them and are in a position to reply right away. Most people in Finland have your basic Nokia that just texts and calls and it is not carried at all times. My pebl, as awesome as it was 5 years ago when I bought it, does not have any apps, doesn't play music and can't be used for playing games. I also receive so few calls and texts that half the time I forget I even have a phone and don't necessarily have it with me at all times. Since my MAC acts as my phone when I call Tiffany via Skype, I don't need my phone for that. I've also noticed that the battery life isn't what it used to and after 20 minute phone call the battery is pretty much dead. Even though Pebl was the greatest phone ever created and is my 4th love of life, I think after my first paycheck it might be time to upgrade. It'll be a sad day but I will need to deal.

Even though my once possible future boss does not want to reply to my e-mails anymore, americans usually reply quickly, even if it's just to say I got your e-mail and will get back to you shortly. Finns reply when they want to. We're slower like that.

More next time. Later