Seven years ago, Arnob Khan moved from Bangladesh to Finland to study business analytics. Applying for a part-time job whilst studying was a challenge in a new country, but perseverance and a courageous attitude took him all the way to a management position.
"I feel lucky to have met colleagues and supervisors at Posti who’ve helped me move on in my career, ranging from the head of early deliveries who recruited me to this day."
– Arnob Khan
The many phases of 34-year-old Arnob Khan’s career could make some go out of breath. From a telephone service to mobile network engineering, and then a career change to a journalist. Technical development of online learning, lecturing at a university, and working as an IT engineer at a state electricity grid company. Moving to Finland to study, and part-time jobs that step by step made him the leader of a 20-strong data team.
”A lot of people have a clear vision and a plan for their career early on, but I’ve never had one. However, I’m always looking for the next opportunity and ready to seize it. Even my mother has said that whenever I get tired of doing something, I’ve already moved on to the next thing,” Khan tells.
Khan says he follows three principles in his career: Every opportunity, big or small, could be a door to the next one; a positive attitude is everything, and there’s nothing to lose in asking and reaching out; and empathy is a virtue that must be nurtured in everything you do in your career.
This is how Khan describes the key turning points that have led him to where he is now in his career.
1. The move from Dhaka to Lappeenranta wasn’t the result of long consideration, but it turned out to be the right decision
I grew up in Dhaka, the capital city of my native Bangladesh, and I studied electrical and electronic engineering. I worked in Dhaka for about six years in very different positions, most recently for the state electricity grid company. Working for the state was valued in Bangladesh and I was happy to get the job, but eventually I got fed up with the work and high hierarchy. My colleague had been an exchange student at the Lappeenranta University of Technology and suggested I apply to a master’s programme there.
I had never planned to move abroad, but, as usual, I figured why not. At the time, LUT was organising its first business analytics programme. I read an article on the subject written by an LUT professor, got excited, and decided to apply. In 2017, I moved to Lappeenranta to study. I had almost no existing perception of Finland. I imagined it as some kind of island covered in ice. I’ve grown up in a metropolis of millions, where the same number of people lived within a 5-kilometre radius as in the whole of Finland.
Arriving in Lappeenranta in early autumn, the first thing I noticed was how few people there were. I missed my bus, and the next one was completely empty. In all honesty, I was a bit skeptical – what had I gotten myself into? But when I woke up the next morning and went to school, I immediately felt that this is where I want to be. I had travelled in various places, but I’d never felt peace like this. Now I can no longer imagine living anywhere else.
2. Finding a job in Finland was tough, but hard work paid off
Right away, during the orientation weeks at the university, I started thinking about how to cover my living expenses as a student. Very soon I began to look for a part-time job: cleaning, restaurant work, anything really. I quickly developed a routine: in the morning, I took a bus to the city centre and went around for kilometres from door to door asking for work. Not knowing Finnish turned out to be an obstacle everywhere.
I remember the exact date when I finally got a job: 10 October 2017. My friend suggested I could try to get early delivery work at Posti. I thought it sounded pretty good. I immediately went for a visit, and to my surprise I was told that there was a vacancy. Five days later, I started delivering newspapers six mornings a week.
A month later, I noticed an ad for a PhD student position on my campus. I was only a first-year master’s student, but I had prior experience in online learning, which was related to the research. I didn’t get the position, but I was offered work as a research assistant in the same project. I accepted the offer, but I didn’t want to give up early delivery, which I’d only recently started. I was able to reduce my hours, and during my first year I worked both jobs. Because I’m a great fan of travelling and summer was on its way, I decided I wanted to add even more to my travel fund. I got a third job in house cleaning, and so I worked three different jobs in the summer.
3. A series of meetings and contacts led to a managerial position
As I was about to graduate, I spotted an interesting project manager position at Posti on LinkedIn. I spoke to the recruiting supervisor but didn’t get the position. Later, I applied for the role of a junior data scientist at Posti. The supervisor who had previously interviewed me got in touch, gave me the contact details for the then team leader and suggested I reach out to them directly.
When I contacted them, I was sure they thought I was mad: some early delivery guy wants to join the data team. Then again, I also figured I’ve got nothing to lose by getting in touch. The very next day, the team leader responded. The position I applied for had already been filled, but another team was still looking for a data engineer. They put me in touch with the supervisor of the team, and eventually I got the position. Everyone at Posti was really encouraging from early on, and they could see how motivated I was, for which I’m really grateful.
I worked as a data engineer for three years, until I went to work elsewhere for a little bit. My colleague tempted me to return to Posti after a year and a half. I returned to the role of a senior data engineer, and in less than a year, I was selected to lead the entire Data & Platform team of 20 people. Now I work as the owner of Posti’s data platform and a supervisor for my team. Progressing to this position is certainly the biggest achievement of my career so far, although I couldn’t expect or plan for it. Meeting the team members empathetically as individuals and understanding different scenarios simultaneously have provided me with completely new kinds of challenges.
I feel lucky to have met colleagues and supervisors at Posti who’ve helped me move on in my career, ranging from the head of early deliveries who recruited me to this day. I’ve been encouraged to take ownership and thus build my self-confidence, and I’ve been directed to the people who could help me with the next step of my career.
5 reasons why Arnob Khan encourages IT and data experts to consider Posti as a potential workplace:
Seeing every aspect of data and technologies. "In an organization the size of Posti, you are inevitably exposed to almost everything related to data analytics, from legacy data to state-of-the-art technologies."
Interesting work in the intersection of data and business. "Here you can closely influence the kind of added value data provides to business. It’s an extremely good learning environment for those enthusiastic about the subject."
Opportunities to grow and build networks as a technology specialist. "Posti has a large community of technology experts in Finland and the Baltics. Ideas are exchanged and problems solved in cooperation with the international network."
Career development isn’t limited to a specific area. "A large organization can offer career path opportunities that aren’t set in stone. For example, you can progress from a data engineer to management positions in business operations."
The work affects millions of people. "An operator like Posti has a huge amount of data in its possession. Just one job can have a tangible impact on the daily lives of millions of people."
Career story created in cooperation with Duunitori. Author: Janita Lindström. Photo: Fredrik Bäckman.