Careers
on a mission to build a psychologically sustainable future. We work with Finland's best growth companies and their leaders. Read below why you should join our team. Currently we are looking for Finnish-speaking psychologists to work in Helsinki
What does a Performance Psychologist do?
As a Performance Psychologist, you walk alongside the client as their personal coach. The key is to ensure your client's growth and psychological performance in the midst of their demanding work. In practice, your work consists of face-to-face coaching sessions and communication with the clients between the sessions. We are known for our excellent client experience and strong customer relationships. Thus, your role as a coach goes beyond the traditional 1:1 sessions and includes strong relationship-building with the coachee – and their organization. In addition, you will carry out team coaching, workshops, and training.
What is expected from you?
More important to us than your years of work experience is that you have a genuine interest in our business and share our values. In addition to you being a certified psychologist (PsM), here is a list of a few things that would make you the perfect addition to our team. But as no one is perfect, we don’t expect you to tick all the boxes.
- Your work approach is solution-oriented, and you might have a coaching certification
- Third-wave cognitive behavioural therapies (e.g. ACT) are familiar to you
- You have experience in work and organizational psychology
- You’re interested in working with fast-growing organizations and the business world gets you excited
- You want to gain a holistic view of our client organizations and help them to grow in a psychologically sustainable way
- You are rich in ideas and have a genuine interest in developing yourself, your clients and Laavu as an organization
- You are willing to go the extra mile to make your client happy
- You are brave and not afraid to step into your discomfort zone
Hear directly from our coaches
"To work at Laavu and with Laavu is innovative, inspiring and psychologically safe. Laavu brings together the best of business, coaching and psychotherapeutic knowledge. The resources abundant, reflect the latest knowledge and innovations and are made readily available to the coaches as well as clients. Everybody is at Laavu to win the day together. No idea or need to spar experiences goes overlooked or ignored. There is time and time is made for the people, not staff, but people, personally. The Laavu experience inside and out. A true learning environment, packed with diversity and psychological safety. The best place to work, innovate and grow! Hands down!"
Sari
Performance Psychologist
"Laavu is the best possible place for me. Our culture has a great balance of passion, devotion and ambition, but at the same time it is easygoing, open and vulnerable. Laavu gives me an abundance of opportunities to grow – not only as psychologist but in my other areas of interest too. Since Laavu is a small startup, we are able to make decisions quickly and flexibly, without frustrating bureaucracy or hierarchy. Coming to work feels like arriving to a comfy, welcoming place full of friends who enjoy being there. Plus our clients are amazing!"
Lotta
Performance Psychologist
"I never thought I could find a place where I could combine my eagerness to work in business life with all its dynamics and fast-phased rhythm, AND person-centered client-work with genuinely human culture. Luckily I found Laavu! During the last year, I have grown as an employee but also as an individual. I've grown more than I could have ever imagined – I just needed the proper environment for that! For me, the best advantages of Laavu are our team and culture, the possibility to learn and grow, truly fascinating clients, and top-level leading. I can trust Salla and Rami with everything."
Lasse
Performance Psychologist
"It's so exciting to be a part of Laavu's story! I enjoy working in a fast-paced and changing startup -environment, and well, coaching is just something I love to do. For me, it's essential that Laavu supports my development as a psychologist and that I have such a fantastic team around me."
Mari
Performance Psychologist
Why Laavu?
Culture
We are extremely proud of our culture (as if that isn’t something any company would say). Laavu is filled with warm, real, and ambitious people. We are not afraid to have difficult conversations, admit our mistakes or show our vulnerabilities. We are not big on the hierarchy as we believe everyone knows how to do their job best. However, we’re always there for each other.
We could write an essay on how amazing we are and how much fun we have together (you wouldn’t believe it anyway), but the best way is to see it yourself – so just call one of us or come visit our office!
Laavu Coaching Certificate
All Performance Psychologists begin their coaching journey by acquiring a Laavu Coaching Certificate. During the first weeks, the coach goes through a very broad training (app. +30 hours). Read more about the certificate HERE. After the training and acquiring the certificate, you’re good to go! Learning will continue with weekly steering meetings, 1on1s, monthly Laavu Academy and group discussions.
Growth
Growth is at the very center of our operations and culture. We believe for Laavu to grow, we need our employees to grow as well. That’s why each employee starts with an extensive onboarding before working with clients. In addition to growing by coaching our bright and demanding clients, as a psychologist, you also get to develop yourself in weekly steering meetings, 1on1s, and training sessions. Also, our psychologists have versatile tasks that go beyond the work of a traditional psychologist.
Clients
Laavu’s client base is unique. It consist of founders, CEOs, and other high-performing individuals. They are very motivated to challenge themselves and work towards their goal. Working with them, you get to immerse yourself in meaningful conversations with amazingly bright people, which is a great opportunity to learn new things and get new perspectives. Typically, you get to work with each client for more than 6 months which makes it possible to build meaningful relationships and work on complex topics.
Compensation
And did we mention that you also get paid for doing this? Compensation covers a monthly salary of 3 800€ - 4 600€ and employee benefits (a laptop, a phone + Epassi).
Are you interested in being a freelancer? Read more from the FAQ at the bottom of the page.
Our recruitment process in a nutshell
Introduction Discussion
Meeting at Laavu's office. You get to see our office and team + hear more about working at Laavu
Competence Interview
Competence interview at Laavu's office
Practice Demo Coaching
You may take part in optional practice coaching to prepare yourself for the real deal. You get to coach one of Laavu team members (45 mins) and receive feedback from one of our psychologists (10 mins).
Demo
Coaching
In demo coaching you hold a real coaching session for one of Laavu's team members while the other monitors your performance.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to have experience or a diploma in coaching?
It’s beneficial, but we don’t expect previous experience in coaching.
Do I have to do sales at Laavu?
We are a growth-oriented company and want everyone to contribute to Laavu's growth in one way or another. All of our coaches do have a role in sales.
What is the working language at Laavu?
Our official language is English, so all the material and written communication are in English. However, most of the coaching sessions are in Finnish, and usually, casual discussion happens in Finnish (if there are only Finnish-speaking people around).
What's the language spoken in the coaching sessions?
It depends on you – the sessions can be in Finnish, Swedish or English. Same thing with the supporting materials: the language is chose by the client.
What are the working hours?
It’s up to how you schedule your coaching sessions. Usually, psychologists start between 08.00 and 10.00 and finish between 16.00 and 18.00. However, we’re chill when it comes to working hours – no one monitors when you arrive or leave the office.
I'm interested in working for Laavu as a freelancer. What should I know?
We’re glad to hear you’re interested in being a freelancer at Laavu! Being a freelancer at Laavu differs from being a freelancer psychologist anywhere else. At Laavu, freelancers are part of the team, just like any other employee. Ideally, freelancers work at least 2-3 days per week, so full-time work is hard to combine with this. We hope to see freelancers participate in weekly steering meetings (työnohjaus) and other team gatherings like Friday Buns. Compensation is 230 € (+ VAT 24%) / month/client (working time per client approx. 2 hours/month). You get paid by the number of clients, not by the number of hours. As the first intro sessions are free of charge for clients, you do not get paid for them. However, we compensate it by rewarding you with a 1000€ bonus after going through onboarding (approximately two (2) full days) and having ten (10) clients. Also, for each new client you book yourself, you get paid 450€ for the first month instead of 230€. It’s good to note that we’re very client oriented. Before the first session, our coaches send a video to the client and welcome them. Our coaches stay in touch with clients outside of coaching sessions by, e.g., reminding them of their homework or sharing relevant and helpful material with them. According to our coaches, all this should take less than 15 minutes per client per month on average.
What are the working spaces like?
We have an office in Hakaniemi (very close to the metro and trams). We have six coaching rooms, a large lobby, a kitchen area, and a back office. We’re proud of the office – it’s been praised quite a lot! You’re welcome to visit us - drop one of us a message and come by for coffee!
How many clients does one psychologist have?
Usually, psychologists have 25-30 clients who have coaching sessions every other week. This means 3 client sessions daily, on average. However, there might be days without any coaching sessions and some days with more than 3 sessions.
What is Laavu Coaching Certificate?
All Performance Psychologists begin their coaching journey by acquiring a Laavu Coaching Certificate. During the first weeks, the new coach goes through comprehensive training (app. +30 hours) that consists of several coaching & feedback sessions, trial clients – and ongoing support from our psychologists. Once the coach has completed the training and acquired Laavu Certificate, they are ready to start as Laavu's Performance Psychologists. Rest assured: learning and self-development won't stop here but continues in weekly steering meetings, 1:1s, monthly Laavu Academy, and group discussions.
How does working at Laavu differ from more traditional work and organisational psychology?
Work at Laavu differs quite a lot. Here’s a brief list: 1. We focus on psychological performance and preventing mental health problems instead of easing or eliminating mental health issues. 2. Client relationships are, on average, around 6-9 months long. 3. We don’t keep any records of our client meetings. 4. Performance psychologists stay in touch with clients outside of coaching sessions.
Do I have to have experience in work and organisational psychology?
It’s a big plus if you do! If you do not have any, please be clear in explaining why you are interested in work and organisational psychology and specifically in working at Laavu.
Can I work part-time?
Yes!