5 days ago
'It was completely online': How foreigners in Sweden got their jobs
You'll sometimes hear that networking is essential for getting a job in Sweden, and it often is. But a majority of readers who responded to our survey nonetheless got their jobs in Sweden through simply sending in an application.
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More than half (44) of the 86 readers who responded to our survey said they had got their job after seeing it advertised and applying, while less than a quarter (20) said they had got the position through working their personal network.
"I did all the other activities one is recommended to do in Sweden with having fikas, lunches, dinners with all past colleagues and making new contacts through professional networking, but it was actually just a regular job post on LinkedIn that became the job I got in the end," said Diane Henenberg, an Australian marketing strategist working in Stockholm. "So it was interesting to learn it still works that way too."
"It was pretty standard," said Iain Forbes, a Diagnostic Cytologist now working for Region Dalarna, who was recruited from the UK. "I sent my CV and regularly followed up my application."
He was offered the position a few years after having an interview.
"A typical process for me, just two interviews and then a job offer," agreed J, who works in telecoms R&D. "The company processed my work visa before I moved to Sweden."
"The recruitment process was completely online while overseas," said Poornima, a biotechnology engineer who got her first job in Sweden at a biotech company in Skåne.
Gabriel Jahnke, a dancer from Australia, said she had auditioned for the position in Sweden just as he would have back home.
Some 9 percent (8) were headhunted by a recruitment firm, and 12 percent (10) got their role through an internal promotion in their company.
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Networking more important once already in Sweden
It was only once people were trying to get their second job within Sweden, or were trying to get a first job in Sweden after arriving in the country without one, that networking became more important.
Only 18 of the readers who got their job by applying to an advert had done so from within Sweden, compared to 26 who had applied from outside Sweden.
On the other hand, fully 13 of the people who got a job from inside Sweden had used their personal network, suggesting that once inside Sweden, networking matters much more.
"Responding to job ads in Sweden is not helpful," agreed Thomas, a molecular biologist who lives in Uppsala. "The system penalizes candidates who are qualified but do not have connections."
"During a job change while in Sweden I had to rely on my network without which it was very hard to get any interviews," Poornima went on to discover when seeking a new role.
An American software designer specialised in computer graphics said that in their experience both networking and a good cover letter were now essential.
"Cover letters were required to even have a shot at a role when I was job hunting late last year. And networking is very important for those looking to move beyond the CV screen," he said. "From my experience, many hiring managers will just pass over your CV if they don't know you or someone else who knows you."
Some respondents admitted to having got their jobs in a way that came close to what in Sweden would be called "friendship corruption".
One American woman said she had been put forward for her job as an admin at a higher education programme by a non-Swedish friend who was leaving the position.
"The position was never advertised. The employer said they were interviewing other candidates, but I found out later that this was not true," she said.
Another woman admitted that she had been recruited to be a senior advisor at a business school by the husband of a childhood friend.
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LinkedIn is crucial
IT and computer game companies in Sweden are so used to recruiting software engineers and games designers internationally, that the process runs quite smoothly and in the same way as it does internationally, with companies and recruited actively looking for suitable candidates on the networking site Linkedin.
Of the respondents who were recruited from outside Sweden, 18 said they had got their jobs through LinkedIn, either seeing them advertised there or being contacted on Linkedin by a recruiter.
This suggests that an important aspect of finding jobs in Sweden to make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and and showcases your skills.
"Someone contacted me via LinkedIn with an offer, I went through their tests and got the job," says Arash, who now works in Gothenburg. "They did all the paperwork."
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Other advice on getting that first job
One woman from South Asia, who works in corporate sustainability, said that she made sure to state right at the top of her cover letter that she would not require a work permit.
"One of the first lines I explicitly wrote in my letter was that I am going to be moving to Sweden to live with my Danish husband, letting them know that I will not need to depend on a work visa," she said. "I did this because I knew the chances of me getting access even to a job interview was limited when they saw my name and knew that I was from outside the EU."
Forbes said he had opted to travel to Sweden from the UK for the interview.
"I was offered an online interview but instead opted to travel to Sweden for a face-to-face instead, as I thought that would show commitment," he said.
Henenberg said that she believed the intensive language course she had taken while between jobs had been helpful in securing her current role.
"It was great in building another network and also for increasing my Swedish language skills to show potential employers that I was dedicated to staying in Sweden by investing in the language and culture - even though the job I got required English as the business language."
Anna from Eastern Europe, said she had taken a succession of 'odd jobs' on arriving in Sweden, which included working as a language guide, nanny, customer satisfaction interviewer, freelancer, and finance assistant. This, she said, had helped prepare her for her current role, by getting her "Swedish work experience" and getting the names of Swedish companies on her CV.
Do these people's experiences of finding work in Sweden match your own? Please tell us about your own job hunt in the comments below.
